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i/v.,,:, ■/.,^, ,'/,.;/: i rilVA-,„'/;v.i«,,V . 



■//,:r,:-.v/ \:;, .Kvi! 



SEMI-CENTENNIAL HISTORY 



CITY OF ROCHESTER 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ANL^ BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF 
SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS 



WILLIAM F. PECK 



SYRACUSK. N. V. 

D. MASON & CO., PLMU.ISHRRS 

1884 



D. MASON & CO., 

Engravers, Printers and Binders, 

Syracuse, N. Y. 

1884. 



YJ^ 



^(^ 



CONTENTS. 



pa(;e. 

CHAPTER I. — Aboriginal Occupation of the Lmoer Genesee Counlrv — Antiquity of 
Man — Antediluvian Relics — The Ancient Beach of Lake Ontario Inhabited by 
Man, - - - - -'- - - - -II 

CHAPTER n. — Sin-face Geology — The Great Sea — Origin of the Genesee River — 

Great Age of the Lake Ridge — Man's Antiquity in the Genesee Country, - i6 

CHAPTER \n.— Ancient Races — The Mound-builders — The White Woman of the 
Genesee — Traditions of the Red Men — Presence of a Pre-historic People in the 
Genesee Valley, and about Irondequoit Bay — The Ridge Mounds and Relics — 
Ancient Landings on the Genesee — A Race of Large Men. - - - 20 

CHAPTER IV.— T/te Red J/*-//- Their Traditional Origin and Occupation of New 
York — Dispersion of the Tribes — League of the Iroquois — \'ale of the Senecas 

— Ancient Nations of the Genesee Country . - - - - - 28 
CHAPTER V. — Wale?' Trails — Terminology of the Genesee River and Irondequoit 

Bay — Little Beard's Town — Casconchagon — The Jesuits — Indian Expedition 
up the Genesee — The Mouth of the Genesee Practically at Irondequoit Bay — 
Early Maps — Teoronto Bay — Mississauge Indians the Last at Irondequoit, - 32 

CHAPTER VI. — Local Trails of the Genesee — Indian Fords, Towns and Fortifica- 
tions — Butler's Rangers — Indian Spring — Sacrifice of the White Dog — Flint 
Quarry — Sgoh-sa-is-thah — Portage Trails — Irondequoit Landing — The Tories' 
Retreat — Indian Salt Springs — Ancient Mounds, - - - -36 

CHAPTER VII. — Early French Missions — Tsonnontouan — The Jesuit's Escape — 
La Salle at Irondequoit — Struggle between the French and English for Possession 
of the Lower Genesee country, -------47 

CHAPTER VIII. — DeNonville's Expedition — Treachery of the French Governor- 
General — Magnanimity of the Iroquois — French Army at Irondequoit — E.vecu- 
tion of Marion — The Fort on the Sand-bar — The March on Gannagaro — The 
Defiles, Ambuscade and Battle — Horrors of Indian Warfare — Cannibalism — De- 
struction of the Seneca Towns. -------50 

CHAPTER IX. — Totiakton — Its Ancient and Modern History — DeNonville's Return 

Route to the Sand-bar. --------57 

CH.A.PTER X. — Strength of the Iroquois — A Terrible Revenge — French Invasions 

— Irondequoit a Place of Great Importance in Colonial Times — Fort des Sables 

— Charlevoix Describes the Casconchiagon — Captain Schuyler Builds a Trading- 
House at Irondequoit Landing — His Official Instructions — Oliver Culver Discov- 
ers the Ruins of the Trading-House — Senecas Sell the Lower Genesee Country to 
the King of England — British Armies at Irondequoit, - - - 61 



2 Contents. 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER XL— Tlic ^t/!,r,is' L,is//,-s ,»! tin- (,V«,-jvc — Treaty of Peace with the Eni,'- 
lish — Uechiie of lr(n|U(iis Power — Sullivan's Campaign against the Senecas — 
F'ate of Lieutenant lioNd — Sullivan's TrcH)|)s on the Site of Rochester. - 69 

CHAPTER Xn.— Tin- Wliilc Man's th.iipdihy of tlu- OciilSCl- C'(W«/;:r — The Native 

Title Extniguished — Inili.ni Resirvations — Present Indian PopuLttiun. - 73 

CHAL'TER .\IIL— Tin- C„-ih:s,;: h'alh Mill A,)/ —The Triangle — Ebenezer Allan's 
One-Hundred-Acre Tract — The Stone Ridge — Peter Shaffer- Allan's Mills — 
The Mill Stones — Jenuhshio. or •■Indian" Allan — The First White Settler — 
P'irst Grist Mill in the Genesee \'alle\ — Allan's Deed to Benjamin Barton — Close 
of Allan's Career — His Son Claims the One-Hundred-.Acre Tract, - - 75 

CHAPTER y^W . — Early .s,-///£V.r— Christopher Dugan — Colonel Fish — The First 
Dwelling-House — .Maude's X'isit to Genesee Falls in 1800 — Destruction of the 
Allan Mills — The Old Mill Stones — Rochester. Fit/hugh and Carroll Purchase 
the One-Hundred-.Acre Tract — Earl\' Towns and Pioneers, - - - 85 

CW.WXVM y.\.~Tlic Roclustcr I'asl-Officc. - - - - '• - 90 

CHAPTER .W'L— The liirth of A"rt//<-v/,r — Reasons for Its Tardy Settlement — 
Prevalence of Diseases in this Part of the Country — Dr. Ludlow on Typhoid Pneu- 
monia — The First House on the West Side of the River — The War of 181 2 — 
Attempted Intitnidation at Charlotte - The Projected Invasion Abandoned — 
Erection of the Red Mill, the Cotton Factory, etc. — Census of 1815 — The First 
Newspaper. .-----_. .y7 

CHAPTER XVIL — AVc/zoAv as a / V//,?;,',- — Its Incorporation in 1817 — The Fiist 
Village Election — The First Church Built — The Commerce with Canada — Set- 
tlement of Carthage — The t'. re.it Bridge there — Its Fall, and that of Other Bridges 

— Surveys for the Erie Canal — Monroe County Erected — Building of the Old 
Aqueduct — The Old Court-House — John ()uincy Adams, - . - 108 

CHAPTER X\'IIL— r//<- C,yoa<th ojtiu- /y/%v — The First Bank in Rochester — 
The First Presbyterian Church —La Fayette's Visit to Rochester — The Abduc- 
tion of William Morgan — The Excitement in Rochester and Elsewhere — Trial, 
Confession and Punishment of the Original Aliductors — Other Trials in Different 
Counties — Anti-Masonic Party Formed — Bitterness of F"eeling Engendered — 
The Body Found at Oak Orch.ird — Morgan or Monroe, Which } — Perhaps Neither 

— The First Village Directory — The Fate of Catlin — The Leap of Sam Patch — 
The Mormon Bible — The First Cholera Year — St. Patrick's Day in 1833, - 118 

CH.VPTER ,\IX.— Rochester as a City— Its Incorporation in 1834 — Organisation of 
the Government and Inauguration of Mayor Child — He Conscientiously Resigns 
the Office — The River Steamboat -- The Flood of 1835 — The Navy Island Raid 

— The First Murder in the County — The First Foundry — Anti-Slavery Move- 
ments — Bringing the Bones of Patriot Soldiers to Mount Hope — The Printer's 
Festival — Mexican War Volunteers — Woman's Rights Convention. - - 128 

CHAPTER XX.— The City s Progress to Iho War /Vw,- — Visit of Fillmore and His 
Cabinet, and of Daniel Webster — Singing of Jenny Lind — Ci\ic Festival in 1851 

— Building the New Court-House — The Meridian of Rochester — The Mock 
Funeral of Henry Clay— The Cholera in 1852 — The Ira Stout Murder— The 
••Irrepressible Contlict"- De Lave's Rope-Walking — Death of ex-Mayors Allen 
and Child, - - . . _ . . . -140 

CHAPTER XXI. — The War Time and Beyond — Breaking out of the Rebellion — 
The Call lor Volunteers — Enthusiastic Response from Monroe County — Forma- 
tion of the Old Thirteenth and Other Regiments — Support of the Government 



Contents. 3 

PAGE. 

during the War. and Rejoicing over the Return of Peace — The Mock Funeral of 
Abraham Lincoln — The Oil Fever and the Western Union Excitement — The 
Flood of 1865 — Performances of the Fenians — " Swinging around the Circle " — 
Seth Green's Fish-Culture, ---.... i^g 

CHAPTER y^yAl.— To the Fiftu-th Birthday — ■Y\\t Howard Riot — The Small-Pox 
and Other Diseases — The New City Hall — Mount Hope Records Found in Can- 
ada — John Clark's Murder of Trevor — The Centennial Celebration of 1876 — 
The Railroad Strike of 1877 — The Mock Funeral of President Garfield — The 
Cunningham Strike — The Telegrapher's Strike — Principal Improvements in the 
City in 1883, with their Cost — Other Statistics, - - - . 158 

CHAPTER XXin. — The Great Celebration — Preparations for the Event — Services in 
the Churches on Sunday — Opening Salute on Monday — The Literary Exercises 

— The Pyrotechnic Display — Reception of Guests — The Great Parade — The 
Banquet — The Toasts — The Close, - - - - - - 174 

CHAPTER XXI\'. — Tlie City Government — The Present Officers — The Common 
Council — The Board of Education — The City Debt — The Tax Levy for the 
Present Year — The Municipal Court — The Police Board — The Executive Board 

— The County Officers — The United States Officials, - - - - 179 
CHAPTER XX\r.— T/ie Civil List — The Village Trustees — The Mayors — The 

Boards of Aldermen — The City Treasurers — The Police Justices-— The City Su- 
pervisors — The Sheriffs — The County Clerks — The County Treasurers — The 
State Senators — The Members of Assembly — The Members of Congress. - 184 

CHAPTER XXVI.— The Fire Department — \\% History from the Beginning — The 
Apparatus in Early Times — The First Fire Company — The Old Volunteer De- 
partment-;- Its Glories and its Misdeeds — The Protectives, Alerts and Actives — 
The Firemen's Benevolent Association — Dedication of the Monument — List of 
Chiefs and Assistants — The Fire Record. ----- 201 

CHAPTER XXV n. — Libraries and Literature — i:\\t First Public Library — The 
Franklin Institute — The Athena?uni — The Central Library — The Law Library — 
The Young Men's Christian Association — The Literary Union — "The Club" — 
The Fortnightly — The Shakespeare Club. ----- 216 

CHAPTER XXXni.- Associations — Seientifie. Social, Political, etc.— The Acade- 
my of Science — The Rochester Club — The Rochester Whist Club — The Eureka 
Club — The Abelard Club — The Mutual Club — The Celtic Club— The Com- 
mercial Traveler's Club — The Irish National League — The Civil Service Reform 
Association — The Lincoln Club — The Riverside Row'ing Club — The Canoe 
Club, ---------- 222 

CHAPTER XXIX. — The Erie Canal— Its Origin —Vague Ideas of Gouverneur Mor- 
ris — Definite Conception of Jesse Havvley — Legislative Action in 1808 — De Witt 
Clinton Appears — Canal Commissioners Appointed in 1816 — Myron Holley and 
His Great Services^ Important Meeting at Canandaigua — Opposition at Albany 

— Work Begun July 4th, 1S17 — The Canal Completed October 24th, 1825 — The 
Grand Celebration — Enlargement of the Canal — Great Convention in this City — 
Canal Statistics — The Genesee Valley Canal. ----- 228 

CHAPTER XXX.— The Forces of Nature — The Electric Telegraph — Construction 
of the O'Rielly Lines — Transformation into the Western Union — Other Tele- 
graph Companies Here — The Telephone — Gas and Electric Light — Coal — 
Its Introduction as Fuel in Rochester — Insurance Comiianies Here, Past and 
Present, ---------- 238 



Contents. 



CHAPTER XXXI.— T/u- ('/iiin/n-s of Riu/irs/,->- — 'Es.rWesi Organisation of Religious 
Societies in the .Settlenirnt -- Tlie Presliyterian Churche.s — The Episcopal Churches 

— The Friends, or Quakers — The Baptist Churches— The Metliodist — The Ro- 
man Catholic — The Unitarian — The Ccrni.in Lutheran, Evangelical and Re- 
formed — The Congregational — The Jiwish - The llniversalist — The Second 
Ad\ent — ()tlier Churches. ------- 243 

CHAPTER X.XXIl.- T/n- Enr/v Sc/nw/s of Rotlustfr —\\\\\A.A\ M. Strong's .School 
in liSn — Limited Educational Resources — Meagerness of State Apjiropriation — 
Old District Number 1, and First Male Teacher — Mill Street a Fashionable Quar- 
ter of Rochester — M.uia Allyn's School in 1820 — Fairchild and Filer's Latin and 
English School — Lvman Cobb's School, Spelling-Book and Dictionary — The 
Manual Labor School — The RochesUr High School — The Schools of Misses 
Black and Miss Seward, West Side of the Ri\er — Rochester Female Academy — 
Seward Female Seminary — Other Institutions of Learning, - - . 296 

CHAPTER XX.Xl 11.— /'//(■ I'lihlii .ScZ/rWv— The First Board of Education — The 
School Census in 1S41 The Modern High School — Free Schools Estalilished in 
1849 — Opposition to the System — Tlu- Dilhculties Surmounted — The Common 
Schools of the City — A Sketch of Each One, - - - - - ji? 

CHAPTER XXX 1\'.— 7'//c M.-dituI /'/v/c.wVw — He.ilth ol Rochester in the Early 
Days — LongeMtv of the Pioneers — Efficient Sewerage of the Village — Dr. Jonah 
Brown, the First Practitioner — High Tone of the Profession ,U that Time — Form- 
ation of the Monroe County Medical Society— Its Oflicers and Us Members — 
.Stringent Pro\isi(ins of its Constitution — Biographical Sketches of Deceased 
Physici.ins, --------- 331 

CHAPTER .XX.W. - Hoiiiivopatliy a ml Ihiitiatiy -- Early Homoeopathic Physicians — 

Their Aih'cnt and liillueme — The Pr.ictice of Dentistry — Advance of the Art, 340 

CHAPTER XXXX'L— Flu /'/u:ss of AWZ/.^Av— Early Journalism — The Gazette — 
The '/'t-/i[t;)ii/i/i — The .Idvertiscr. with its Various Absorptions — Sketch of the 
I 11/01! and Ad'\rtisci- — Notices of its Representative Men — The Anti-Masonic 
Inquirer -AwA Thurlow Weed — The Ileinoerat — The Anierican — The Cliron- 
icle — Continued History of the Ihinoerat and Clnoniele — Sketches of those 
Prominently Associated with It — Various Dead Newspapers, from 1828 to 18S4 — 
The Express and Post-Express — The Morning Herald — Sunday Journalism in 
Rochester — German Journalism — Agricultural Publications — Religious Papers 

— Pa|)ers Connected with Institutions — The Labor Reformers — Concluding (Ob- 
servations. ,....-_-- 2^2 

CHAPTER Wy.\\\. — Koehester Judges and /.,ray'<vj — Early, Days — The First 
Lawyer — Erection of the County — Building of the First Court-House — Earliest 
Sessions of Court — Circuit-Riding — The Circuit Court — The Vice-Chancellor's 
Court — The Court of Appeals — The Supreme Court and its Justices — The 
County Courts and Judges — Special County Judges — The Surrogate's Court — 
Mayor's Court — District - Attorneys — The Rochester Bar — A List of its Mem- 
bers, ...-.....- -566 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. — 7'//,' .S'.r;-<-/ .S'^,-//'//,-.v ,-/ AV//,-5/,-r — Freemasonry in the Vil- 
lage — Institution of Wells Lodge in 1817 — C.rowth of the Order — History of the 
Lodges, Chapters, Councils, etc. — Monroe Commandery — Its Drill Corps — Cy- 
rene Commandery — The Scottish Rite — Lodges of Perfection — Masonic Relief 
Association — The Odd Fellows — History of the Lodges of this City — The Good 
Work of the Order — The Knights of Pythias — Ancient Order of United Work- 
me?i — The Foresters — The Elks — Other Secret Societies, - - - 381 



Contents. 5 

PACE. 

CHAPTER XXXW. — C/iarf/y and Benevolence — 'X\\ft City Hospital — St. Mary's 
Hospital — The Female Charitable .Society — The Monroe County Bible Society — 
The Rochester Orphan Asylum — The Catholic Orphan Asylum — The Jewish 
Orphan Asylum — The Home for the Friendless — The Industrial School — The 
Church Home — The Home of Industry — The Deaf Mute Institution — The Hu- 
mane Society — The Alms House — The Insane Asylum, - . - 403 

CHAPTER XL.— The Home Guard — A Glance at the Rochester Militia, from the 
Earliest Days Down to the Present Times — The First Rifle Company and Regi- 
ment — The Irish Volunteers — The Pioneer Rifles and the Battle of "Tod-Wad- 
dle" — The Grays and Cadets, and the Battle of Lyell Bridge — Other Organisa- 
tions and Bloodless Encounters — The Militia During the War — The Disbandment 
in 1 88 1,- - - - - - - - - - 429 

CHAPTER XLI. — The Cemeteries of Rochester — "XX^f^ Early Cemeteries of the Village 
and the City — The Burial-Places on the East and West Sides — Negotiations for 
a New Ground — Abandonment of the Old Places, and Transfer to Mount Hope 

— Description of the Cemetery — The Old Catholic Burial-Ground — Necessity for 
a New Place of Interment — Purchase of the Land and Consecration of the Ground 

— Description of the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, ----- 438 
CHAPTER XLIl. — Amusements in Rochester — The Entertainments of Early Days — 

The First Circus — Its Change into a Play-House — The First Theater — Mr. 
Whittlesey's Prize Address — Edmund Kean's Appearance and his Speech — 
Dean's Theater — The Rochester Museum — Concert and Other Halls — Corinth- 
ian Hall and Academy of Music — The Grand Opera House — The Driving-Park 

— The Exploits of the Track — State Fairs and Shoots, . . . 450 
CHAPTER XLIIL— r//t' Underground Railroad— Th^ Flying Bondmen — Their 

Miseries in Servitude, their Privations while Escaping — Their Arrival in Roches- 
ter and their Transit to Canada — The First Rendition of a Fugitive — Her Res- 
cue, her Recapture, and her Liberation by Suicide — No other Slave ever Returned 
from Rochester — Scenes and Incidents ol the Harboring of Negroes— General 
Reflections, ..------- 458 

CHAPTER XLI v.— The Banks of AW// ci-Av— Banking Facilities in Early Days — 
Establishment of the Bank of Rochester — The Bank of Monroe — The Rochester 
City Bank — The Bank of Western New York — The Commercial Bank — The 
Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank — The Rochester Bank — The Union Bank — The 
Eagle Bank — The Manufacturers' Bank — The Traders' Bank— The Flour City 
Bank — The Monroe County Bank — The Perrin Bank — The Bank of Monroe — 
The Bank of Rochester and the German American Bank — The Commercial 
National Bank — The Merchants' Bank — The Private Banks — The Savings • 
Banks, ---------- 463 

CHAPTER XLV.— The Railroads of Rochester — The Beginning of Raihoads — 
The First One Laid in America — The Rochester and Carthage Railroad — The 
Tonawanda Railroad — The Auburn and Rochester Road — The Niagara Falls 
Road — The Rochester and Syracuse Road — Consolidation into the New York 
Central — The Elevated Tracks — The Genesee Valley Road — The Rochester and 
Pittsburg Road — The Bay Railroad — The Belt Railroad — The Valley Canal 
Railroad — The Street Railroad, - - - - - - 472 

CHAPTER XhWl.- Rochester's German Element — The First German Immigration 
to the Genesee Valley— Indentured Colonists Followed by Voluntary Immigrants 

— The Settler's Career of Industry — His Social and Religious Life — He Becomes 

a Citizen and a Soldier, - - - - - - - -481 



Contents. — Biographical Sketches. 



CH.APTICR XLVH. — Rfformatory and Coyrcithma! — The Western House of Refuge 

— Full Description of the Institution — Its Histor\- from the Beginning — The 
Monroe County Penitentiary — The County Jail. .... ^c)-j 

CHAPTER .\L\TH.-- Tin- Roilu-stn- Rappinos — Sounds Heard at Hydesville — The 
Fo.\ Family — Doings on March 31st, 1848 — First Supposed Intelligent Response 

— Mrs. Leah Fish and Her Investigations — The Fox Girls Separated — Rappings 
on the Boat — Investigatioti in Rochester and L'se of the Aljihabet — Public In- 
vestigation Lfrged — Committee Selected — Corinthian Hall Investigation — Re- 
ports of Committees, etc.. ....... 508 

CHAPTI'.R XLIX.— Thf Fine Arts in A'<'<7/,',v/(V — Sketches of the Early Painters of 
Rochester — Art F.xhiliitions here in Former Da\s — The .Sculptors and the Arch- 
itects — Engr.aving on Wood, Copper and Stone -- I'hotography — Music and the 
Musicians — The Art Club and the .\rt Exchange, - - - - 51S 

CHAPTER L. — The Uni'H-ysitv and tin- Tlirological Seminarv — Madisnn University 

— Plans for its Removal — A New L'ni\ersity Established at Rochester — Its 
Founders and Trustees — Its Influence on the City — Its Course of Study — Its 
Lectures, its Library and its Mu.seums — Its Benefactors and its Buildings — The 
Theological Seminarv — Full Description of the Institution. - - - 53' 

CHAPTER LI.— Tlu- War Raord ~\\\\M Rochester Did to Save the Nation — The 
Re,oiments and Other r)rganisations Raised in the Citv anil Sent to the Field — A 
Brief Account of their Service — Their Achievements and their Losses — The Gen- 
eral Officers from the City — The Grand Army of the Republic. - - 555 

CHAPTER LIL— Tlw Roclicstcr Watrr Worlcs — 'XW Necessity of a Water Supply 
for the Cit\ — l-^arly Plans lor Furnishing it — The Compan\' of 1852 — Its Failure 
and the Report of the Expert — Works Finally Constructed by the City — Full .Ac- 
count of their Operation — Tests Made in 1874 — A Remarkable Exhibition — 
Sources of a Water Supply — The Lakes and the Reservoirs — The Holly Works, 
the Pump House and the Machinery — The Telephone to Hemlock Lake — Total 
Cost of the Work — Analvsis of the Water, - - _ - . 577 

CHAPTER \^\\\.~ Rochester Mannfa, lures ~ Di\ersiried N.ilure of Her Indu,stries — 
Early Prophecies Fulfilled, with some \'ariation — Her Water Power and Flouring 
Mills of Minor Consideration in the List of Enterprises — Clothing, Shoes, Iron 
Work, Machinery, Wood Work. Flour. Beer, and a Wide Range of Miscellaneous 



.Articles in the 



598 



CHAPTER LIV. — liiographical, - - - - - - . - 647 



lUOHRAniK^AL SKHTCMFS. 



rAGK. 

Anderson, Martin E.. LL. D., 676 

Bronson, Anion, . » j , 

Child, Jonathan, . 686 

Clarke, Freeman, _ g . ^ 



BlOGRAl'HICAL SKETCHES. — ILLUSTRATIONS. 



TACiE. 

Co.x, Patrick, 649 

Dewey, Chester, D. D., LL. D., ..1 650 

Ellwanger, George, . -. 700 

Erickson, Aaron, 698 

Gardiner, Hon. Addison, _■ 653 

Gorsline, William Henry, 687 

Greenleaf, Hon. Halbert Stevens, yog 

Hatch, Jesse \V 656 

Hill, Charles J., 659 

Moore, Dr. E. M.,_ yic 

Morgan, Hon. Lewis Henry, LL. D., 723 

Moses, Schuyler, __ j 661 

Mumford, George H., . 698 

Mumford, William W., 607 

Northrop, Nehemiah B.,_- : 663 

Pancost, Edwin, 685 

Parsons, Hon. Cornelius K.., 716 

Peck, E verard, 664 

Raines, George, 718 

Reynolds, Abelard, 6go 

Reynolds, Mortimer F,, 694 

Reynolds, William Abelard, . 692 

Riley, Ashbel Wells, _ 665 

Rochester, Nathaniel, 669 

Selden, Henry Rogers, 729 

Seward, Jason W., 6^2 

Smith, Hon. Erasmus Darwin, LL. D., _ 678 

Sibley, Hon. Hiram, 708 

Warner, Hulbert Harrington, 681 

Whitney, George J., 675 

Wood worth, Chauncey B., 674 

Yates, Arthur G., .. 695 



[.LUSTRATIONS. 



l',\GE. 

' Anderson, Martin B., LL. D., portrait, facing 538 

Bronson, Amon, portrait, facing 713 

Child, Jonathan, portrait, ' _ ..facing 130 

"- Clarke, Freeman, portrait, facing 468 



y Illustrations. 



TACE. 

(.'ox. I'atrick, portrait facing 649 

DcL-il given by Ebene/er Allan. I;u: simile of, 82, 83 

Dewey. Chester, D. D., I.I.. D., portrait, facing 310 

Kllwanger, George, portrait. facing 486 

Erickson, Aaron, portrait, facing 422 

Gardiner, Hon. Addison, [)ortrait, facing 370 

Gorsline, William H., portrait, facing 688 

Greenleaf, Hon. Halbert Stevens, portrait, facing 706 

Hatch, Jesse W., portrait, facing 246 

Hill, Charles J-, portrait, , facing 202 

Indian Pipes, 24, 25 

Indian Skull 25 

Lower Falls. 1 768 facing 64 

Moore, Dr. K. i\I., portrait, facing 334 

Morgan, Hon. Lewis Henry, LL. I)., portrait, '- facing 168 

Moses, Schuyler, portrait facing 186 

Mumford, George H., portrait, facing 404 

Mumford, William W., portrait, facing 464 

Northrop, Nehemiah B., portrait, facing 663 

Pancost, Edwin, portrait, facing 685 

Parsons, Hon. Cornelius R., portrait, facing 716 

Peck, Everard, portrait, facing 1 10 

Post-office, The First in Rochester, 96 

Raines, George, portrait, facing 718 

Reynolds, Abelard, portrait, . . facing 92 

Reynolds, Mrs. Abelard, portrait, facing 176 

Reynolds, Mortimer F., portrait facing 218 

Reynolds, William Abelard, portrait, . facing 160 

Riley, Ashbel Wells, portrait, facing 430 

Rochester, map of in 1814, facing 97 

Rochester, map of in 1827, facing 124 

Rochester, map of in 1838, between 132, 133 

Rochester, Nathaniel, portrait, frontis piece 

Seward, Jason AV.. portrait, _ facing 306 

' Sibley, Hon. Hiram, portrait, facing 238 

Totiakton and Vicinity, map of, 58 

Upper Falls, 1768, .facing 64 

Warner. Hulbert Harrington, portrait, facing 681 

Whitbeck, Dr. J. W., portrait facing 406 

Whitney, George J., portrait, facing 675 

Woodworth, Chauncey B., portrait, facing 264 

Yates, -Arthur G.. portrait, facing 695 



PREFACE 



To the Citizens of Rochester: — 

This book tells its own story, i)ut a few words with regard to 
its compilation are deemed appropriate. Its editor or author — tor 
while he is less than the latter he is certainly more than the tormer — 
has given full credit in the running pages to all those who assisted 
him by the preparation of complete chapters or of portions of chap- 
ters to any appreciable 'degree. To those who have aided by giving 
information when it was sought, by confirming previous impressions 
or by correcting erroneous conclusions, no reference by name is 
necessary ; they will find their satisfaction in the knowledge that 
their help has been utilised and that they have contributed to the 
preservation, in this form, of facts that would otherwise grow con- 
stantly more difficult to obtain. With the hope that the volume 
will stanil as an enduring record of Rochester, from the earliest 
times in which can be found a trace of human life in this localit\- to 
the fiftieth birthday of the city, the compiler presents this work to 
the consideration of his fellow-citizens. 
Rochester, N. Y., Sc-p/i-iiithr 23//, 1884. 



HISTORY 

OF THE 

CITY OF ROCHESTER. 



CHAPTER I. 

Ai;ORIGI.\AL OCCITATIOX OK THE I,(J\VER C.EXESEE COUNTRY.' 
Antiquily of Man —Antediluvian Relics — The Ancient Reach of Lake Ontario Inhaljiled by .Man. 

THE aboriginal occupation of America is a subject of e.xhaustless research. 
Among the many divisions of this subject none present so broad a field 
of observation to the thoughtful investigator as the antique remains of the con- 
tinent. The inquiry regarding their origin, and its direct bearing on the ques- 
tion of man's early history, opens the door of discussion to subjects diverse in 
character, comprehending nearly every line of thought and course of study. 
The prominence given to these antiquities has engaged the attention of men 
of every nationality and station in life, resulting in many abh--fought battles 
between earnest advocates of dissimilar views. 

The interest in such remains is not alone confined to those found in America. 
The Old world has celebrated in prose and verse the antiquities of ancient em- 
pires and the relics of nations and tribes of primitive people to whom it is not 
difficult to trace an historical connection ; while men of the highest scientific 
attainments engage in the collection and collation of e\'idences of the antiquity 
of the human race. The New world possesses no record of historic reference 
whereby the truth respecting her primitive peoples can be established. The 
fragmentary knowledge possessed by historians is derived from evidences fur- 
nished by time-worn remains, mythology and analogous reasoning, and Foster 
tells us, in his admirable work, The Prc-liistoric Races of tJic United States, 
that but recently a deep feeling of distrust pervaded the public mind of this 

' The first fifteen chapters of this work were prepared by Mr. George H. Harris. 



HisTiikv or riiK Citv ok Rochester. 



countr\' in reference to every discovery which is supposed to carry back the 
origin iif man to a period antecedent to the historical era; "and }'et," contin- 
ues the same author, "reasoning from palreontological analogies, we ought to 
expect til find evidences of the human occupancy of this continent, reaching 
back to an antiquity as remote as on the European continent." 

Happily, modern thought is prngressi\'e. The rapidity with which scientific 
discoveries and in\'cntions of a marvelous, though practical nature are success- 
ively brought befiire the jKiblic view is exerting an appreciable influence in 
the preparation of the human mind for a favorable reception of vital, though 
recenth' admitted, truths ; ",inil," I'emai'ks Sir John Lubbijck, "the new \-iews 
in regard to the antiquit}' of man, though still looked upon with distrust and 
a|)prehension, will, I doubt not, in a few \-ears be regarded with as little disqui- 
etude as are now those disco\'eries in astrtmomy and geology which at one 
time excited e\'en greater opposition." ' 

"Within the present generatii~in," says Foster, "has been opened a sphere 
of in\-estigation which has enlisted an able bod}' of observers, whose labors 
h,i\e dirown a flood of light upon the c|nistion relating to our common lui- 
manit\'. f.thnography has been laised to the rank of the noblest of sciences. 
However strange these new views with ix-gartl to the origin antl history of our 
race may appear, the\- cannot be disregarded. We must weigh the value ol 
obserx'ations, and [iress them to their legitimate conclusions." The develop- 
ment of those kindred sciences, geolog\- and paheontology, united with the re- 
sults of ethnological research, during the jiast half-centur}-, are trul_\- amazing 
in their possibilities and effect. The re\elations of science are not only revolu- 
tionising the w(jrld of thought, but actuall}' overturning the foundations of an- 
cient liistory. The New wdrkl of histori.ms is the L)ld world of geologists,''' 
who inform us that .America w.is "first born among the continents, and already 
strelcheel an unbroken line of kuul from Nova Scotia to tUe far West, while 
I'Lurope was represented b\' ishuuls rising here and there above the sea;"'' that 
the Laurentian moimtains in Canada, and portions of the Adirondacks in New 
\'ork — the classical grounds of American geologists — are the oldest forma- 
tions in the world, and along their surfdjeaten coasts were developed the ear- 
liest forms t)f organic life. Dawson describes the Eozooii Canadcitse, Lir "dawn- 
animal," a microscopic organism of the Laurentian foundations, and suggests 
the jjossibilities of life existent in the waters of tile ocean long before the ap- 
pearance of land above the surface;' while the character of recent discoveries 
tends to strengthen the belief that the origin of man, even, may be assigned to 



' Pielace of /*r(--///j-/<?;7t Tums, by Sir John Luljbock. 

'^ The early ri^e of the American continent was as.serteil, for the first time, by Foster, in his report 
on the mineral lands of Lake Superior. The fact is too well established to require special quotation of 
authorities, as nearly all works on American geology, issued subsequent to 1S53, affirm the statement. 

' Agassiz, C,cflloi;ical .S'/vA //,■... 

■* riu- Kiulh ,uij M.:„, by J. W. Dawson, p. 23. 



The First Human OccurANcv. 13 

this, the most ancient of continents. Revelations of so startling a nature are 
the result of patient investigations pursued by learned men, who find the chro- 
nology of the Hebrew Pentateuch, which would bring everything relating to 
human history within the short compass of four thousand and four }-ears ante- 
cedent to the Christian era,' insufficient to account for the mutations the earth 
has undergone,' and the tlevelopmeiit of man from the low stage of wildest 
savagery, which all evidences prove his [jrimitive coiulition to ha\'e been, to 
the modern plane of intellectual power ami refinement. 

We speak of the race of men found in possession of this continent at the 
time of its tlisco\'er)- by I^uropeans in the fifteenth century as the ^Vborigines 
of America, and long usage has rendered the term, in the sense in which it is 
applied to the Indians, peculiarly fitting, though incorrect. They were natives 
of America, but not its original inhabitants. There are proofs of the presence 
here of people who lived at so earh' a period of time that no authoritative ref- 
erence to them has ever been found in written history. We know of their ex- 
istence, and occupation of the land, onl)- through discovery of remains of a 
character suggestive of the term "Mound-builders," which has become their 
historical designation. For the history of time and events back of the red 
man and the Mound-builder, we must penetrate the earth itself, and, from the 
evidentiary material discovered, trace or reason out a parallelism with existing 
forms antl conditions, basing our conclusions entirely upon the ]3rinci])le that 
from the beginning of time nature has worked upon the same plan, with like 
forces and results as at present. 

Abstruse as the question of man's antiquit)' may appear, it is, nevertheless, 
pertinent to our subject — the eaily human occupanc)- of this immediate local- 
it}-. We are confident that the St. Lawrence basin and the near-lying nmun- 
tain districts of New York and Canada will _\'et furnish material aid to science 
in the final solution of this great problem, but, if we attempt to trace the rec- 
ord of man's remote occupation of our home territory by a chain of successive 
events, we find many of the links of connection broken or entirely wanting; 
still there would seem to be some grounds for the confidence expressed, in the 
discovery of a certain class of ancient relics that has attracted little attention in 
the world of science. 

In a communication to the American Antiquarian society prior to iSjOthe 
late Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, professor of natural history, and father of geology 
in the state of New York, mentioned this class of antiquities as distinguished 

' The Samaiitan Pentateuch places the creation of the world B.C. 4700; the Septuagint, 5872; Jo- 
sephus, 4658; the Talnuulists, 5344; Scaliger, 3950; Petavius, 39S4 ; Playfair, 4007. Dr. Hales 
places it at 541 1, and enumerates over one hundred and twenty various opinions on the suliject, the dif- 
ference between the latest and remotest dates being no less than 326S years. Good liishop Usher, 
whose chronological table is used in the English Bible, follows the Hebrew account, and places the 
creation B.C. 4004. 

' Sir William Thomson thinks the time which has elapsed from llie first foundation of a solid crust 
on the earth to the modern period may have been from seventy to one liundred inillion> of years. 



14 History of tiik City nv Rocpiester. 

cntircK- fn.ini those which arc usually ascribed to the Indians and Mound- 
IniiUUrs, as foUinvs: — 

" In the sei tion of rountrv about Fredonia, New York, on the south side of Lake 
I'hie, are (h^covered objects deserved!)' worthy of particular and in(]uisiti\e researcli. 

'I'his kin<l of antii|uities ]}resent tliemselves on digging from thirty to fifty feet 

below the surface of the i,'roini(h 'i'he\- occur in tlie form of firedirands, split wood, 
ashes, coals and occasionally tools and utensils, hurieil to those depths." 

Dr. Mitchell also expressed an earnest wish that the members of the soci- 
etv shoidd exert themselves with all i)nssible diligence to ascertain and collect 
facts nf thi^ description for the benefit of the Ljeolo^ist and historian; in the 
expectation that, "if collected and methodised, conclusions could be drawn of 
a natme th.it would shed liL;ht on the ;incient and traditionary history of the 
World." I'riest tells us the relics mentioned b_\- Dr. Mitchell were found be- 
neath the ridL;e which boulers the ea^t shore of Lake Erie, and refers to their 
ori;.4in as ",intedilu\ i,in." ' A suiiert'icial deposit, known as the "lake ridge," 
similar to the one on Lake I{ne, extends from Sodus, New York, westward 
around the head of Lake (Ontario intc) Caiiatla, at a distance varying from 
three to eiL;ht miles from the present lieach of the lake. Throughout its whole 
extent in this state this ridge is well defined, bearing all the indications of hav- 
ing once been the boundary of a kirgc botly of water, and of having been pro- 
duced in the same manner as the elevated beaches of the ocean and larger 
hikes. In height it \aries from a gentle swell to sharply tlefined elevations 
fifteen to twenty feet above the surface of the ground, occasionally descending 
toward the lake for fifty or one hundred feet in an easy slope. Its seaward 
side is usu.dly covered with coarse gra\el and often with large pebbles. Pro- 
fessor Hall, our state geologist, says: — 

" If an\ thing were wanting in the external appearance of this ridge to convince the 
obseiNcr ol the mode of its lormation, every excavation made into it proves conclusively 
its origin. The lowest deposit, or foundation, is a coarse sand or gravel, and upon this 
a regular deposit of silt. The layer of vegetable matter is evenly spread, as if deposited 
from water, and afterward covered with fine sand, and to this succeeds coarse sand and 
gra\el. I'fagments of wood neariy fossilised, shells, etc., are found in digging wells and 
cutting channels through the ridge; and there can be no doubt of its formation by the 
waters of Lake Ontario, which once stood at tliat level." ^ 

The grand Indian trail from the Genesee falls to the Niagara river passed 
along the summit of this ridge, and for over seventy years the white man has 
used it as a road-bed (for one of the most extensively traveled highways in 
New York) between Rochester and Lewiston. The farm of David Tomlin.son 
is situated on the Ridge road, half a mile west of the village of Gaines, Orleans 
county. When first occupied in 1S14 the ground was covered by forest trees 
of large growth, many being three and four feet in diameter, and the stumps 
of two, specially noted as standing over a mile north of the ridge, measured, 



Aiitiqiiilii's of America, by Josiah Priest. 
Gfohigy of New York. Part IV., p. 349. 



Ancient Remains. 15 



each, nearly eight feet across the top. As far as the eye could reach in either 
direction the ridge in this vicinity then declined toward the lake in a smooth, 
unbroken grade, and about one hundred and fifty feet north of its center the 
clear waters of a spring bubbled forth and darted away lakeward in a tiny riv- 
ulet. From the main Indian trail on the ridge a path led down to the spring, 
which was well known to the Indians, who often camped in the neighborhood. 

In 1824 the spring-basin was cleaned out and stoned up in the form of a 
well. In 1853 the water failed and the well was deepened. In 1864 the well 
bottom was lowered to a total depth of twenty feet. About eighteen feet be- 
low the original surface the digger came upon a quantity of brush overlying 
an ancient fireplace, consisting of three round stones, each about one foot in 
diameter, placed in the form of a triangle. A mass of charcoal and ashes sur- 
rounded the stones which were burned and blackened by fire and smoke. 
Several sticks were found thrust between the stones, the inner ends burned 
and charred as left by the expiring flames. A careful inspection of these 
sticks by a gentleman' thoroughly acquainted with the nature and grain of va- 
rious woods proved them to be hemlock and ash. Some were denuded of 
bark and had the smooth surface usually presented by water-washed wood 
found on any beach. Several sticks were split, and surrounding one was a de- 
pressed ring, or indentation, as though some dull instrument had been em- 
ployed in an effort to weaken or break the wood. The ashes were indurated 
to a degree requiring the use of a pick in their removal, and rested upon a 
stratum of sand, which was also in a hardened condition, being taken out in 
large pieces that proved to be very fine grained, with a smooth surface slightly 
creased in places, possibly ripple marks. When first discovered the brush was 
closely packed over the fireplace and had every appearance of having been 
forced into position by the action of water. The fireplace and all the details 
of its narrow ' surroundings, which were carefully noted, clearly intlicated that 
it had been made upon a snnd-bcacli, and was subjected to an inundation that 
washed the mass of brush, possibly gathered for fuel, over the stones and ashes, 
which were afterward covered many feet deep by successive strata of the same 
gravelly soil of which the ridge is composed, and was thus preserved for ages 
unknown. 

In a survey of the grounds and after thorough consideration of the circum- 
stances the writer became assured of the following conclusions : The fireplace 
was constructed by persons having the use of rude implements and possessed 
of some knowledge of cookery, at a period just previous to the formation of 
the ridge. In its formation this ridge was extended along the base of an ele- 

' John Nutt, of Rochester, to whose e.xcellent knowledge of the early history of this locality the 
writer is indebted for many facts. 

■ 2 In 1880 these facts, as presented, were brought to the notice of Lewis H. Morgan, of Rochester, 
who assured the writer that the discovery was the most interesting and valuable one within his knowl- 
edge, respecting the ridge, and he earnestly advised its publication. 



i6 History of the City of Rochester. 

vation connected witli tlie ninuntain-ridijc, and constituted a solid dam, from 
one liuiulred to i>nc hundred and fift\' feet wide, across the mouth of a httle 
\'alle)' and inward curvature of tlie hillsitle. The accumulation of water, shed 
!))• the surrounding slopes, originally transformed the basins thus created into 
])on(ls, and subsequently, when drainetl, converted them into marshes. The 
valle)' waters, aided by the current of an inflowing stream, forced <i channel 
through the ritlge, but the wateis of the small pi.ind were gradually released 
by soaking through the mini bottom ami following the course of a vein unilcr- 
neath the ritlge to its nMrthern side, where the\- rose to the surf ice in the form 
of a s|)ring. The failure of the sjiring was cuised b_\- the clearing and ciilti\'a- 
tiou of its m.iish source. It is e\ident that the spring came into operation long 
afti.r the lidge was formed, and the rise of the water directly above the tire- 
place was incidental, there being no connection whatever between the two 
e\ents. 

If these Conclusions are justilled I)_\- the conditions rehited, it would appear 
that man was .i habitant of the south shoi'e of Lake ( )ntario befire the ridge 
existetl, and, if the age of the ridge can be e\'en a])iiro-\imately determined, 
si>me idea can be had of the length of time he has occupied our home terri- 
tory. The results of a special study leganling the i)eculiar topographical feat- 
ures of Western New \'ork lead to the conclusion that the ridge is of very an- 
cient oiigin — in fact, that it anted, ites the present rock-cut channel of the 
Genesee — aiul, though our range of iiuiuir)- is necessarily limited, a brief ex- 
position of reasons influencing this conclusion may [irove <if interest. 



CHAl'TI'.R II. 

Surface ( ;ri.l(iL;y — Tile Oreat Sua — ( )iit;in of llu- I ienescc River — Oreat .\ge of tlio f.ako Ridge 
— Man's .\nlic|uity in ihe ( lenesee Country. 

IN ever)' direction about Rochester we behold the effects of aqueous action. 
The hills, domes and pillars of sand and gravel, the rolling plains and allu- 
vial ridges, the great valle_\-s and deep channels of watercourses, the polished 
rocks of limestone beneath the soil, and huge boulders scattered over the sur- 
face, all Combine in an appeal to our reason, arouse an interest and create a 
desire to learn the primar\' cause of these singular forms of nature. The sci- 
ence of geol<.)g\- teaches that the earth first a]3peared above the waters of the 
ocean in the ftu'm of azoic rock, and those grand scientists, Agassiz and Dana, 
tell us that certain portions iif the territors' of the Empire state were among 
the ver\- first kissed b}' the w.irm sunlight of heaven. 



Peculiar Formation OF THE Genesee River. 17 

Passing over the changes occurring during many succeeding geological 
ages, we reach a period when the rising continent had divided the waters of 
the ocean by the elevation of mountain barriers, and converted all this part 
of America into an inland sea. The physical contour of much of the state of 
New York is directly due to the active agency of the waters of this sea, which 
left its impress upon so large an area of our natural surroundings; and its his- 
tory, as revealed by geological developments, has a local application which 
may worthily e.xcite an interest not usual in matters of this character. Even 
the noble river, quietly carrying its daily tribute of mountain waters from the 
Alleghanies through the heart of Rochester to Lake Ontario, has its place in 
the history of the great sea, and it is a curious fact that the results of scientific 
research show the history of the Genesee as differing from that of other rivers 
in the processes of its formation. The tinge of romance, lending attractiveness 
to all narrations of man's early acquaintance with the Genesee, deepens to a 
flush in the recital of the ancient river's histor\-. The spring gushing from a 
hill-side, its sparkling waters finding their way to some natural depression, 
forms a purling brook, by small degrees and successive additions enlarging to 
the size of a creek, increasing in volume and magnitude to the full development 
of a river flowing in silent majesty, with great sweeps and curves, along its well- 
defined channel, crushing with irresistible force through some rock-bound 
mountain gorge, plunging with mighty thunderings over a great precipice 
into the deep basin below, and thence passing onward to lose their identity 
forever in the commingled floods of lake and ocean — such is the natural 
history of rivers. 

No record like this bears the Genesee. The growth of its formation was 
one of recession. Not at the bubbling fountain of distant plain or hill-slope 
began the inceptive movement of its birth, but near its very entrance into the 
great fresh water sea of its deposit. Springing into life with the full force born 
of bursting lake barriers, its first current must have been a mighty stream of 
great width and power, capable of rending asunder the rock foundations of the 
earth ; and the course now pursued from its modern headwater sources on the 
mountain plains of Pennsylvania is the result of a decreasing volume, narrow- 
ing its bounds from the broad expanse of its mother-lakes to the contracted 
space of the latest channel in the valley bottom. This, and many other facts 
of special interest, we learn in the history of the great sea whose boundaries, 
at the period of its first separation from the ocean, are not clearly defined; but 
an idea of their general course at a later date, when the configuration of the 
earth was nearly complete, can be formed by a brief study of the topography 
of North America, which discloses an immense basin, bounded on the north 
by the range of mountains extending through Canada to the far 'West; on the 
east by the New England range, extending southwesterly by the Highlands of 
New York and the Alleghanies of Pennsylvania, thence west and south toward 
the Mississippi river. 



1 8 History of the City of Rochester. 

The elevation of the interior of the continent produced its natural effect in 
a subsidence of the sea-waters into the depressions of the earth tlien existing, 
their divisions into lesser seas, and in time b_\' successi\c drainage at outlets of 
different elevation, the formation of lakes. The immense basin of the St. 
Lawrence, which extends from the gulf of St. Lawrence to the headwaters of 
the Mississippi — a distance of two thousand miles — formed the first reser- 
voir. This, in time, was divided b\- natural barriers into three sub-basins. 
The first of these has an area of about 90,000 square miles, more than one- 
fourth of which is occupied by the waters of Lake Superior. The next, or 
middle, basin has an area of at least 160,000 square miles and contains Lakes 
Huron, Michigan and iM-ie in its lowest depressions. The surface of the lower 
basin has an area of about 360,000 square miles and is covered in part b)' the 
waters of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence river. The upper basin prob- 
ably had its outlet into the middle basin, which, pre\ious to the destruction 
of the original coast-ridge at the northeastern end of Lake Lrie and conse- 
quent birth of Niagara river, had its drainage to the south through the valleys 
of the Des Plains, Kankakee, Illin(jis <md Mississippi ri\ers, into the gulf of 
Mexico.' 

The periotl in which the actual di\ision of the middle and lower basins 
took place cannot be fi.xed, but the occurrence marked an era fr(.>ni which our 
interest in the subsiding waters of the great sea is confined to the lower, or On- 
tario, basin. About the time of this separation the Mount Hope and Pinnacle 
range of hills, on the southern boundar)' line of the cit)', formed a barrier at 
the north end of the Genesee valley, and, dividing the waters, produced a 
great shallow lake covering all the valley between Rochester and Dansville. 
The waters of the sea, now Lake Ontario, continued their retirement to the 
north, and coast lines formed during the period of recession can be traced at 
many points on the slopes of the Ontario basin where the waves left their mark 
on cliff and hillside, or washed up great alluvial ridges in open plains. At 
least a dozen such ridges can be found at different places in New York, and 
two at Rochester, the lake ridge being the most distinct. It is probable that a 
barrier across the St. Lawrence then restrained the lake waters, which escaped 
through the valley of the Mohawk at Little Falls into the Hudson. The low- 
est part of the old channel through the rocky gorge at Little Falls is 428 feet 
above the ocean, and the ridge in Rochester is about 441 feet.- It is supposed 

I A'iiif;tira Falls and Other Famous Cataracts, by George \V. Holley. This Ijook contains ,i vei\' 
interesting history of the middle basin and the probable origin of the Niagara river and falls. 

2 Through the kindness of R. J. Smith, .V. ]. CJrant and K. li. Whitmore, civil engineers, the ele- 
vation of various points between the upper (lenesee fall and Lake Ontario, which has never been pub- 
lished before, has been obtained. The ridge at the intersection of the Charlotte boulevard west of Han- 
ford's Landing, is 193.91 feet above Lake Ontario. .\t the crossing of the Ontario Belt railroad, about 
1,000 feet east of the river, the ridge is 1S2.45 feet above the lake. The latter, according to the recent 
(1878) geodetic survey, is 247.25 feet above the ocean. An influx of water rising 247.25 feet above 
mean tide at New York would place the ocean on a level with Lake Ontario; 441 feet, with the ridge, 
and connect the lake with the Hudson river through the Mohawk valley at Little Falls; 508 feet, with 



Antiqlitv ok the Lake Ridge. 19 

that the waters had retired beyond the level of the ridge, and from some un- 
known cause — possibly the breaking down of the natural obstruction at the 
northeastern extremity of Lake Erie, and discharge of its waters into Lake 
Ontario — again rose several feet, the ridge being formed under the water 
while the surface was but a few feet above. The breaking awa}-, or removal, 
of the St. Lawrence barrier reduced the lake to its present lc\-el. 

Following this c\-ent, the Genesee valley lake burst through the hills east 
of the Pinnacle, formed a great river, now the Genesee, and e.xcavated the 
bay of Irondequoit.' In time this channel became obstructed and the waters 
cut a new outlet through the hill west of the present channel at the Ra])ids in 
South Rochester, pursuing a direct northern course to the present Genesee 
falls in the heart of the cit\-. This passage becoming obstructed just north of 
the Rapids, the river was directed east toward Mount Hope and thence north- 
ward through its modern channel. The production of the Genesee river 
gorge through Rochester to LaKC Ontario is mainly the result of erosion, 
having been effected by runnmg water aided by frost, and it is evident that 
this work has been accomplished since Lake Ontario retired from the ritlge. 
If this theory is correct — and it is affirmed by scientists- — the lake ridge 
antedates the Genesee river and Irondequoit bay, and the fireplace discovered 
on the old beach beneath the ridge at Gaines was constructed by men \vho 
occupied our home territor)' at a period so remote that it is not possible to fi.x 
its limit. It ma}' be stated, however, that, from deductions co\-ering the age 
of supposed contemporaneous events, it has been crudely estimated as exceed- 
ing fourteen thousand years. 

ihe Erie canal aqueduct in Rochester, and sulmierge half the city; 573.58 feet with Lake Erie; 5SS 
feet, with Lake Michigan ; 600 feet would carry the waters over the dividing plateau between Chicago 
and the Mississippi valley and re-establish the great interior sea, with the ocean flowing from Labrador 
to the gulf of Mexico. The sea would be 353 feet above the present level of Lake Ontario, and Roch- 
ester submerged but ninety-two feet at the aqueduct. The tops of many buildings in the city would re- 
main above the surface. ■ Pinnacle hill, in the shape of a conical island, would rise seventy-one feet 
above the water, and Mount Hope and the intervening range form a cluster of knolls and line of shal- 
low bars. 

' Professor James Hall, Gcv/ogiftil Srtnwy of the Fourth District. 

' See Illustrations of Surface Geology and Erosions of the Earth's Surface, by fedward Hitch- 
cock, LL. D. ; Smithsonian Contributions to K'nowledge, Vol. IX. ; Geology of jVca York, by James 
Hall, and other standard works. 



History of tiik City of RucinisxER. 



CHAPTER HI. 



Aiuinil K:ice- — The .Moun.l-l.uil.k-rs — 'I'l 
Rcl Mrn — I'rrscncc nf a I', v-liisl, h ic IV., pi 
— 'I'Ik' Ri.l-c M.iun.k ami Relics — A ncK-nl 



White Woman of the (Genesee — Tiaditions ,<( the 
in the C.enesee Valley, and ahoni In.n.le(|uni| Day 
an.linirs nn the Genesee — A Race of i.ar.'c Men. 



TIIAT a race, or races, of men i)recetletl the Indians in the occupation 
of this country- is too well understood to require special iteration. We 
ni.iy never learn the orii^in of those ancient people, or yather more than scat- 
tcrinL; lines of their history, Init taiiLjilile, imperishable proofs of their f'tiiier 
presence on ,i l.irt^e area of the Americtn continent still remain in the form of 
earthworks which extend from New \'ork w estw ariily aluiiL,' the southern 
shore of Lake I'hae, and throUL;li MicluLjan and the intermediate states ,ind 
territories to the I'acific. They lia\e been found on the shores of Lake Pepin, 
and on the Missouri ri\er o\er one thousand miles abo\e its junction with the 
Mississippi, and extend tiow ii the wiliey of the latter to the e.iilf of Mexico. 
TluA' line the shores cif the L;iilf from Tex.is to P'loritla, continue in diminished 
numbers into South Carolina,' and st.md as eternal sentinels on the Rio (irande 
del Norte. 

The aL;e in which the Moitnd-builder li\'ed and flourished is at present 
undetermined; it ma\- yet be decided as coiitempor.meous with that of ancient 
nations known to ci\iliseil m.in, or ;it some definite i)eriod be\Tjnd the present 
measurements of written history. The theory generally accepted places the 
Mound-builders in possession of this coiiiitr)' at the aehent of the Lnli;uis, 
who dispossessed and nearly extermin.ited the oriL^^Jnal owners of the soil. 
The survivors of the conquered people fled (.loun the Mississippi valle}', and 
are su|)posed to ha\-e mingled with tribes of reii men that followed them. hi 
his new work, the //vip/cis Hook (if Ritis, j^age II, Mr. Hale says he has 
found tr.ices in the Cherokee tongue of a foreign language, which he supposes 
to h.ive been derived from the Mound-builders of the (Jhio valley, whom he 
identifies as the AUegewi, or Tallegewi. According to the legends of the Iro- 
tiuois and Algonkins, those two races of red men united in a war against, and 
overpowered, the AUegewi, who, sa_\-s Mr. Hale, "left their name to the Alle- 
ghaii)' river and mountains, and whose v.ist earthworks are still, after half a 
century of stud\', the perplexity of arch;eologists." 

While these monuments are not generally supposed to exist beyond tiie 
tributary sources of the Alleghany, in Western New York, there would appear 
to be reasonable grounds for a belief th.it the Mound-builders, or other an- 
cient people, extended their settlements into the interior of the state, and 
ilwelt here in considerable numbers. During the old P'reiich war, in 1755, 
a part)- of I'rench and hulians attacked a frontier settlement in PennsyK-ania, 
murdered a number of the inhabitants and carried away several women and 



' Anliqiiilics of .W-w Yoil; aiiJ //;<■ Ifis/, liy E. U. .Squier, j.). 294. 



The MoUND-LiUILDERS. 



children as captives. Among- tlic latter was a little girl, who was adopted by 
a Seneca famil}-, grew to womanhood, became the wife of two Indian warriors, 
reared several children, and for nearly eighty years held no family or social 
relationship other than that of her Indian associates, to whom she was known 
as Deh-he-wa-mis. Her name was Mary Jemison, but for over a century the 
people of her own race have designated her " the white woman of the 
Genesee," the greater part of her life being spent in the vicinity of the 
Genesee river. At the great council held at Big Tree (Genesco) in 1797 her 
Indian friends stipulated that Mrs. Jemison should receive a tract of land 
located on the Genesee between Mount Morris and Portage. The river passes 
through this land in a deep, narrow valley, and the fertile land on the valley 
bottom, where the white woman made her home, is; known as Gardeau flats. 
In Seaver's Life of Mary Jii/iisou, page 134, we find the following state- 
ments, received from her own lips : — 

"About three hundred acres of my land when I first saw it were open flats lying 
on the Genesee river, which it is supposed were cleared by a race of inhabitants who 
preceded the first Indian settlements in this part of the country. The Indians are 
confident that many parts of this country were settled, and for a number of years 
occupied, by a peojile of whom their fathers never had any traditions, as they never 
had seen them. Whence these people originated, and whither they went, I have 
never heard one of the oldest and wisest Indians pretend to guess. When I first came 
to Genishau, the bank of Fall brook had just slid off, exposing a large number of 
human bones, which the Indians said were buried there long before their fathers ever 
saw the place, and they did not know what kind of people they were. It, however, 

was, and is, believed by our people that they were not Indians The tradition 

of the Seneca Indians in regard to their origin is that they broke out of the earth from 
a large mountain at the head of Canandaigua lake, and that mountain they still vener- 
ate as the place of their birth. Thence they derive their name ' Ge-nun-da-wah,' or 
'Great Hill People.' The Senecas have a tradition that previous to, and for some time 
after, their origin at Genundawah, the country, especially about the lakes, was thickly 
inhabited by a race of civil, enterprising and industrious people who were totally 
destroyed by the great serpent that afterward surrounded the great hill fort, with the 
assistance of others of the same S[)ecies, and that they (the Senecas) went into [)os- 
session of the improvements left." 

Near the top of a high ridge of sand hills, in the town of Pittsford, south 
of the Irondequoit valle\-, and about one mile east of Allen's creek, stands a 
great heap of limestone boulders, evidently of drift origin. They are the only 
stone of that character in that vicinity, measure from two to three feet in 
diameter, and are heaped one upon the other in a space about twelve feet 
square. They occupied the same place and position sixty or seventy years 
ago, and old residents say the heap existed in the same form when the ground 
was cleared. Indians who passed that way in early days regarded the stones 
with superstitious awe, stating, when questioned, that a people who lived there 
before the Indians brought the stones to the hilltop. 



Histdkv 111. •line City of Rociiestek. 



"On the shore of Lake Ontario, on a high bluff near Irondccjuoit ba}-, in 
1796," sa\-s Oh\er Cul\-er, "tlie bank caved off and untombed a great quantity 
of human bones, of a large size. The arm and leg bones, upon comparison, 
were much larger than those of our own race."' The bluff mentioned by Mr, 
Culver was the seaward side of an elevated spot that might properly be 
termed a natural mound. It was one nf the outl)'ing range of sand hills or 
knolls, then existent along the shore of the lake in that locality, and long 
j'ears ago succumbed to the never-ceasing encroachment of the lake waters. 
Its location was immediately west of the angle formed b\' the present west 
line of Irondequoit bay and Lake Ontario; as late as 1830 human bones of an 
unusually large size were occasional!)- seen projecting from the face of the 
bluff, or I\'ing on the beach where the undermined soil had fallen. The tribe 
of Seneca Indians li\'ing in Irondequciit in 1796 could give no infirmation 
concerning these bones, stating their belief that they were the remains of a 
people who dwelt about the ba_\- bef ire the Indians came there. 

The town ol Irondequnit north nf the ridge was known as the "pine bar- 
rens" to the earh' settlers who cleared it of a heavy growth of pine trees, many 
of which stood upon the top of the bluff, and o\-er the ancient cemetery, sixty 
)'ears ago. The French hist(irians of 1 )eNonviIle's invasion of the Inilian 
tcnvns in this \icinity, in |6,S7, desci'ibe the country east of Irondecpioit b.iy 
at that date, as coxered with tall wunds sufficientlv open to allow the army to 
mai'ch in three columns. These fiets clearly show that if the land about Iron- 
de(|uciit ba_\' was once cle.uxd anil cultixatetl, as some infer, it was at quite an 
early perind, and b\- people known (.nly through tradition to the latter-day 
Indians. 

During his inxestigation of the aboriginal monuments of New Ytirk, in 
184S, Mr, Squier visiteti se\-eral hieated within the bounds of Monroe count)', 
and spent considerable time in fruitless search for an ancient inclosure and 
mounds, which he had been informed existed at an early date in Irondequoit 
near the Genesee river. In his valuable work,'^ published soon after, he ex- 
pressed a hope that the discover)' of these monuments might reward the labors 
of a future explorer. Long and patient searches for the works mentioned by 
Mr Squier were made some years ago without success, and in 1879 the circum- 
stance was casually alluded to in the presence of the writer's aged mother, who, 
at once, located the mounds and gave an excellent description of their primitive 
appearance. 

In its course from the upper falls in Rochester to Lake Ontario the Gen- 
esee river flows in a deep, valley-like channel formed by ages of attrition. 
From the lower falls to within three-fourths of a mile of the lake, the east bank 
rises in a nearly perpendicular wall, varying from one hundred to two hun- 



/•/;,■//,.■ „,i,/ CUn-hain Pinr/iau; |i. 42S. 
Anliqi,ili,-s of Xc-,' York, \<. 5S. 



Evidences of the Mound-builders Near Rochester. 23 

drcd and fift\- feet in hL-i.L;ht.' Ijmkcn at intervals b_\- tlic dcepl)- wnrn outlets 
of creeks and brooklets. At the northern limit of the city, half a mile below 
the lower falls, a great break occurs in the bluff, which curves inward, forming 
a crude semi -circle. Immense quantities of detritus have accumulated at the 
bottom, and slope up the face of the precipice, affording room for a narrow flat 
along the water, and opportunity for man to construct a roadway which winds 
in a serpentine course up the steep bank to the level land above. This is the 
only place on the east side of the river between the falls and lake where easy 
communication can be effected between the general surface of the land and the 
river bed. It constitutes a natural landing-place, and is practically the head of 
navigation from Lake Ontario. The western end of the lake ridge, at its sev- 
erance by the river, rests upon the top of the cliff directly above the landing. 
At the southern base of the ridge are the ice ponds of Messrs. Emerson and 
Brewer, fed b\- the waters of springs which rise a short distance east. 

The locality was formerly a grand camping-ground of the Indians, the last 
one of that fated race who set up his wigwam on the ridge, in 1S45, commem- 
orating the event by the murder of his squaw. It was undoubtedly one of the 
most noted points between Lake Erie and the Hudson river, and as well known 
to the people who preceded the Indians as to the latter. Erom its commanding 
situation overlooking the rix'cr in both directions, its nearness to the landing 
and trails which converged there, the adaptability of the soil for easy handling 
by the rude implements of the natives, and many other natural advantages of 
the neighborhood, it was the place preferable above all others upon which to 
erect burial mounds, and two of these, evidently of artificial origin, existed 
there when the first settlers made their homes near the lower falls. These 
mounds were about four feet high and twenty or twenty-five feet across the 
base. They occupied the most elevated portion of the ridge, and were situ- 
ated from seventy-five to one hundred feet east of the edge of the bluff, and 
about the same distance north of a?id parallel with the [jrescnt line of Brewer's 
pond. 

At the time Mr. Squier made his search the ground was, or had been, un- 
der cultivation and the mounds reduced to nearly the le\el of the natural ridge. 
When examined in 1879 no satisfactory conclusion could be reached regarding 
their manner of construction, though it was plainly observable in places that 

' To the scientist the immediate vicinity of Rochester must ever present attractions unsurpassed by 
those of other localities. Especially is this true in the splendid facilities afforded the geologist to mi- 
nutely examine the works of nature, and pursue his favorite study within her very labor.atory, the deep, 
rock-cut channel of the (ienesee river. Tliis fact was well understood at an early day, and sketches 
illustr,-iting the escarpment of the lower Genesee adorn many standard works on geology. Dana's 
Miiitidi!, page 90, illustrates a section, four hundred feet in height, of the strata as exhibited along the 
Genesee, at the lower falls. This section has a world-wide fame as fairly illustrating the structure and 
arrangement of stratified rocks in their chionological order ; and no series of natural rocks Could be 
finer, as the transition from one stratum to another is quite abrupt, and, moreover, each may be traced 
for a long distance through the adjoining country. 



History hk tiif. C\\y oi- Rihtikstkr. 



sand, intermixed with cla)-, coveretl the oritjinal surface of the ground to the 
depth of a foot. Fragments of chipped flint, arrow-heads and stone knives 
were picl<ed up in considerable number near the mounds, and, on digging one 
or two feet into the ground, bits of charcoal, several rude points and a broken 
spear head of stone were unearthed. 

In l8So a sand bank was opened in the side of the ridge, and that part 
covered by the mounds has since been entirely removed. During the course 
of excavation a laborer came upim human remains. Parts of eight skeletons 
were exhumed, each surrounded by fuie black soil. These were concealed and 
all evidence of the find destroyed; but the discovery of a bone of unusual 
size, together with a curious pipe, was brought to the attention of Mr. Brewer. 
The laborer could remember few details of the position in which the remains 
were found, and the oppnrtunit}' for carekil in\estigation was lost. 

The Mound-builders were inveterate smokers, and great numbers of pipes 
have been found in their mounds. The skill of the makers seems to h.ive been 
exhausted in their construction, and no specimens of Indian art can eijual those 
of the lost race. Many [)ipes of a sh.ipe similar t<> those discovered in the 
mounds of the ( )hio and Mississippi xalleys ha\e been found in \arious parts 
of the countr)'. Figure I is a greatly reduced representation of an article ol 




stone, evidently intended for a pipe, but unfinished, found near Mount Morris, 
in the Genesee valley, and sent to the New York state cabinet at Albany by 
Mr. Squier, who says: "It is composed of steatite or 'soap-stone,' and in 
shape corresponds generall}- with the pipes of stone found in the mounds of the 
Mississippi valley. One or two pipes of stone of very nearly the same shape 
have been found in the same vicinity, but in [loint of s_\-mmetr_\' or finish they 
are in no way comparable to those <.if the mounds."' The pipe taken from the 
riilge mound in Rochester is of the distinctively characteristic, or primitive 
fjrm'- peculiar to the Mountl-builders, antl is represented in figure 2. It 
is, or was originally, fi\'e and one-half inches long, tine and three-fourths 
wide, and one inch and seven-eighths from bottom of base to top of bowl. 
The lines are slightly irregular, but very perfect for a hand-made article. The 
material is steatite, very close grain and quite brittle. In color it is a deep, 

' Aii/i,//ii/us o/.V,-:,' )W/.; p. IlS. 

- Aiuiait Monuments of the Mississippi ValLy, p. 227. 



ARClI.i<:OLOGICAL REMAINS. 



25 



rich brown, with bleiidinij patches of lighter shade, and every particle of the 
surface is so beautifully polished that it might easily be mistaken for marble. 
It was the only article of any description found with the human remains, tiiough 
other relics ma_\- ha\-c been unnoticed. Close questioning elicited the fact that 




ncarh- all the graves were near the south slope of the ridge, and from two to 
two and a half feet below the original surface, while the large bone, a humerus, 
was nearer the surface and perhaps more directly beneath the center of the west 
mound ; from which it may be inferred, though not definitely proven, that the 
mound was built over that particular bodv with which the pipe was buried, and 
the other bodies interred in the side of the mound at a subsequent period. 
The condition of the remains would seem to favor this view, the humerus 
being the onl}- remaining part of the bod)- to which it belonged, while several 
portions of slceletons from the other graves were, though \er\' much deca}'ed. 
quite fii'm in comparison; one skull (figure 3) being preservetl entire. Mr. 




Brewer presented this skull and pipe to Professor S A. Lattimore of the Uni- 
versity of Rochester, to whom we are indebted for their use. 

In March, 1882, a human skeleton of large proportions was unearthed near 
the former location of the east mound. The laborers, astonished at the great 
size of the bones, engaged in a discussion as to whether it was or was not the 



26 History hf iiie City c_if Rochester. 

remains of a human bt.-int;, and, with true Hibernian method, broke the skele- 
ton into fra;j;iiiiUts to prove the ease. 

As prcviciusl}' stated, the nnly laiKhn;^ on the east side of the lower Gen- 
esee is at the base of the bluff upon wliicli tile ridtje mountis were situated, 
and is now known as Brewei''s JandiuL;. In their jinirne\- from the lower to 
the upper Genesee, the Indians usually made a portat;e arounil the falls of 
]>iochester, carrying their canoes from this laiuling to near the mouth of Red 
creek, abo\'e the rapids in South Rochester, where the light crafts were again 
launched upon the river and fuuid a clear passage up the unubstructed chan- 
nel to Mount Morris. That wa-N the established mute (ine hundred years ago, 
but giiod and \alid reascjus induce ,i belief that the more ancient landing was 
at 1 laiif lid's, on the west bank' of the Genesee, about one-fourth of ,i niile be- 
low , or north cif Brewer's landing; and that the two places wei'e connecting 
[loints in a general highway extending east and west alcing the ridge. \W\- 
dence is not \v anting to prove that another grand road once e.xtentled westward 
from Hanford's kuKling, with diverging branches running to distant [joints. 
This road was not in use some miles west of the rix'er one hundred years ago, 
and that portion of it has probabl}- been aband(.)ned for two or three centu- 
ries; but, possessing a general knowledge of Indian methods <if trailing, the 
topogi-.iphy of the country, and the jjrobable objecti\'e points, the writer is 
slowly tracing the C(.iurse of this older higliwa_\' from the Genesee at R(.)chester 
to the /XUeghany and ( )hio rivers ;uid Lake I'.rie. 

Discoveries li,i\-e bt-en m.ule, ,it various jjlaces along this supposetl route, of 
mounds and buiial groimds cont. lining human skeletons considerably larger 
than men of the present day, copper oi-n,iments, etc., ami one or two instances 
will lie given. In excavating fm- sand on the fuin of Samuel Truesdale, in the 
tow 11 of Gieece, in 1S78, several skeletons were tlisinterred, one from its im- 
mense size attracting p:irticular attention. Nearly the entire frame was secured 
and removed to a level spot between two trees, where Warren Truesdale placed 
each bone in its natural position. The skeleton thus reformed measured over 
eight feet in length. A piece of mica aiul a rude arrow point were found in 
the grave above the bones, which were about three feet below the general sur- 
face, ami eiitirel)' separate from the otlu:r skeletons. A small mound, perhaps 
a foot in height, marked the sjjot. 

Half a mile west of Mr. Truesdale's farm the Erie canal turns abruptly to 
the west along the brow of the mountain-ridge, and constitutes the northern 
liound.iry of George H. Lee's farm. The ridge at this place rises in a gentle 
swell above the surrounding siirface, ami, at its highest part, is from si.xteen to 
twenty feet above the canal bottom. The grinmd was cleared in 1818, b)- 
H.ivid ( )vi.itt, of a dense forest of beech and maple, many of the trees being 
full thirtv inches in diameter. Not the slightest trace of former settlement or 
human occui^ation of the ground existed. In 1820 or 1S22 the Erie canal 



Skeleton Remains dk the Muuxd-bltlders. 27 

was constructed through the northern slope of this ridge. During the work 
some twenty skeletons were exhumed from the ground directly beneath the 
stumps of the forest trees. The soil is composed of from six to twelve 
inches of black mould overlying a bed of clay, very compact when in situ, but 
loose-grained and easily crumbled when exposed to the atmosphere. So tena- 
cious is the character of this clay bed, excluding to a great degree both air and 
water, that all larger bones of the skeletons were preserved in perfect form, 
from skull to instep inclusi\'e ; some of them being carefully uncovered and 
the bones laid in their natural order on the ground, measured from seven feet 
upward.' No article of an\- description was found in the graves. In 1879 a 
beautiful rling-stone ax was plowed up in a field near the ancient burial ground. 
It is \'er}' hard, gives forth a clear metallic sound when struck, and the edge is 
as finely beveled as a steel ax of modern make. It is a splendid specimen of 
polished stone workmanship, ten and a half inches long, two and a half wide 
and one and a half inches thick. 

Dependent as certain of these statements are upon the results of future 
research for a correct understanding of their relative worth and bearing, the 
advance of specific conclusions regarding the subject in question might appear 
unwise ; but, while the discovery of lately existing monuments and traces of a 
jK-ople superior to the red men in physical structure, the mythology of the 
latter and other evidence of a similar nature serve to .strengthen a personal 
belief in the pre-Indian occupation of our home territory, the facts presented, 
and man\' matters not here shown, are but minor paragraphs of a volume of 
cumulative e\'idence that might be compiled. Such facts have exercised an 
influence upon reflective minds leading to firm conviction, and able writers 
have repeatedly affirmed the conclusion. Governor De Witt Clinton, an early 
historian of the locality of Rochester, was particularly impressed with this idea, 
and Orsamus Turner, author of the History of the Holland Purchase, reiterates 
it in numerous passages of his works. He sa\-s ; — 

" Our advent here is but one of the changes of time. We are consulting dumb signs, 
inanimate and unintelligible witnesses, gleaning but unsatisfactory knowledge of races 
that have preceded us We are surrounded by evidences that a race pre- 
ceded them (the red men), further advanced in arts, and far more numerous. The up- 
rooted trees of the forest, that are the growth of centuries, expose their mouldering 

remains, uncovered mounds reveal masses of their skeletons In our valleys, 

upon our hillsides, the plow and the spade discover their rude implements, adapted to 
war, the chase and domestic use. All these are dumb, yet eloquent chronicles of by- 
gone ages We are prone to speak of ourselves as inhabitants of a New world, 

and yet we are confronted with these evidences of antiquity. We clear away the forests 
and speak familiarly of subduing a virgin soil ; yet our plows upturn the skulls of those 
whose history is lost." 

' Juvior Pioiu-ii- Histor'ucil Colltxtions, by Jarvis M. Hatch, p. 29. This statement wa.s confirmed 
1)V the late Wilson D. Oviatt, Daniel E. Harris and others. 



History mk fhk Crr\' ok R()CHESTy-:R. 



CHAITICR IV. 



Tin- K..M Mm — TliL-ir •|'r,i.lili.,nal Origin 
TnliC^— l.cnijiiL-nf Ihc Iimmium. - Wilcf ih. 



AiiLicnl Nali.Mis ,,r iIr- ( iu 



Ml of tiR' 

Couiitrv. 



PLTZZI.lNCj as the remains ..r llic M(.iin.l-l)tiililcrs pmvc U> the arcli.L-nlo- 
L;ist, the carK' history nf thcii' Imlian successors is im less a |iriililL-ni tn 
the historian, NearK' four centuries ha\e ehipseil since h'.iiroiH-ans came into 
|)ersonal intercourse with the latter, ami liaif a million of the race still exist 
u])on Ameiican soil, yet theii' oriL;in is Ijuiied in the liepths of a L;looin so 
]irofounil that no man has c\-er tr.iced it to its source. 

The lenL;th of time our Iiulian predecessors ha\-e occupied this continent 
h.Ls iiLxir been ascertained, thouL;h it is un(iuestion.ibly a fact that they were 
not indiL;enous. The \vei;4ilt of evidence thu-. far fa\'C)rs the theory of Asiatic 
descent, hut in "the absence of wiitten, pictorial, or sculptural history it is 
impossible to trace clearU- the connection between wanderinL; sa\'aL;es ami 
their remote ancestry."' Centuries of nomadic and clim.itic ch.mL;es have 
etfectualU' obliterated direct proof of such connections, and ludrin mytholoj^y 
asserts the oriL;in ot man\' tribes ,is local to their habitation. 

The Senec.is .isci'ibe their origin to ,i ;_;reat hill at the he.ul ot Canandai;_;aia 
hike, but MorL^an ex])lains that "by this leL^end.iry invention they desiLined to 
(on\e\' ,ui impression ot the remoteness of the peiiod of their fu'st occujKition 
of New \'ork,"-' and present^ othei' tr.iditionaiy exitlences showiuL; the lower 
St. Lawrence' to ha\'e been the earliest known abode of the oriL;inal tamilies 
from which the Six Nations were clescemlecL These ancient people were of 
the I luron- lro(]uois stock. The_\' were ex[)elled from the lower St. Lawrence 
by the /\lL;onkins, to whom the)- had been subject, and miL;rated westward up 
that ii\ei'. I'.ntei'ing Lake ( )ntaiio tiny co.isted the south shore in search of 
a suit.ible place to locate. Historic. il accounts of this miLjration \ar_\'. Macau- 
ley states th<it the h'oquois then consisted of only two tribes, the Mohawlcs 
and Senecas, that the)' entered the Oswcljo and Genesee rivers, compiered the 
^blhawk and (ienesee countries first, and the inteiaiiediate sjjace subse(iuentl)'. ' 
President DwiLjht belie\ed the <)riL;inal setthanents of the Six Nations in New 
\'ork to have been identical with those in which they were found b)- Luro- 
peans, \\hile CoUlen and .Smith thoU!_;ht the Iroquois originated and remainetl 
upon the L;rounds of tlieir l.itter-time occupation. Morgan sa)-s that at the 
migr.ition fi-oni the St. L.iwrence the Iro([uois entered the central parts of 
New York through the channel of the O.svve"o river. Their first settlcnicnt.s 



I //,.?,. //„■ ir„r/d was Pioplcl. l.y K.,lwara l--unlaine. 
■' I ,a^iu' ,'/ ///,• [ivijinns, ]). 7. 

'//v,/., p. 5; -c-f also Colden. //;.(/,.;;r ,./'///,■ /-Ivc X,,l„>ns, y. 23; Cusic, Aiiciait Ilisloiy of lln- 
Six .\-.\li,ms, |i. i(). 

■■ .Maouik-y\ Jlisloiy ,•/ h;-n< y„rk, xo\. 2, p. 1S4. 



Tkaditioxai. Origix ov the Indians. 29 

were located upon the Seneca river, where for a time they dwelt together. At 
a subsequent day tliey divided into bands, and spread to found new villages. ' 
In his interesting work, Lcgcm/s, Customs ami Social Life of the Seneca 
Indians, Rev. Mr. Sanborn gives a legend still preserved in that nation, which 
makes all Indians the descendants of one family originally located where now 
are New York and Brooklyn. It describes the migrations and final location of 
tribes, in nearly the same manner as Cusic's account. The latter's quaint 
history appears to be the version from which several others were derived. In 
the Iroquois Book of Rites, Mr. Hale follows Cusic, who supposes a body of 
Iroquois concealed in a mountain near the Oswego falls. Upi.m their libera- 
tion by the "Holder of -the Heavens," they went around a niDuntain and 
followed the Mohawk and Hudson ri\ers to the (Xean. Some of the people 
continued southward, but the main conipan\', under the guidance ot the 
Holder of the Heavens, returned up the Hudson to the Mohawk river. 
Along this stream and the upper waters of the Hudson the first families made 
their abode. Their language was soon altered and they were named Te-haw- 
re-ho-geh — that is, "a speech divided" — now Mohawk.'-' The other families 
journeyed westward from the Mohawks, and, halting at various places, took 
up separate abodes. The Oneidas, near a creek, were termed Ne-haw-re- 
tah-go, or Big Tree people ; the Onondagas, on a mountain, were known 
as the Seuh-now-kah-tah, "carrying their name;" the Cayugas, near a 
long lake, were named Sho-nea-na-we-to-wah, "a great pipe; " the Senecas, 
near a high mountain south of Canandaigua lake, received the name Te-how- 
nea-nyo-hent, "possessing a door." 

The sixth family continued their journey toward the setting sun and 
touched the bank of the great lake Kan-ha-gwa-rah-ka ("a cap"), now Lake 
Erie. Turning southward they came to a great river, which Cusic designates 
the Mississippi, but which Hale shows to have been the Ohio; the people dis- 
covered a grape vine lying across the river and attempted to pass over the 
water on this rude bridge, which broke and left them divided. Those who 
were upon the further side of the river continued their way, and after long 

1 League of the Iroquois, p. 6. 

2 Hale says the Huron speech became the Iroquois tongue, in the form in which it is spol;en by the 
Mohawks. In Iroquois tradition, and in the constitution of their league, the Mohawk nation ranks as 
the eldest brother of the family. .A comparison of the dialects proves the tradition to be well founded. 
The Mohawk language approaches the nearest to the Huron, and is undoubtedly the source from 
which all other Iroquois dialects are derived. Mr. Hale refers to the Mohawks as the Caniengas. The 
latter designation is said to be derived from that of one of their ancient towns. This name is Kani- 
enke, "at the flint." Kamien, in their language, signifies flint, and the final syllable is the same 
locative particle which we find in Onontake, "at the mountain." In pronunciation and spelling, this, 
like other Indian words, is much varied, both by the natives themselves and by their white neighbors, 
becoming Kanieke, Kanyenke, Canyengeh and Canienga. (The latter form, which accords with tlie 
sister names of Onondaga and Cayuga, is adopted by the author in his Book of Rites, but it is not 
probable that the word will ever displace the familiar liistorical designation— Mohawk). 



30 



HlsniKV nv THE ClTV OF Ri >lll KSTKR. 



waiiderinc^ settled near the mouth of the Neuse river. They- were named 
Kaii-t()-nali. and are now kiinwn as Tiise.irnras. ' 

The speech of all the natiniis thus fcjrmed was altered, but not to an extent 
preventini;- them from an understanding; of one another's lanij'uaye. The 
l)co[)le left upon the near side of the ri\er were dispersed, and each fiimily 
soUL;ht resiliences acconlinL;- to their convenience.-' The various accounts of 
this dispersion are meaL;er, but it is believed that all nations and tribes of red 
men who occupied the countiy between Canandaij^ua lake and Lake Mrie, the 
Alleghan}- mo\mtains and Lake Ontario, were i}ffshoots of the Senecas; that 
the disperseil families in time yrew int(.i tribal communities and were known 
b\- \-arious names. Those who settled about the mountains to the south were 
called Ainlastes, Canesto-as, etc. Those who dwelt alony the shore of the 
lake were known as the i'".ries, and northeast of them were the Attiwan- 
daronks. I'hilolooists assert that the lauLjuaLjes of all these people, so far as 
can be ascei'tained, diftered but little from the Seneca tmigue; but it is certain 
that long anterior to the white man's intrusir)n on the soil of Western New 
York they had liecome nations distinct from the Seneca. Cusic and Sanborn 
agi-ee in the statement th.it the famous league of the Five Nations was formed 
at a period not long subseciueiit to the ilispersion, but in the loose chronology 
of the Indians' verbal history no definite idea of dates can be obtained. It is 
onl_\- b)- coniijarison with some contempt uary e\-ent recorded in the annals of 
ci\ilisation, that the time of the occurrence can be fixed. Morgan places the 
origin of the league in 1459, ' and this date is in accordance with deductions 
of later historians. 

The fountler of the le<igue was an Onondaga chieftain named Hiawatha, 
wlio succeeded in uniting the I\Iohaw ks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Ca)'ugas and 
Senecas in one great family, whi.ise bontl of common interest was strengthened 
b\- ties of blood. To the luiglish they were known as the Live Nations. By 
the French the_\- were calletl Iiocpiois, .uul that name was applied to all the 
members ot the league. The natix'e name of the confederacy is given differ- 
entl\- by historians, but all agree upon its signification. According to Cusic it 
was Ggo-nea-seab-neh. M.icauley and Hale, both of whom derived their in- 
formation directl)- irt.ini the Mohawks, render it respectively Aganuschioni and 
Kanonsiiiuni. Morgan, whose knowledge of the Six Nations was acquired 
from the Senecas, states that after the formation of the league, the Iroquois 
called themseK'es the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, which signifies "the people of the 
long house. " It grew out of the circumstance that they likened their confed- . 

1 In the Seneca dialect the name nf the Tuscaroras wa^ Dus-ga-o-\veh, "the shirt-wearing people;" 
the Cayugas were ( hic-u-gwehii-iiu. "the people at the mucky land ; " the Onondagas were Onun-ila- 
ga-i.-no, "the people i.n the lulls;" the Oneidas were O-na-yote-ha, "the granite jieople;" the 
Mohawks. Ca-iie-a-ga-o-no; the .Senct.is, .\un-da-wa-o-no. — Morgan, pp. 51 and 52. 

- Cusic's A II, mil J/ii/iiiy ,y ///,■ .sv.i .Wiiimn. 

3 .S>.t/,7//.r ,'/■ C ■,'/;.!</«,-« ///;/r aihl Ajfiiiily ••/ t/u- Hiuiiaii Faiinly, p. 151. 



The Neutral Nation. 31 



eracy to a long house, having partitions and separate fires, after their ancient 
method of building houses, \\ithin which the several nations were sheltered 
under one roof Tlie eastern door was on the Hudson river, the western door 
at the Genesee. Tlie confederation was simply for common defense, and each 
nation or canton was a sovereign republic, composed of clans, governed by its 
own chiefs and sachems. No enterprise of importance was ever undertaken, 
either by the league, or by individual nations, without first considering the 
matter in council. The great councils of the league were held at Onondaga, 
but each nation and tribe had a particular location for its council fire, which 
was always lighted before deliberations began. The primeval council fire of 
the Senecas was at Genundawah, near the head of Canandaigua lake, and in 
the light of its steady flame were formed the first war parties of the nation 
I'Vom Genundawah the Senecas went forth upon their first expeditions against 
tribes to the west, and there the victorious warriors were welcomed home from 
battle with all the pomp of barbaric fashion. 

Before the Senecas crossed the Genesee in conquest, several nations of red 
men occupied the land to the west. Those who owned the country bordering 
the lower Genesee were called Kak-kwas by the Senecas, and were known to 
the French as the Attiwandaronk, or Neutral Nation. Brebeuf, the Jesuit, says 
the name Attiwandaronk was applied to them by the Hurons, and signifies 
"people of a language a little different. " The French termed them Neutral, 
from the fact that they took no part in the war between the Hurons, Algonkins 
and Iroquois. Members of those antagonistic nations met upon neutral ground 
in the territory of the Attiwandaronks, and the towns of the latter afforded 
safe refuge to fleeing parties of all the surrounding tribes. 

The country of the Neutral Nation was south of Lake Ontario, and ex- 
tended from the Genesee westward nearly to the shore of Huron, including the 
Niagara river and a portion of the north coast of Lake Erie. The Relations 
of the Jesuits describe them as living in twenty-eight villages, under the rule 
of a noted war-chief named Souharissen. Their council fires were along the 
Niagara, and their town nearest the Genesee but one day's journc)- from the 
Senecas. They were superior to the Hurons in stature and strength, and the 
men frequently went entirely naked. The early French missionaries who pen- 
etrated their country found the Attiwandaronks exceedingly suspicious of all 
intruders, but succeeded in visiting eighteen of their towns. 

The neutrality so long maintained by these people was forcibly broken by 
the Senecas in 1647. ^oi" some reason not well understood, the latter sud- 
denly attacked the Attiwandaronks, and as early as 165 1 had subdued the 
entire nation. All old and feeble men and children were put to death and the 
surviving warriors and women adopted by the conquerors. In time tribal dis- 
tinctions were forgotten, and the descendants of the captive Attiwandaronks 



* Lc-aguc' of the Iroqu 



Histdrv (U- rill'; Ci rv <<v RnciiEsTER. 



became Seiiecns in heart and name. The destruction of the Neutral Nation, 
and tile overthrow of the Ivries in 1655, L^ave the conquerors control of all the 
country bordering the Genesee ri\-er, between the Alleghan}- mountains and 
Lake Ontario; and in after da_\-s the great valley of the Genesee was known as 
the "Vale of the Senecas. " Within the historical period the council fire of the 
natiiin kindled at Genundawali has illumined the gloomy forest at Ga-o-sa-eh- 
ga-aah near Victor, gleamed brightly in tlie pleasant valley of the Genesee, and 
cast its expiring light over the sh.ittered lemnants of this imce might)' people 
at Lake lu'ie ; \-et f)r nearl)- three centuries after Columbus kissed the ocean- 
Ia\-ed sanils of San Sahador, the Senecas held possession and cnntruli)! the 
land originalh- occupied b\- them in the Genesee country, erected their rude 
cajjins on its -w aterc(jurses, rnanied its hills and dales, himteil thrnugh its forest 
glades, li\ed, fought and died bra\e, lordly masters of the soil inherited from 
their fithers, whose crumliling bones the [Aow of the pale face still uiiturns as 



the seasons of harvest recur. 



CllAI'TL.R V. 

WakT TraiK — Tci ininol,,_-y nf ihu ( iclu'^rr Kiirr .in.l I n .„.k'c|,init Hay — Little \W:Ui\\ Town — 
fasn.iKha-un — The JeMiils — In.lian K\|.e.lili..n up the ( iene^ee — The -M.mlh nf the ( leiievee I'rae- 
lically at Irumleiiuoit liay — Kaiiy .Ma|., — I rmuni,, liny — .Mi-siv-auge In.hans the l.a-l at Irun.le- 

<iunit. 

ALL tradition of ancient mignitions of the reil men refer to some navigable 
water as the route over which the_\' came, or went. The canoe was the 
earliest known conveyance of primitive man, and water was his favorite high- 
wa}'. .Sa)-s Hiincroft : "Lmigration by water suits the genius of savage life ; a 
gulf a strait, the sea intervening" between islands, divides less than the matted 
forest. To the uncivilised man no path is free but the sea, the lake and the 
river." ' 

The L'oquois entered New York from Lake Ontario. Their first journey 
was down the Mohawk and Hudson to the ocean, and their return ujj those 
rivers was accomplished in canoes." In the near \icinit\' of the numerous lakes 
and streams of the interior were founded their earliest antl largest settlements. 
Ihe Genesee has e\er been the principal n.itural water highway of Western 
New \'ork, and tor unnumbered centuries the light crafts of the natives have 
glidetl over this limpid trail on missions of peace and war. Constituting, as it 

' Uistivy of thf I'nilcd Stiila, vol. III., p. 317. 

- /.iXiin/s vf till- Senecas, by J. \V. .Sanliorn, p. II. In his nairatioii (if lhi> migration, the great 
histiirian iif llie .Senecas informed Rev. Mr. Saiihorn that the people earried their eanoe.s from one 
stream, or body of water, to another. 



Indian Occupation of the Genesee Valley. 33 

did, the original western boundary line of their territory, the river was well 
known to all the Iroquois nations. After the destruction of Gaosaehgaah by 
DeNonville, the Senecas occupied the Genesee valley, and in early colonial 
times their great town was near the confluence of the river and Canaseraga 
creek. At a subsequent period it was located near the present site of Cuyler- 
ville. One hundred years ago it bore the name of its chief, Little Beard. It 
was termed the Chinesee Castle, and in the old colonial records, of a date prior 
to Little Beard's occupation of the place, it is variously mentioned as Chen-us- 
sio, Chin-as-si-o, Chen-nu-assio, Chin es-se, Chin-os-sio, Chen-ne-se-co, Cien- 
is-hau, Gen-nis-he-yo, Gen-ish-a-u, Jen-nis-see-ho, Gen-ne-se-o, Gen-ne-see. 
The apparent discrepancy in the orthography of the word is easily explained 
when it is understood that e\ery tribe of the Six Nations conversed in its own 
dialect, and that each tribe in the same nation possessed peculiarities of speech 
not common in other tribes. All Indian names, either of persons or of places, 
are significant of some supposed quality, appearance, or local situation, in brief 
are descriptive, and the tribes denominated persons and places in conformit\- 
to such quality, etc., in their own dialects. 

The Indians had no permanent names for places, and before Little Beard's 
time the town was known only by its descriptive title of Gen-nis-he-o, the pro- 
nunciation of which was varied by the different tribes, according to the pecul- 
iarities of each dialect, yet all signifj'ing the same thing substantially — to-wit, 
Gcn-ish-a-u, "shining- clear-opening ; " Chen-ne-se-co, "pleasant-clear- open- 
ing;" Gen-ne-see, " clear- valley " or "pleasant-open-\-alle\- ;" Gen-nis-he-yo, 
"beautiful valley." This term was local and original])- applied only to that 
portion of the ri\er near Cu\-lerville then occupied b\- the Chen-nus-se-o In- 
dians, but owing to the large size of tiie town, and its important location, the 
name Genesee graduall\- displaced all others and became the general designa- 
tion of the entire ri\-er. Ga-hun-da is a common noun signif\-ing a "ri\-er" or 
"creek." The Iroquois usually affixed it to the proper name of a stream, as 
Gcn-is-he-yo Ga-hun-da or Genesee river. 

The native name of the lower Genesee first mentioned b}' earl\' writers is 
Casconchagon. According to Bruyas, a Jesuit missionary to the Five Nations, 
the literal meaning of the name by which the Mohawks and Onondagas dis- 
tinguished the Genesee ri\er is "at the fall," Gascons-age. It is derived 
from Gasco, "something alive in the ketde;" as if the waters were agitated 
b}- some living animal' The Seneca name is Gaskosago. Morgan renders 
the interpretation " Under the Falls," and in his table exhibiting the dialect- 
ical variations of the language of the Iroquois, as illustrated in their geo- 
graphical names, gives the inflective differences of the name, as pronounced 
by the Six Nations.^ 

1 .V. V. Col. Mss., I.\., 1092. 
- League of the Iroquois, p. 394. 



34 



HiSTDRV <)V 'IIIK CnV (iK RorilKSTER. 



In the Jesuit Ki/atioiis for 166J-3, Father Lallemant says that in the 
month i>i" April (l663') eiyht humhed Iroquois warriors proceeded from the 
western end (if Lake Ont.irio to a fine ri\er resembhuLJ the St. Lawrence, but 
free from fills antl rapids, which they descended one hundred leaj^ues to the 
principal y\ndastot,nie village, which was found to be stron-iy fortified, and tile 
ao.^r,xssors were repulsed. In a note, embod\-iny the above statement, on 
patje :-,■/ of litirly C/ia/^tcTs of Cii_vii,i;ii His/on\ by Charles Ilawley, IJ. U., 
(ieneial John S. Clark says: "This route appears to liave been throut;h the 
Genesee ri\-er, to CanaseraL;a creek, thence up that stream and i)y a short 
portage to Canisteo ri\er, and thence down the Canistco, L'hemung and Sus- 
(|ue]ianna ri\'ers to the fort. This route is indicated on the e.iriier maps, as 
one Continuous ri\er, flowing horn Lake ( )ntario." 

In the map [irepared b_\- General Claik, for Re\'. Dr. llawle_\-'s work, the 
route pursued b_\' the expedition is represented as extending from the head ot 
Irondequoit bay southwesterly to the (jcuesee ri\er, and doubtless h.ul refer- 
ence to the porlage trail (described in chapter VL) between Irondequoit lamhng 
,uid Red creek ford. Though the route by the lower Genesee and around the 
fills, on the present site of Rochester, u as scx'eral miles less than b\- the Iroii- 
de(luoit poitage, the Ir(.)<iuois appear to haw preferred the latter course as the 
betti.r known and establislied roatl. On Ciu_\- Johnson's map of the country 
of the Six N.itions, in I 77 I , this trail is plainly indicated as the "Indian path 
to tile lake," and mail)- circumstances within the knowledge of tiie [iresent 
writer iiuluce a belief that in Indian times Ir(Uidequoit bay was consideretl the 
the ])ractical mouth of the Genesee ri\er. In certain old records the names 
Cascouchagon and Irondequoit are occasionally ai>piied equall)- to river and 
bay, as though ha\iiig reference to one locality, but the former appears to 
ha\e been least known, and it is quite certain that, to all the vast coimtr)' 
of the Senecas, Irondequoit ba\' was the northern outRt. Its geographical 
position on the southern shore of Lake C)ntario, mitlway between Chouaguen 
(Oswego) and Niagara, reiulered it the most convenient and important place, 
in a militar}' view, in the Genesee country. It was the objective point of all 
expeditions, peaceful or warlike, ti> and from the Senecas, and from its head- 
waters trails ran to e\er_\- jiart of the Iroipiois territory, connecting with others 
to all parts of the continent. 

ITom the shadow of grim okl woods near its shores and dense thickets of 
mattetl \-ines concealing its numerous dells, the glittering e\'es of savage sen- 
tinels kept watch o'er the blue expanse i.if ( )ntario for expected friends and 
foes. Under its pine-mantled clifls the Indian chieftains rendezvoused their 
na\'ies of birchen bark, ami reckoned their numbers on belts of wampum. 
Around its borders echoed the "shrill yell of barbariiin hordes," and the deep 
thunder ot the pale-faces' cannon. I'alisailed fortifications of red and white 
men ha\e guarded the narrow passages at either extremity of the bay, and 



lR()XiiE(jL'()iT Bay. 35 



fleets of both races battled on the lake within sliot of its entrance. Great 
armies of savage and civilised nations have occupied its broad sand-beach, 
sought refuge within its sheltering headlands and marched their serried 
columns o\er its tabled elevations. Ever\- point and nook about the grand 
old ba\' has its thrilling history; yet few among the thousands who daily roam 
the shady groves of Irondequoit in summer, gaining health ami strength in 
every draught of the pure lake breeze, know aught of the stirring events of 
b)--gone days enacted on these \'er_\- grounds. 

The first mention of Irondequoit ba>-, found in the Docunicuts Rclatiu}; to 
the Colonial History of New York, is that of Rew Jean de Lamberville, a 
Jesuit missionar)' to the Five Nations, in a letter written at or near Oncjndaga, 
Jul_\- 13th, 1684, to M. de la Harre, goxeriKir i>f Canada. Therein the reverend 
father refers to an expected visit of the French official to Kan-ia-tare-on-ta- 
quoat. The name, as thus given by De Lamberville, is from the Iroquois, or 
IMohawk, dialect, and signifies, literall}', "an opening into, or from, a lake;" an 
inlet or bay, from Kaniatare, "a lake," and hontontogonan, "to open."' Mar- 
shall sa)^s the Seneca name is O-nyiu-da-on-da-gwat, "it turns out or goes 
aside."- Like all Indian names of places, it is descripti\'e, anti refers to the 
prominent, or peculiar feature of the locality to which it is applied, and the 
fact that the south shore of Ontario is indented witli sexeral large ba\'s which 
must have been equally well known to the nati\'es indicates the superior 
importance of Irondequoit in their estimation, as the bay of all. F\-idence of 
this is found in earl_\- maps of the Lake Ontario region. 

The earliest known map of this part of the countr)' was published in 1632, 
b\- Champlain. The great explorer places a large bay on the south shore of 
Lake Ontario in the exact location of Irondequoit, but omits the name. The 
Jesuits' ma[), published in 1664. re[)resents Irondequ()it ba\- and spells it 
" Andiatarontaouat. ' Vangondy's map, published in Paris in 1773. renders it 
"Ganientaoaguat. " Upon the great map of Franquelin, hydrographer to the 
king, at Quebec, "drawn in 16S8, b\- order of the go\ernor and intendant 
of New France, from sixteen years' observations of the author," Irondequoit 
bay appears as " Gan-ni-a-tare-on-toquat," differing slightly in orthography, 
yet identical with the name mentioned by De Lamberville a few years before. 

A conclusive proof of the great importance of this bay in the view of past 
generations is found in the fact that it still bears the native name b)- which 
it was distinguished at the advent of the whites, over two and a half centuries 
ago. The dissimilarity of tribal pronunciation, and orthographic variations are 
illustrated in the following list collated from man\- sources: Kan-ia-tare-on-to- 
guoat, Ganni-a-tare-on-to-guoat, Can ia-ter-un-de-quat, Adia-run-da-quat, 
Onia-da-ron-da-quat, On-gui-da-onda quoat, Eu-taun-tu-quet, Neo-da-on- 



1 a; Y. Col. Mss., IX., 261. 

^ VeA'onville^s Expedilioii, liy < >. H. .\L-irsli.nll, in Coll,rl:ons of Xi'u> York Historual Soiicly, 
part second, p. 1 76. 



2,6 History of the City ok Rochester. 

da-qiiat, Tjcr-on-da-quat, The-nc-ou-dc-quat, Tie-run-de-qiiat, Tlie-ron-de- 
qu' it. Tic-n m-ijc-ciuat. TIl-- ruii-tc-quct, Tis-o-rdii-dc-quat, Ty-ri m-tlc-qiint, 
'riL-nind-(iuit, ( )-n)n-(_lii-k()tt, Run-di-cutt, Gc-ruii-dc-yutt, Jc-run-do-kat, 
lc-r(in-dL-(]uct, Jc-rf.ni-dc-quatc, jcmn-dc-kat, Jar-ion-tli-i^at, Oron-tl<i-qu,it, 
Ir(in-dc-L;att, lr(in-tlc-katt, Inm-dc-quat, Irc)n-dc-i|uot, Iron-tlc-quoit. 

In SpaHnril's GifZiZ/irr <■/ .W-tl' ]'/}//,•, iniblishcd in 1824, that author says 
the Indians called it Tedmnto (bay), a sniKirous and purely hulian name, tdo 
<.;ii(id til be su|)]ilanted by such xulgarisnis as (ieriuulej^ut. nr Ironde(|U(iit. 
The Indians prun.riunce the name Tche-ii-rnn-tdk, its sinilificaticm being "where 
the waves breathe and ch'e." (ir ".gasp and ihe." Sjjatiord was the first author 
til make this assertinii. No mention nl' tlie name Tenronto. in connection 
with Irondei|uiiit baw can be tnund elsewhere than m his wmk [irevinus to its 
issue in 1824. His inlnrmatiiin was derixed fi-nm a correspondent in Roches- 
ter, whose only knnuledge nf the matter was nbtained by questioning Iniiians 
then li\ing" mi the Ridge — or ( )swcgo — trail, about one mile east of the ba_\'. 
in the tnun lA' Webster.' They were nut Senecas — the last of that nation 
having remiiWil tu reserx'.itiuns al)i>ut iJ'J^—'J — but Mississauges. The tribe 
is niiw settled nn Rice Like, in Canad.i, and as late as 1853-4 ])arties crossed 
Lake ()ntaiiii in caimes tn lish and hunt at In aidequi lit baw Doctor Peter 
Crow aiul nther nati\e Missies, luges still \ isit their white friends at Ironde- 
qtioit. rile name Teoroiito was acce]3tetl b}' Rngiish writers, ami is occasion- 
all)- rex'ived in foreign guide bnoks. Marshall tells us that the wurd is not 
.Seneca but Mnliawk. ,ind its true significatimi "a place where there is .1 jam 
of fliiodw.Mid."- 



CHAPTI'Ti \T. 

local Tiails of the { Ilik-sll- — Indian Fords. To« n^ and Foriifications — Ruilci \ Kanyers — 1 
dian Sin-inL; — .S.ia-ifice of the- WhiiL' D.i-— Flint i.inai.y — Sij.ili-sa.is.tliah — I'oi-l.agc TraiK ■ 
linndi-,|iioit l.andini; — I'Ir- I'orifs- Ketrral — Indian Salt Siicin.^s — .Ancient Mounds. 



u 



JU\IA-1 the march uf civilisatimi had .uh-anced be)-ond the Genesee to the 
north and west, the hunting-grounds of the Senecas were still in their 
j)riniiti\'e state, and the cycle of a century is not yet complete since the white 
man came into actual possession of the Liiid and became acquainted with its 
topographical features. To the pale-faced aihenturer of the se\-eiiteentli cent- 
ury to whom all this vast territory was an unexplored blank, viewing the land 



I old settlers on Iron.le.|uoit liay. ,\nios Knan]). is.aac Drake and others, inform me that they 
knew the Webster Iniiians well, and the latter possessed neither knowledge nor tradition resjiectini; 
the ancient name and history of the liay. 

^'O. II. Marshall, in CV//,',y/,w.( <;/ '.Y F. //,s/. .SWtr/y, part second, p. 176. 



Local Trails of the Genesee. t,j 



from his birchen canoe on Lake Ontario, the bays, rivers and larger creeks pre- 
sented the only feasible routes by which it could be entered and traversed, yet, 
once within its borders, the hardy explorer found the country marked by an 
intricate net-work of foot paths which spread in ever)- direction. These dark 
wood lanes unknown to civilised man, their soil heretofore pressed only by the 
feet of Indians and wild beasts, will ever be known in history as the " trails of 
the Genesee." They were the highways and by-ways of the native inhabitants, 
the channels of communication between nations, tribes and scattering towns, 
in which there was a never-ceasing ebb and flow of humanity. 

The origin of these trails and the selection of the routes pursued were nat- 
ural results of the every-day necessities and inclinations of the nomadic race 
first inhabiting the land, and time had gradually fashioned the var_\-ing interests 
of successive generations into a crude system of general thoroughfares to which 
all minor routes led. To find the beginning and end of these grand trails one 
might tra\'erse the continent in a fruitless search, for, like the broader roads of 
the present white population, man)- of wliich follow the cild trail courses, the 
beaten paths extended from ocean to ocean, from the southern point of Pata- 
gonia to the country of the Eskimos, where they were lost in the ever- shifting 
mantle of snow covering the land of ice — and the trails of the Genesee were 
but a local division of the mighty complication. 

In general appearance these roads did not differ in any particular from the 
ordinary woods or meadow path of the present day. They were narrow and 
winding, but usually connected the objective points by as direct a course as 
natural obstacles would permit. In the general course of a trail three points 
were carefully considered — first, seclusion ; second, directness, and, third, a 
dry path. The trail beaten was seldom over fifteen inches broad, passing to 
the right or left of trees or other obstacles, around swamps and occasionally 
over the apex of elevations, though it generally ran a little one side of the ex- 
treme top, especially in exposed situations. Avoiding open places save in the 
immediate neighborhood of towns and camps, it was universally shaded by for- 
est trees. A somber silence, now and then interrupted b\' the notes of birds 
or the howling of beasts, reigned along these paths. ' Fallen trees and logs were 
never removed, the trail was either continued over or took a turn around them. 
The Indians built no bridges, small streams were forded or crossed on logs, 
while rivers and lakes were ferried on rafts or in canoes. 

The main trail of the Iroquois extended from Hudson, on the Hudson river 
below Albany, westwardly to Buffalo, crossing the Genesee at Cannawaugus — 
now Avon. From Canandaigua lake a branch ran northwest to the head of 
Irondequoit bay, then to the Genesee falls, and along the lake ridge to the Ni- 
agara river at Lewiston. This was the grand line of communication between 
the Five Nations, and the ultimate destination of every other trail in the pres- 

1 Macauley, vol, II., p. 219. 



38 IIisTdRV III' iiii-; Ci r\' hf Rochester. 

cut state of New York. Alont; its silent course the swiftest runners of the Iro- 
([unis bore their messages of peace or war witli a speed and plix'sical endurance 
iiicredihle, Morgan .says: — 

"Whenever the sachems of n nation desired to <iin\ene tlie L;rand council of the 
Iro(|ui)is ]eaL;iie. tliev sent out runners, to tlie nation nearest, with a lielt of wanipinii. 
Tliis belt annoiince<l that on a certain da\' thereafter, at such a ]jlace, and lor su<h and 
such purposes (mentioning them), a counnl n\ the league would assemble. If the mes- 
sage oriL;inated with the -Senecas it re.u hed the Cayunas first, as the nation located 
nearest upon the line of trail. The Cayu.nas then notified the < )nonday;as, they the 
( )ueidas. and these the Mohawks ; the re\e|-sL- beuij; the onler when the mes.sage origi- 
n.ited ui the east. Kach nation within its own ( onfines spread the infonnatiim fir and 
wide; and thus, in a spai e (if time astouishuigK' brief intelligenee of the eouncil was 
heralded Irom one eNtremit\- of their (ountrx' to the other. If the subjei t was ( alculat- 
cd to .udUse a deep feeling of interest, one cumuKin impulse from the Hudson to the 
Niagara, and from the St. Lawrence to ihc Susi|uehanna. drew the people toward the 
council fire ; sachems, chief's and w.irriors. women, and even cliildreii. deserted their hunt 
ing grouuils iind woodland sei lusioii^, .mil lilerallv fio( ked to the place of council. " ' 

Their wanderiiiL;, hunter life and habit nf intent observation reiulered the 
Iroipiois finiiliar with exery foot of land in their territory, enabling them to 
select the choicest locations for abode. 1"(jw lis were frequently moved from 
place to pi. ice, new trails worn and old ones abandoned to stray hunters and 
wild animals. Trails leailing to av ,ilon;_; the- edge of water were usually per- 
manent. Hardly a stream but bore its border line of trail U[)on either bank, 
h'roni the shore of Lake Out. trio to the headwaters of the Genesee, trails fol- 
hiwed every ciir\e of the ri\er <is closely as natur.il obstacles would permit, and 
branches led up the sides ol tributary creeks. 

Trails converged on the (jeilesee in the \icinity of Rochester at two places, 
the ridge north of the Iciwer tails, and the rapids some eighty rods below the 
mouth of Red creek. The passage of the ri\er north of the lower falls was 
effected in canoes or on rafts; in the .ibsence of either or both, the aboriginal 
tra\'elei' [ilunged into the water ;md stemmetl the strong current with his 
br.iwny arms. Before the white m.in obstructed its channel with dams the 
Genesee was one continuous r.ipid from Red creek to the south line of the 
present La"ie c.inal aqueduct. An Indi.m lord existed at a shallow place near 
the immediate line of the present race-dam, between the jail and weigh-lock, 
but was never in such general use as the upper ford below Red creek, where 
the river could be more easily and safely crossed by footmen. 

The great trail coming \v est from Canandaigua on the present route of the 
Littsford road divided a few I'ods east (jf Allen's creek. The main trail turned 
to the north o\er a low ridge, across the present farm of the venerable Charles 
M. Harnes- and down a gully to Allen's creek. The ford was exactly at the 



1 /tv/ovct' of till- Jnyiiflix, p. no. 

-Xi. re^i(fciit cif Mimiiie county is more thnrouylily interested in its afioriginai fiistory than Charles 
M. ri.Tines. His ailniiralile knowledge of cuionial ami pioneer history, and remarkahle memory of 



Local Trails ov the Genesee. 



39 



arch tlirough wliich the waters now pass under the great embankment of the 
New York Central railroad. Following the west bank to a point where the 
creek turned directly to the right, the trail left the stream and curving gradu- 
ally to the west along the base of a high bluff ran up a narrow gully to the 
table-land. Taking a northwest course from this point it passed the brick resi- 
dence of D. McCarthy, crossed a trail running to the fishing resort on Ironde- 
quoit creek and at the distance of one himdred rods again curved to the west 
along a short slope, striking the line of the present road on the farm of Judge 
Edmund Kelley. In the side of this slope were numerous springs near which 
the Indians frequently camped. When the groimd was first plowed many 
Indian relics were found, and also evidences of a former occupation b)' some 
large body of white men. At least two bushels of bullets were discovered in 
one spot, and numerous other indications of the presence of an army. 

From these springs a trail ran directh- north half a mile and turned east 
down the hillside to the famous Indian landing on Irondequoit creek Along 
this road between the springs and landing was located the famed Tryon's Town, 
of Gerundegut, founded by Judge John Tr\-on about 1798. From Tryon's 
Town the main trail continued its northwest course to the Thomas road, some 
rods north of University avenue. From that point the present (old Thomas) 
road leading to the cobble-stone school-house on Culver street, and thence to 
Norton street, runs on the old trail. Leaving Norton street a short distance east 
of Goodman, the path crossed a swamp to Hooker's cemetery. The ground 
in front of Mr. Hooker's residence is said to have been the site of a very an- 
cient fortification. Following the north edge of the elevation the trail crossed 
North avenue to the Culver farm opposite, and can still be traced through the 
grove of forest trees to the former location of a large Indian settlement on the 
sand knolls,' half a mile west. From this town the course was due west down 
the side of Spring brook to the Ridge mounds and Brewer's landing on the 
Genesee river. 

East avenue is located upon the general route of the second trail from 
Allen's creek westward. It divided near Union street, the principal path turn- 
ing slightly to the south and ending at the ford near the weighlock. The branch 
crossed Main street near the liberty pole and struck the river trail in the vicinity 
of Franklin and North St. Paul streets. lndi:ui huts were scattered about the 
bluff in that vicinity until I 8 19. 

A trail came from Caledonia springs east by way of Mumford, Scottsville, 
Chili and Gates to Red creek ford in South Rochester. This was the general 
thoroughfare from the Indian towns near the Canaseraga creek to the lower 



early events in the vici]iitv <if kcicliester, have proved invaluable aids in the collection of many facts 
herein presented. 

lln a conversation held with David Forest on this very ground, in 1854, Oliver Culver stated that 
in 1796 he arrived at Irondequoit landing in a canoe, and came over the trail described to this town, 
where he traded with the Indians. It was from them that he received his information regarding the 
large skeletons discovered at the mouth of Irondequoit bay. 



40 



HlSTCiKV (iK rilK CirV (iF RoCHKSTKR. 



Cienesee and Lake Ontario. It was down this trail that Butler's rangers fled, 
after the massacre of Bo_\-d and Parker at Little Heard's Town in 1 779, <in 
their way to the month of the river, 

A path seklom used during the later Seneca occupation ran north from Red 
creek ford in the general directinn (jf (ienesee street, to the head of Deep hol- 
low, arnund which it curved to the Lake axeiuie trail. P'rom this path a sec- 
(ind c.ime north from the r.ipids oxer the cnuise of Plynmuth avenue to a spot 
called Indian spring (near the corue'- of S[)ring street and Sjiring alle\' in rear 
of the P'irst ]'resb\'terian church), and followed the little spring creek north- 
east to the \acinity of Central a\-enue and Mill street. This trail branched near 
Atkinson street, the branch running e.istward to the ford near the jjresent jail. 
P'lom this f(u-d a piath ran direct!}- to Indi.ui sjjring, in the \icinit_\- of which 
the wigwams of the nati\-es were occasionally set up. It was at the southern 
e.\tremit\- of the ridge h'ing west of this spring that the Senecas made their 
last sacrifice of the white dog. Lewis II. Morgan is authority for the state- 
ment that this ceremony was performeil on the groiuul now occupied by \V. S. 
Kimball's residence on the south side of i'roup street, between ILagle street 
and Caledonia avenue. A third ti'ail turned north trom the jail ford and con- 
nected with the Pl\'mouth avenue trail near Central avenue, continuing north 
to Deep hollow, w here it w as joined by the Genesee street trail. At the pres- 
ent Ridge road on the boule\artl the trail separated ; the main path running 
west on the ridge to Lewiston, and the other to the lake shore. The summit 
of the hill o\cr which Lake avenue jiasses, near the [^resent residence of Charles 
J. liurke, Wtis once the site of a large Intiian town, and all the slope and low 
ground east of that place to the river and north to Hanford's landing, was 
used for camping purposes. There were nimierous springs along this hillside, 
and the Indians (.)btained flint from a quarry on the edge of the bluH' near the 
river end of P'rauenberger avenue. Numerous little heaps of flint chips, half- 
finishetl and broken arrow-heads, and other weapons of stone were fouJid in the- 
woods of that locahty by the early settlers. Ll^pon these grounds the late Dr. 
Chester Dewey gathered many valuable relics of the stone age now in the 
Smithsonian institution. 

The waters of the springs mentioned once formed a short creek, the chan- 
nel of which was parallel with and some rods west of the edge of the bluff 
This channel is yet quite distinct and so straight as to suggest the idea of arti- 
ficial i)rigin. It emptied over the edge of the cliff into the great dell at Han- 
ford's landing. At the upper end of this dell the waters of a larger stream, 
which has its source some miles westward, still dash recklessly over the cliff 
and hurr\- through the rocky passage below to join the river. Between these 
creeks, on land now owned by R. j. Smith, the ground takes the form of a low- 
ridge, extending some distance southward from the cliff. The situation is grand 

1 Pionecy Historical Collections^ 



R()>[ANTIC LeCEND. 41 



and the \'ievv down the river and over the water, some two hundred feet below, 
\cr)- pleasing. A great fortification once stood on tliis ridge, but when or by 
whom constructed histor_\' tells not. Over a century ago it was a mere heap 
of ruins. Squier says it consisted of a semi-circular embankment, the ends of 
which reached the very edge of the immense ravine, and had three narrow 
gate-ways placed at irregular interwils.' Ever_\- part of the embankment was 
obliterated long _\-ears ago, but its lines have been inferred b_\- the quantities of 
relics found within certain sharply tlefined limits. It is a singular fact that no 
cemeter_\' has been disco\-ered in the \icinit_v of this place, the nearest burial- 
ground of the aborigines west of the (ienesee, known to the writer, being 
some two miles distant. 

There is a legend eonnectetl with some cliff near tlie lower falls of the Gen- 
esee river, and this ma_\', possiblv', be the spot. Stripped of the fanciful language 
in which the mythical narratives of the red man are usually clothed, it is a simple 
pathetic tale. 'Tis said that a pale-faced wanderer paddled up the ri\er one 
summer's da\', long years ago. He came alone directl}- to an In.dian camp on 
the ri\er side, and remained with the tribe. In time his nati\-e countr)- and 
his people were forgotten in the happiness of loxing, antl being loved b}', a 
beautiful forest maiden. The\' were married in the Indian fashion, and the 
days passed awa)- like moments in their lodge "near the singing cataract." 
One day a strange canoe, filled with white men, came Lip the Genesee in search 
of the pale-faced wanderer, who proved to be an e.xiied chieftain (nobleman) 
of France. His friends came to carry him back to honor and fortime, but his 
heart was in the wildwoods and he refused to go. Then they sought to com- 
])el him, but, clasping his Indian wife in his arms, the e.xile rushed to the brink 
of a great cliff where the rock rose straight up above the water, and, spring- 
ing far out over the precipice, the two were crushetl and mangled on the rocks 
below. Tradition has failed to preserve the names of the white brave and his 
dusky britle, or identif\' tlie place of their death. The brief description of 
locality answers equal!)- well to the bluff opposite the (jlen House, or this dell 
at Hanford's landing. 

From the top of the clifl' within the limits of the old fort a stone can be 
cast to the water's edge at Hanford's landing below. From the landing a 
path ran along the water at the base of the bluff, up the river to the lower falls. 
.'\t the spot now called Buell's landing, directly opposite Brewer's landing, a 
path led up the face of the jutting rocks, reaching the table land in the vicinity 
of the flint quarry, and natives crossing the river often climbed this steep path 
in preference to the longer route b\- the lower laiuling. The first white settlers 
in this vicinit)- (Gideon King and others) widened a path leading up the great 
sloping bank from the old Indian landing north, to a wagon road. In 1798 
Fli Granger laid the keel of the Jemima, a schooner of forty tons and the first 



' Aboriginal Moniimenls of Xew York, p. 58. 



History of tiik City of Rochester. 



AniLM-ican vessel built tin the Genesee (some sa\- the first built near Lake On- 
tarin), at the fiieitof this roail ; the lanilin;^, then c.illed Kind's, now llanfurd's, 
heeanie tile lake port, and there the steamer Ontario first touehed the river 
bank when she commenced her trips in iSlJ. h'rom the laiidinL; a seconil path 
rurxetl up the little promontory on the north side of the dell, anil extended 
around the edt^e of the cliff to the old fort. From that place it ran up the 
creek to the main or RidL;e tiail, which it cr<isseil some distance west ot the 
pre.sent boule\ard. ContinuiuL; alon- the north bank of the creek to the farm 
of Samuel Truesdale, where the L^iant skeleton was exhumed in 1878, it turned 
west .ilon;4 the mountain ridL;e, rimninL; straii^dit to a sprin;^ on the present farm 
of (ieori^e H. Lee. Indians came upon this creek and camped in Mr. Trues- 
dale's cliestnut j;;ro\'e until 1853. 

At the rapids in South Rochester the ri\er passes over a ledije of lime- 
stone, and before the dam was constructed the channel was ver)- shallow some 
sixt_\- rods abo\e and below. On the east bank a flat extended from Red creek 
north around the base of Oak hill. It was eaten awa)- b\- the current lont; 
_\-ears at^'O, but it ori;^inall_v constituted the the east-side landin;^ of the ford. 
The west end of I'dmvvood .iveiiue strikes the river just south of the upper edye 
of the old ford. In earl_\- pioneer d.is'S there were two or three gootl S|)rings 
in the bank of a small creek which entered the river at that point. A pre- 
historic town, eo\-eriny .all the smiace of ( )ak hill, once existed there. Stone 
relics were found on e\er>- foot of the L;round from the feeder dam to Red creek, 
b_\- the earl\- settlers. In their anxietx' to distance Sulli\an's soldiers, Butler's 
men rid themselves of e\er_\-thinLj possible at this ford. Ammunition and arms 
were buried in the ground near the springs and concealed in hollow trees in 
the \icinit\'. In 1 8 16 Mr. Houghton found ninet_\--six pounds of bullets in 
the bottom of <i rotten stump, anil se\'eral other discoveries of bullets, bars of 
lead, etc., ha\e been made by \arious parlies. 

h'rc.mi the springs at the ford the trail ran northeast to the corner of Indian 
Trail ami h'irst avenues in Mount Hope cemeter)-. At that [X)int it divided, 
one br.mch turning sharj)!)' to the left, directly up the slope and north over 
the top of section G to the [)resent Indian 'I'rail a\enue, which it entered and 
thence followed the ridge str.iight to a spot in front of George EUwanger's res- 
idence, continuing down Mount Hope avenue. South and North St. Paul streets 
to l^rewer's landing. From the latter place it ran near the edge of the high 
bank to Lake Ontario. ( )n the farm of D.miel Leake traces of an Indian town 
anil burkil ground ha\e been disco\ered aiul the old path can \-et be tollowed 
in places through the woods north of the "rifle range." An ancient fortifici- 
tion stooil near the ford of a brook which rises in the little \ale southeast ot 
Rattlesnake point. It was the nuns of this foit for which Mr. Squier searched 
in \ain about 1848. The Seneca ferr^-ing-place across the rixer w.is at the 
terminus ol the trail at about the same location as the present upper ferr)' at 



Porta(;e Trail. 43 



Charlotte. In the brush and woods on the east bank at this point Butler's 
rangers sought refuge while waiting for the tory Walker to return from h'ort 
Niagara with boats for their removal. The log house afterward occupieil by 
Walker stood a few feet southeast of the angle in the present road where it 
turns west across the swamp at the ferrj'. Stone pestles, arrow-heads, bullets, 
etc., have been found in the vicinitv in considerable numbers by Jerome Man- 
ning and other old settlers. 

From the corner of Indian Trail and l-'iist avenues in Mnunt Hope ceme- 
tery the south branch of the ti'ail, coming from Red creek ford, passed a few 
rods east to a beautiful spring in the side of the present artificial pond. Curv- 
ing slightly northward it divitled, one path following the general course of Stan- 
le}' street and Mighlantl a\-enue along the southern base of the hills to the cor- 
ners north of Cobb's brick-yard on Monroe a\-enue; the other branch running 
directly to the summit of the hills near the water-works reser\oir, and east 
over the top of Pinnacle hill, joining the first path near the corners. From 
that place the course was directl}- east to the riffle on Irondequoit creek some 
distance above the dug-way mills. This riffle was a noted resort of the In- 
dians-who went there from the upper Genesee to fish. It was known to the 
Senecas as Sgoh-sa-is-thah. The meaning of the word is "the swell dashes 
against the precipice," referring to the fact that a heav_\' swell sometimes beats 
against the ledge over which the fall pours. Springs still exist in the bank 
near the riffle where the Indians camped. From this fishing ground a large 
open path ran directl\- south o\-er the hills t(3 the Pittsford road, and thence to 
Honeo\-e. At its crossing of the New York Central railroad at the "sand-cut" 
east of the Allen's creek embankment, an Indian burial ground was located. 
During the excavation of a part of this hill, about 18/6, human remains were 
exhumed, among which were several skeletons of unusual size, one e.xceeding 
seven feet in length. Numberless relics of stone, rusty knives and fragments 
of firearms were picked up by the workmen, Deniiis Callahan .securing a small 
flat-iron bearing the figure of a spread eagle. East of this trail, between the 
cemetery and the Pittsford road, quantities of stone relics have been found, in- 
dicating the site of a pre-historic town. West of this site is located the great 
cairn of limestones, supposed to have been heaped up by people preceding the 
Indians. 

There were two Indian roads known as the portage trails. The first has 
been described as the Mount Hope avenue and St. Paul street route, over 
which canoes and baggage were transported between Red creek and Brewer's 
landing. This route was followed by the Indians long after Rochester was set- 
tled by the whites, and Phederus Carter, James Stone and other pioneer boys 
often assisted their Indian friends to carry canoes over this path. 

The grand portage trail diverged from the Mount Hope avenue path near 
Clarissa street, ran along the ridge south of and parallel with Gregory street to 

4 



44 History (ik the City ok Rochester. 

South avenue, thence straisirlit to Oliver Culver's old homestead, corner of Cul- 
\er street and Ka^t a\'eniie. Tassini;" a few rods east of the house the trail- 
rnute was down the north mad east tn the landing on Irondequoit creek. This 
was the general hi^jhway between the u[)per Genesee and Irondequoit ba\', to 
which reference has been ni.ide in chaptei' V. Some x'ears ago an aged Seneca 
was asketl to describe the route i if tlu's tr.iil between the Genesee river and 
Irondequoit landing. Raising his liand and cleaving the air with a direct for- 
ward blow the Indian re[>lied : "Stiaight as the arnjw flies, riuis the carrying- 
path." j\ \'erihcation of this assertion may be f )und on an_\' map of Monroe 
county shdwing the fillowing jxiints : Mnunt Mope a\enue and Clarissa street, 
South a\-enue and (jrantl street, I^ast a\enue and the Cuher road and the land- 
ing on Irondequoit creek. A line extending from the first to the last would 
])ass in as nearl_\- a direct course through the intermediate points as the original 
firm of the ground wnuld atlmit. I'^rom Snuth avenue to East avenue the 
trail ran over a section ol low gi-nund which extended southw.u'd to the base 
of the Pinnacle range of hills, <inil w .is kiK^wn as the "bear sw,imp." 

.\ huge dnnie-shaped hill fills the 1 n inde(iu(.)it vallc}' tlirectly opposite the 
old hulian l,iiuling-|il. ice SI) often mentioned. The creek hugs the west bank 
at the landing and sweeps around to the smitheast in a great semi-circle called 
"the (iX-b<iw," lea\'ing a crescent-shapeil flat at the southern base of this island 
hill. When the surrounding slujies were co\ered with forest trees this Hat 
tornied a pleas.int and secluded retreat, which could onl}' be reached o\'er the 
landing trail or b_\- crossing the creek, which is very deep in that vicinity. 
After leaving Ked creek ford Butler's r.ingers separated on Mount Hope, one 
party proceeding down the Mmint Hojie a\enue trail to the mouth of the Gen- 
esee, the other going east tn IrcmdeqiKiit l.mding and the o.x-bow flat, which 
appears to have been a well kimwu ,ind faxorite resort of the tories. From 
this hiding-place the)' matle their w .ly oxer the town of Irondequoit to the 
mouth of the Genesee river, where they remained in the brush .ind the woods 
several days, not daring to build a fire or m.ike the least imise, lest .Sullivan's 
avenging forces should discover and annihilate them. Walker had been sent 
from Caledonia springs to Niagara for boats, and when he finally arrived in the 
Genesee the rangers were nearly famished. After one ravenous meal they 
embarked for Niagara and Oswego, ,ind the lower Genesee was rid of all the 
murderous gang save Walker, who, remaining as a British spy, built a cabin 
near the ferrying- place. 

The west side of the island hill, ficing Irondequoit landing, lias )-ielded to 
nature's erosive forces, and a charming inclined valley extends from the landing 
to the ver_\- eastern limit of the hilltop, which was once connected with the 
high land east by a narrow ridge, h'rom the landing the old trail course was 
up this valle)- to the elevated table land oi^posite. Running some distance east 
t(* avoid the tremendous gulfs reaching b.ick from the bay, it turned north, 



The Trail to the Salt Spring. 45 

ending on the sand-bar at the mouth of Irondequoit bay. From the landing 
to Lake Ontario ever}- rod of ground is historical. When the farms of Henry 
Smith and lulson Wclcher, just north of the float-bridge road, were settled, 
an Indian cemetery was discovered. There were two hundred grave-mounds 
arranged in rows, over which grew oak trees fully eighteen inches in diameter. 
In the woods near at hand great corn-hills were plainly to be seen, and the 
Indians had a landing-place on Plum Orchard point, immediately below. 

A second trail turned east to the ridge, along which it continued to Sodus 
and Oswego. It was known to the Senecas as Ne-aga Wa-a-gwen, or Ontario 
foot-path. The village last occupied by Seneca Indians in Webster was located 
on the ridge near this path, about one mile east of the bay, and the latter-day 
Mississauges camped on the same ground. Their landing was on the bay, at 
the foot of the ridge. In a hollow north i-A' the landing H. M. Hames discov- 
ered twelve skeletons lying in a circle, like the spokes of a wheel, with their 
feet to the center, where were deposited a number of rude stone weapons, 
probabh- arms of the buried warriors. One of these relics, an immense spear- 
head of flint, is in possession of the writer. It is an interesting fact that while 
iron weapons, beads and other evidences of association with the whites are 
occasionally found in graves of the natives on the high land about Rochester, 
burial-places in hollows or ravines usually contain relics of the stone age only. 
A mound which was very prominently located on the bluff north of Dunbar 
hollow was opened by the early residents, who obtained a great number of 
stone weapons, mostly tomahawks and skull-crackers. 

A large fort once occupied the ground just north of the ridge at the inter- 
section of the sand-bar trail. This work is mentioned by Macauley, but Squier 
failed to locate it in 1848.' DeNonville does not appear to have observed it 
in 1687, and it was undoubtedly very ancient. Stone arrow-heads discovered 
there are quite large and broad. Arrow-heads of the same description are 
found in a dell on the Victor trail. hVom the old fort a trail ran northeast to 
a salt-spring located about one and a half miles east of the bay. The Indians 
came from Gardeau, Mount Morris, Moscow, Geneseo, Lima, Avon and Canna- 
waugus to make salt at this spring, camping in the woods between it and Iron- 
dequoit bay. The tory Walker and an old Seneca chief from Moscow were the 
last to use it, and in 1788-9 they covered the spring over. They disclosed its 
location in confidence to three or four white friends, Asa Dunbar being of the 
number. He revealed it to W^m. H. Penfield, and the latter to Jarvis M. Hatch, 
from whom the present writer obtained the following quaint directions to effect 
its re-discovery : " In a large gorge half a mile from the lake shore take a run- 
way to a point one-fourth of a mile southwest of the gorge. The spring is 
near some trees in a cultivated field, entirely covered over and effectually con- 
cealed. I have been to it in i860." There was another spring in Dunbar hol- 

1 Aboriginal Monuments, p. 58. 



46 History ok tiik Crrv o|. R()ciiKsr?:R. 



low, wliicli is so called from the fact that Asa Dunbar, an earl_\- settler of gigan- 
tic streHLjth, frequented the jilace tn nianuficture salt. The process was very 
simjile. the brine being boiled in a "three-pail kettle." 

Two mounds once nceupied the hilltop smith of the Sea l-5reeze hotel on 
the west side of Irondequoit ba\-. Their firmer lueatiim was pointed out tci 
the writer in l8So b\' Charles M. liarnes and Anii>s Knapp. The mounds 
were fimn t\\ent\' to thirty-fne feet east nf north ot the present wooden " ob- 
ser\-ator\'." Squier says they were small, the largest nut exceeding fi\'e feet 
in height. Lqion e-\c,i\ation he fiund they had been prex'iousK' tlisturbeil, 
ami his examination I'esulted in the discm-cry ut a few fragments of bone, char- 
coal, potter}- cUid arrow-heads.^ (. )ld settlers inform me th.it W'm. H. I'enfield 
opened these mountls about I Si 7. He obt, lined m.ui_\- cui'ious things, in- 
cluding sword scabbard-bands of siKer, belt buckles, belt and hat ornaments 
and other articles of niilitar\- dress l)irectly east eif these mounds is a deep 
gullw now crossetl by two rustic bridges. The Indian canoe Landing was at 
the mouth of this gullw where a fine spring furnisheil giioil water. A trail 
came up the hill from the sand-bar west of the mounds along the edge of the 
gully to its beginning. A few rods east of this point was a burial-place where 
Indian remains are still found. The gully or landing tr.iil united with the other, 
ran southwest to the riilge in the \'icinity of the Forest House, and due south 
to the west end of the float- liridge ixiad, where it joined the trail already 
described, leading to the camping-ground on Judge Kelley's farm and onward 
through the Allen's creek "defile" to the I'ittsford road. This was the main 
trail, west of the ba\-, from Lake Ontario to Irondequoit landing, Vict<ir and 
I Ioneo_\e creek, and DeXoiuille marched down this path from Allen's creek 
on his return to the lake. 

The small island on the west side of Iroiuleciuoit ba)-, upon which the 
Schneider House stands, is of artifici.d origin. It was originall)- of ellipsoid, il 
form, ninet}' feet long, tliirt\--tw< 1 wide and seventeen high. In his prepara- 
tions to build, Mr. Schneider lowered the wIkiIc ishuid to within two feet of 
the surface of the water, first remo\ing a dead oak tree about fifteen inches 
through, which stood on the veiy top of the elevation. The mound was com- 
posed of alternate layers of sand and cla\- so distinctl)- marked as to attract 
attention. In the bottom of the exact center, fifteen feet below the surface, 
Mr. .Schnei(.ler unearthed about one bushel of hand-worked stones consisting 
of arrow cuid spearheads, kni\es, tomahawks of various shapes, skull-crackers, 
war-club heads, fish-net weights, skin-dressers, finishers, etc. Some of these 
articles were beautiful specimens of polished- stone work and nearly all above 
the average size usually found in this vicinit}-. The construction of this mound 
cost a vast amount of l.ibor, ami the object is conjectural. It marked the en- 
trance to a small bay which undoubtedly constituted a fine harbor extending 



' Ah(n-ii;inol AloiUiiiiciits, \>. 57. 



Early F"rench Missions. 47 

back into a great valley. It is a secluded localit)-, immense forest trees still 
standing about the shore, but was once frequented by the native inhabitants. 
A brawling stream curves through the valley bottom and enters the little bay, 
which has become nearly impassable by the growth of rushes. A trail ex- 
tended the whole length of the valley and the old path is yet quite distinct in 
places. It followed the original upward course of the stream to the north end 
of Culver street. A trail left the creek at the head of the valley and ran south 
across the float-bridge road some two miles to the Irondcquoit creek landing 
and Genesee falls trail, which it crossed near the old Thomas road, and contin- 
ued up the bank of a creek to the portage trail at Oliver Culver's old home- 
stead on East avenue. Numberless side paths connected these principal trails 
at intervals, and threaded the forest in every direction to springs, deer-licks, 
and other places of interest to the native inhabitants. Other trails will be 
mentioned in their proper connections, but many interesting facts are omitted, 
enough having already been presented to prove that a numerous population 
occupied the territory of the lower Genesee long before the white man came 
upon its soil. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Early French Missions — Tsonnontouan — The Jesuit's I'^scape — La Salle at Irondequoit — 
Struggle between the French and English for Possession of the Lower Genesee Country. 

THOUGH the Eranciscan Le Caron is supposed to have passed through the 
Iroquois (Mohawk) country about 16 16, coiirciifs dcs Iwis are known to 
have traded with tribes on the south shore of Ontario before De la Roche 
Dallion passed the winter of 1626-7 with the Neuters, the whites possessed no 
definite knowledge of Western New York or the water connections of Lake 
Ontario with the west, until 1640, when Brebeuf's mission to the Neuters per- 
fected their knowledge of the Niagara river and Lake Erie. "Could we but 
gain the mastery of the shore of Ontario on the side nearest the abode of the 
Iroquois," the Jesuits said, "we could ascend by the St. Lawrence without dan- 
ger, and pass free beyond Niagara, with a great saving of time and pains." 

To accomplish this end the French bent all their energies. In the canoes 
of the traders, ofttimes preceding them, went the brave priests to plant the 
standard of the Roman church and extend the dominion of France, in the wilds 
of Western New York. With varying success they advanced from Onondaga 
westward until, in 1657, Chaumont preached the faith in the towns of the Sen- 
ecas, but in two short years war between the French and Iroquois again drove 



4<s History hk i'he Cnv m- R( m^hest?:r-. 

the missionaries to the nortlieni shore of Ontario. In 1661 Le Moyne returned 
to OnondaLja, and several missions were re-estabhshed. In tlie fall of i66<S a 
deputation of Seneca chiefs visited Montreal and requestctl the Jesuits to estab- 
lish missions in their ci.nnitry, that the people miyht share all the advantages of 
relii^ion enjo)'ed by Iro(]uois nations to the east. In compliance with this 
request I^'ather P'remin was sent to Tsdnnontouan, as the (lencsec cnuiitry was 
then called b)- the P'rench. The l;<i(i(1 priest arrived at his post of dut)' No- 
vember 1st, and, taking; up his abude at the same tciwn wherein Chaumont had 
preached, f nmded the mission of St. James. At that date the Senecas had 
four large villages east of the (ienesee river. Through the researches of (). H. 
Marshall the location of these towns has been definitely fi.xed. The principal 
village, at which Freniin resided, was situatetl mi what is nnw termed liough- 
ton hill, near Victor. The e.xact site is south of the railroad, on a farm owned 
by R. H. Moore. Wentworth Greenhalp, who visited the town in 1677, de- 
scribes its location and appearance under the name of Canagorah. Ten vears 
later DeNonville, who destroyed the place, mentions it in his official report by 
its Mohawk designation of Ganangorah. In this effort to re-discover the site of 
this town Marshall learned its correct Seneca name — Ga-o-sa-eh-ga-aah. ' 

Father Garnier, who had been stationed at Onondaga, joined P'remin in his 
labors and established the mission of St. Michael at Gan-don-ga-rae, a small 
village located on Mud creek, between three and four miles southeast of Victor, 
where he remained several years. Hruv'as, Pierron and other priests visited 
these towns during the life of the missions, and the general route to and from 
the Seneca villages appears to have been through Irondequoit bay. In 1683 
Garnier was secretly informed of tlie intention nf the P'rench to make war 
upon the Iroquois, and, hastening to Irondequoit landing, he was concealed and 
escaped in a little barque belonging to the French government, which lay at 
anchor there, trading with the natives. 

August lOth, 1669, La Salle, the afterward noted FTench expUjrer, arrived 
at the mouth of Irondequoit with seven canoes and twenty-four men, including 
Dollier dc Casson and Galince, two priests of the seminary of St. Sulpice, 
Montreal. They were accompanied by two other canoes bearing a party of 
Senecas, who had wintered on the St. Lawrence and were now acting as guides. 
La Salle's object in this visit was to obtain a guide to the Ohio ri\er, that of 
the priests the conversion of the natives. The party landed on the sand- 
bar and were escorted to " Sonnontouan" or Gannagora by crowds of 

' 'I'lic etymology of this name was explained to Mr. Marshall in 1847 ''>' KlacUsmith, the principal 
chief of the .Senecas. He said the whole Tillage was supplied by one spring, which issued from the 
side of a hill. To procure water more conveniently the Indians made troughs or conductors of bass- 
wood bark, w hich, when stripped from the tree, curls readily into the proper shape, and with these 
they conducted the water to a point where it could be caught in their vessels. The fact that this was 
the only spring in the vicinity gave prominence to the use of the basswood bark, and hence, according 
to the Indian custom, arose the name Ca-o-sa-eh-ga-aah, or "the basswood bark lies there." — L). 
H. Marshall, in DeNonvillc's Expedition, p. 159. 



La Sai.le at Irondequoit. 49 



savages. They remained with the Senecas one month, and faiHng to accom- 
plish their purpose departed westward along the shore of Lake Ontario. Dur- 
ing tlie following two years La Salle was upon the soil of We.stern New York 
many times, and undoubtedly explored every foot of the Genesee river from 
its mouth to Portage, in his efforts to discover the route to the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi. That he visited Irondequoit ba\- on several occasions is well known. 

With their first faint knowledge of the interior of New York and the great 
lake region, the whites keenly appreciated the sagacit)' of the red men in their 
selection of Irondec]uoit bay as the general landing-place of the Senecas and 
harbor of the league, and recognised the important bearing its possession would 
have upon the steadily increasing interests of trade and future civilisation. 
With the h'rench on the north, and the luiglish and Dutch on the south and 
east, to all of whom the great lakes and streams presented the only practicable 
channels of communication with the west, the Iroquois countr)' became the 
center of conflicting interests, and, simultaneously with the supremacy of the 
Knglish in Eastern New York, came the struggle between that nation and the 
French for possession of the great lake region and control of the Indian trade. 
Niagara was the key to the western lakes, and Oswego and Irondequoit the 
ports through which all the costly loads of Indian goods and rich cargoes of 
furs must naturally pass to the west and east ; for, though the French held 
possession of the St. Lawrence and had free access to Ontario, the journc)' 
thither was long and perilous, and Indian goods could be purchased in Albain- 
and transported to Montreal at a less rate than the)- could be imported direct 
to that place from France,' while the trails of the Irocjuois, which could be 
traveled from Alban\- to Irondequoit on horseback, and the waterct)urses of 
the interior of New York presented shorter, safer and more profitable routes 
for unrestricted traffic ; hence the desire <if the luiglish to open the way to the 
west, and the endeavors of the I*'rench to obtain possession (if Oswego, Iron- 
dequoit and Niagara, close them to the English and secure the Indian trade to 
the French colony of the St. Lawrence. Added to this was the natural en- 
mity existing between the two nations and the jealous rivalry and inordinate 
greed for territorial possessions in the New world. Each nation claimed the 
Iroquois country, France by right of first discovery and occupation, England 
by virtue of conquest from the Dutch and treaty stipulations, and both enacted 
the monarchical role of paternal proprietorship, endeavoring to awe and con- 
trol the various tribes by alternate threatenings and persuasion. 

From the attack of Champlain on the Mohawks at Ticonderoga point in 
1609, the Iroquois as a nation had maintained a relentless enmity toward the 
French, though a shadow of peace had occasionally been made and some hun- 
dreds of Indians enticed to Canada through the religious influence of French 
priests; on the other hand the Iroquois had steadily inclined to the English, 

i.\'. y. Col. Mss., V. 72S-230. 



50 History of the City of Rochester. 



who were their acknowledged friends and alhes. Despairing of ultimate suc- 
cess by other means than force, the governors of Canada invaded the country of 
the I''i\-e Nations on several occasions with armies of colonists and Indian allies, 
but neither hi mors nor histiiig benefits acciued to the h'rench from these expe- 
ilitiims. In 16X5 I)e la H.ure was recalled to h ranee and the marquis De- 
Non\ille succeeded him as go\ernor- general ol Canada. Despite the influence 
of I'"rench nii-sionaries in their midst, the Iroi.|uois still barretl the way to a 
free navigation nf water highuaxs leading to the west, insolently repudiated 
the authorit)' of the h'rench goxernment, and openly avowed their friendship 
for the luiglish, who were permitted to set up the British arms in sex'cral Iro- 



iiuois villager 



ch.\1'ti-:r \'iii.' 

lic.\..nMlk-\ K.v|x-dili,,n - Tieacherv of the Fit-iuli ( ;..vcrnnr4;eneral — Maj;iianiiiiity of the 
Irn,|iiui^ — French .\rmy at !iT)iulei|ii..it — t;\eciiti.)ii ..f MMrimi — The Fori on the Sanil-liar — The 
.Marcli ..11 Cannagam — The Defile-. .XniliDseaile an. I liatlle — lloin.i-, ..f Imhan Waifare — lanni. 
liahsni — l>e-tiucti<in of the Seneca Town-.. 

T Tl'OX assuming the reins of colonial go\'ernment, I)eNon\-ille deternu'ned 
y^ to break the power of the Irocjuois and subdue their pride b\- an invasion 
of the Seneca settlements. To conceal liis intentions the wil}- governor made 
overtures to the savages through the Jesuits stationed in their villages, and the 
summer of 1686 was spent in negotiations which terminated by the adoption 
of a resolution that both jiarties — I-'rench and Iroquois — should meet at Cata- 
racou}',-' to take measiu'cs for the conclusion of a general peace. Neither part}' 
placed confidence in the proposed peaceful measures, and the French had no 
intention of obtaining peace through treat)'. During the entire summer De- 
Noiuille was very anxious to lay up a store of provisions anil mimitions at 
Cataracouy in preparation for the next season's campaign, but was restrained 
from so doing through fear of alarming the Iroquois. Active preparations were 
instituted dming the winter and spring of 1686-7. Fort Cataracouv — then 
a small redoubt — was placed in defensible condition, stocked with the neces- 
sary supplies, and the three small vessels on Lake Ontario secured for service 
June 1 2th, 1687, the French governor left Montreal for Cataracouy with 
an arm)- consisting of eight hundred and thirty-two regular troops; nine hun- 



1 The material for this chapter i^ collated from the Colonial and Documentary Histcn'ies of New 
^■.n■k; the Exj^ciiilion of tlu' .Van/i:is DcXoinnll,- a,^ainsl l/u- S,-ii,Y,r.t, in 1687, hy O. II. .Marshall; 
r>is,07'i-iy of l/u- Grait IVcst, hy Francis I'arUman ; Historical sketches in the Victor Herald, liy J. \V. 
\'an Denhurgh. and the writer's privale journal. 

'-Kinestoii. 



DeNonvili.e's EM'EDITIOX. 51 



tired and thirty miiitia, over one liundred coionial scouts and four liundred In- 
dians. Of tliis force M. de Callieres was commander-in-chief, under the orders 
of the Marquis DeNonville, Chevalier de Vaudreuil, commander of the regu- 
lars, and General Sieur Duguay (Du Gue) commandant of the militia. The 
troops were formed into eight platoons of two hundred men each, the regulars 
under Captains D'Orvilliers, St. Cirg, de Troyes and Vallerennes, the militia 
under Captains Berthier, la Valter)-e, Grand\-ille and Longueil Le Moynes. 
In the order of march a battalion of regulars succeded one of militia, alter- 
nately. Six bateau.x were assigned to each compan\', each boat carr_\-ing ei'dit 
men, baggage and provisions, each captain having charge of t\\ent_\--f()in- ba- 
teau.x. The Indians served as guides and scouts and marched without order. 
The army arrivetl at Cataracouy Jul\- ist, after a terribly laborious voyage up 
the rapids of the St. Lawrence, and engaged in preparations for the contem- 
plated expedition. Two of the little vessels were loaded with supplies, and 
two large bateaux furnished with cannon and long guns to cover the troops 
while landing. The third vessel was sent to Niagara laden with provisions and 
ammunition for a party under Sieurs de Tonty, de la Durantaye and du Lhu 
(Du Luth), who had received instructions the previous summer to collect all 
the French, and Indian allies from the western woods, for this expedition. Or- 
ders were also forwarded by messenger for the reinforcements to meet Gover- 
nor DeNonville at Irondequoit bay on a certain date. 

Notwithstanding the warlike preparations of the French, which drew an 
official remonstrance from Governor Dongan of New York and e.xcited the 
alarm of the Fi\-e Nations, DeNon\'ille stoutl}' declared his pacific intentions, 
and, under a pretense of holding a great council for the ratification of peace, 
induced the Jesuit missionaries to decoy to Canada a number of Iroquois. 
Upon their arrival at Cataracouy these people were made prisoners and fifty of 
the men, including several sachems and chiefs, sent to Montreal, in company 
with certain other Indians who had been captured while fishing on the river 
during the upward voyage of the French army. By order of Ins most Chris- 
tian Majesty, the king, these proud zvarriors were shipped to Franee as slaves 
for the royal galleys. When news of DeNonville's infamous act reached the 
Onondagas, "among whom F'ather Lambcrville was then residing as a mis- 
sionary," says Marshall, " the chiefs immediately assembled in council and send- 
ing for the father related the above transaction with all the energy which a just 
indignation could arouse, and, while he expected to feel the full eftects of the 
rage which he saw depicted in e\er_\- countenance, one of the old men unex- 
pectedly addressed to him the following remarkable language, as related by 
Lamberville himself: — 

" It cannot be denied," says he, '■ that many reasons authorise us to treat you as an 
enemy, but we have no inclination to do so. We know you too well not to be persuaded 
that your heart has taken no part in the treachery of which you have been the instru- 
ment, and we are not so unjust as to punish you for a crime of which we believe you 



52 History ok the City ok Rochester. 

iiinf)cent. wliich vou undouhteilly detest as mucli as we do, and for having been the in- 
strument iif which wc are satislieil you are now deeply i,M-ie\ed. It is not [irojier, how- 
e\er, that \ciu should remain here. All will not, jierhaps, render you the justice w!ii( h 
we accord, and when once our youni; men shall ]ia\e suiil; their war sont^, the)' will look 
upon )-ou only as a traitor, who has delivered over our chiefs to a cruel and igiiohle 
slavery. They will listen onl\ to their own rage, from which we will then be unable to 
sa\e you." Having said this, they obliged him to leave immediately, and furni.shed 
guides to < onduct him b\- a safe route, who did not leave him until he was out of danger. 

July 4th the uniiy cnibaiked at daybreak, and crnssino; the lower end of 
Lake Ontario coasted the smith shore westward. .So ;ulmirably were the plans 
of DeNonvillc arraiiocd and executed that, thoiiL;h aware of the inipeiulini; 
blow, the Iro(]iiois knew not in what quarter it would strike, and hence could 
adopt no ;general measure of clefense. The little barque that had been dispatcheel 
to Niagara met the army near Sodus bay Jidy yth with news of the reinforce- 
ments, anel then returniiiL; westward hovered about the mouth of Ironde- 
(.luoit ba\'. Irocpiois scouts stationed there immetliately reported the presence 
of the vessel, and the Seneca sachems sent warriors to the lake. Posting thcm- 
seh'es in the wnoels at the' west i:n^\ of the samJ-bar, near the present location 
of the Sea Hreeze, the)' were surpi'ised and iiearl)- cut oft' by Indians of IJe- 
Nonville's Niagara part)' who came elow 11 the lake shore on foot, the main botly 
being in canoes. This part)' consisted of one lumilred and sevent)' French 
lOinriirs ihs /'oi's. and three hundred western Indians of all nations, enemies 
of the Iro(|uois. They arrixed at the month of Irondeqiioit July lOth, at the 
same moment with the ami)' under 1 )eNon\'ille, "by reason of which," re- 
marked Haron La Hontan, "our savage allies, who draw predictions from the 
merest trifles, foretold, with their usual superstition, that so punctual a meeting 
infallibly iinlicated the total destruction of tlie Iroquois." "The first thing 
with W'hich I occupied m\'self on my arrival," writes the P'reiich go\'ernor, 
" was to select a post eas\' to be fortified for securing our bateau.x, to the num- 
ber of two hundred, and as man\' canoes. Jul)' 1 ith was spent in construct- 
ing palisades, fascines and pickets, for securing the dike that separates the lake 
from the niarsh, in which we had placed our bateaux." 

On their vo)'age to Niagara Durantav'e's forces had captured and pillaged 
two parties of English traders, bouiul to the west under the guidance of a 
young Canadian named La I-'ontaine Marion. Baron La Hontan mentions him 
as an unfortunate young man who became actjuainted with the country and 
savages of Canada b)- the numerous voyages he made over the continent. 
After rendering his king good service Marion asked permission of several of the 
governors-general to continue his travels in further prosecution of his pett)' 
traffic, but could never obtain it. As peace existed between the two crowns, 
he determined to go to New luigland, where he was well received on account 
of his enterprise anel knowledge of Indian languages. He was engaged to 
pilot two companies of I'higlish through the hikes to the west, and it was those 



DeNoNVILI.E'S I'lXI'KDITIoN. 53 

peaceful traders upon whom Durantaye had laid violent hands and brought 
them captive to Irondequoit. DcNonville had previously sought and received 
the sanction of the king to treat all F"renchmen found in the service of the 
English as deserters. While the sixty Englishmen were sent to Montreal and 
subsequently released, Marion was adjudged a traitor and his doom pronounced. 
The morning following the arrival of the army at Irondequoit the sentence of 
death was imposed. On the calm surface of the lake rode the French navy 
of three small sail. Covering the broad sand-beach were o\erturned boats 
and canoes, on the elevated part of the sand-bar stood the half- finished fort 
of pickets surrounded b)- the arm\- tents and equipage. "Never," saj-s an 
eye-witness, "had Canada seen, antl never perhaps will it see, a similar spec- 
tacle. A camp composed of one-fourth regular troops with the general's suite ; 
one-fourth habitants in four battalions, with the gentry of the country; one- 
fourth Christian Indians, and finalh' a crowil of all the barbarous nations, 
naked, tattooed, and painted over the bod)- ^vith all sorts of figures, wearing 
horns on their heads, queues down their backs, armed with arrows." For a 
moment there is a profound hush in camp. All eyes are turned to an open 
square in the center • — ■ a file of soldiers facing the lake and a poor wretcii 
standing alone at the water's edge casting a last despairing glance at the wild 
scene about him. ' Then a sharp command is given, a loud report follows, and 
France has sacrificed another victim to her cruel policy in the form of humble 
Marion. 

The fort, requiring some two thousand palisades in its construction, was 
completed during the forenoon of July i 3th. For its defense and the protec- 
tion of the boats and stores, DeNonville detached four hundred and fort\' men 
under command of D'Orvilliers.' At three o'clock in the afternoon the army 
commenced its march upon the Seneca towns in the interior. The advance 
guard consisted of three hundred Christian Indians under guidance of an Iro- 
quois afterward known as the grandfather of Brandt, with the western Indians 
on the left, supported by three companies of courciirs dcs bois, one hundred 
Ottawas, three hundred Sioux, one hundred Illinois and fifty Hurons. Then 

I This palLsade fortification was built on the sand-bar, at the mouth of Irondequoit bay, about eighty 
rods from its eastern end. The bar, which is only a narrow sand ridge to the west, is some thirty rods 
wide at this point, and at the advent of the first white settlers was from fifteen to twenty feet high in 
places. Several small mounds were scattered over the ground, and many graves were discovered, one 
marked by a tablet of iron bearing an inscription in some unknown language, which is said to have 
been neither Spanish, Dutch nor French. During the construction of the Rome, Walertown & Og- 
densburg railroad, which crosses the bay on this sand-bar, several button-wood trees, each from twelve 
to eighteen inches in diameter, were removed. Under some of these were found iron bullets, parts of 
gun-barrels completely oxidised, iron and stone tomahawks, flint arrow-heads, etc. In 1880 the writer 
discovered several stone relics and portions of two human skeletons under the roots of a tree then 
standing on the edge of an excavation near the railroad. The channel connecting the waters of the 
bay with those of the lake has changed its location three several times within the memory of persons 
now living; shifting from the extreme eastern end of the bar to the western end, back two-thirds of 
the distance to the eastern shore of the bay, and finally to its present location in the center of the bar. 



54 lllSldin ()!• IIIK L'll\ III' Re irilKSTKR. 



followed the regulars and militia, with the rear guard of savages and wood- 
rangci's. Ascending the bluff at the end of the sand-bar and following a 
well-beaten trail, the army retiiiiied to the south among lofty trees sufficiently 
open t<i .illow the troops tn march in three columns. The objective point was 
Gannagora, .ind the army made thiee leagues (nine miles) that afternoon. "We 
left on the ne.xt morning," continues I)e\on\ille in his official report, "with the 
design of .iiiproaching the xillage as near ,is we could, to deprive the enemy 
of the opportunity of iMllying ,ind seizing on two \ery tlangerous defiles at two 
ri\ers' which it was necess.u'y lor us to pass aiul where we should undoubtetlly 
meet them. These two defiles being ])assed in safetv, there still remained a 
thirtl at the entrance of said \i'llage, at which it was our intention to halt. . . 
, . . iVbout three o'clock in the aftei'uoon M. de Callieres, \v'ho was at the 
head of the three companies commanded b)' Tonty, De hi Durantaye and I)u- 
Lhu, and all our savages fell into an ambuscade of Sonnontouans postetl in the 
\-icinit\' of the defile." 

DeXoinille gives two accounts of this battle, (.liflering wiilely, and others are 
confusing. That of the Abbe tie Belmont is the best: — 

'•The innrc h was a little hurried. The weary troops were <l\iiig with thirst. The 
two bodies tbund themselves at too great distance from each other. The scouts were 
deceived ; for having come to the barrens, or plains, they found five or si.\ women who 
were going around in the fields. This was a lure of the Seneeas to make them believe 
that they were all in the \illage. The terntiiry of (Janesara is very hilly; the village 
is upon a high hill which is surrinmded by three little hills or terraces, at the foot of a 
vallew and opposite some other hills, between which passes a large brook which in a 
little valley makes a little marsh, covered with alders. This is the place which they 
selected for their ambuscade. They divide<l themselves, posted three luiinlred )nen along 
the falling brook between two hills in a great thicket of beech trees, and five hundred 
at the bottom of these hills in a marsh among the alders: with the idea that the first 
ambuscade of three hundred men should let the army pass and then attack them in the 
rear, which would force it to lall mto the second ambuscade, which was concealed at 
the bottom of the hills in the marsh. They deiened themsebes nevertheless, for as 
the advance guard, which M. de Callieres commanded, was very distant from the body 
under the (duunand of the mar(|uis. tiiey l)elie\eil it Has the entire army. Accordingly 
as the advance guard [jasseil near the thicket of beeches, after making a terrible whoop 
(sakaqua!) they fired a volley. The Ottawas and the heathen Indians all fled, 'bhe 
Christian Indians of the mountain and the Sault, and the Abenaipiis held fast and gave 
two volleys. The marquis DeNonville advanceil uith the main body, composed of the 
royal troops, to occupy the height of the hill, where diere was a little fort of pickets; 
but the terror and disorder of the surprise were such that there was only M. de Cal- 
/enne, who distinguished himself there, and M. Dugue, who bringing up the rear guard 
rallied the battalion of P.erthier, whidi was in flight, and, being at the head of that of 
iMontreal. fireil two hundred shots. The mar(iuis, ,7/ iheiiiise, sword in hand, drew up 
the main body in battle order, and beat the drum at a time when scarcely anyone was 
to be seen. This frightened the three hundred 'I'sonnontouans of the ambuscade, who 



- Allen and Irondequoit creek; 



DeNonvii.le's Expedition. 55 

Ileil from aliove towards the five luiiidiL'tl that were ambushed below. The fear that 
all the world was tijion them made them fiv with so much precipitation that they left 
their blankets in a heap, and nothing more was seen of them." 

In his description of the battle Baron La Hontan admits a serious defeat 
of the French : — 

"\Vhen we arrived at the foot of the hill on which they lay in ambush, ilistant about 
a quarter of a league from the village, they began to utter their ordinary cries, followed 
with a discharge of musketry. If you had seen, sir, the disorder into which our militia 
and regulars were thrown among the dense woods, you would agree with me that it 
would require many thousand Europeans to make head against these barbarians. Our 
battalions were immediately separated into platoons, which ran without order, pell mell 
to the right and left, without knowing whither they went. Instead of firing upon the 
Iroquois, we fired upon each other. It vvas in vain to call for help from the soldiers of 
such a battalion, for we could see scarcely thirty paces. In short we were so disordered 
that the enemy were about to fall upon us club in hand, when our savages, having ral- 
lied, repulsed and pursued them so closely, even to their villages, that they killed more 
than eighty, the heads of which they brought away, not counting the wounded who 
escaped. We lost on this occasion ten savages and a hundred Frenchmen ; we had 
twenty or twenty-two wounded, among whom was the good Father Angelran." 

Althotigh the savage allies were greatly offended at the refusal of DeNon- 
ville to leave his wounded and pursue the fleeing Senecas, the French com- 
mander ordered a bivouac on the field. "We witnessed the painful sight of 
the usual cruelties of the savages," writes the marquis to M. de Seignelay, 
"who cut the dead into quarters, as is done in slaughter-houses, in order to put 
them into the kettle ; the greater number were opened while still warm, that 
their blood might be drank. Our rascally Ottawas distinguished themselves 
particularly by these barbarities and by their poltroonery, for they withdrew 
from the battle. The Hurons of Michilimaquina did very well, but our Chris- 
tian Indians surpassed all and performed deeds of valor, especially our Iroquois, 
on whom we dared not rely having to fight against their own relatives. The 

Illinois did their duty well We learned from some prisoners who 

had deserted from the Senecas that this action cost them forty-five men killed 
on the field, twenty-five of whom we had seen at the shambles, the others were 
seen buried by this deserter ; and over sixty very severely wounded. 

The Abbe de Belmont thus continues the narrative : — 

" We marched in battle order, waiting for an attack. We descended the hill by a 
little sloping valley, or gorge, through which ran a brook bordered with thick bushes 
and which discharges itself at the foot of a hill, in a marsh full of deep mud, but planted 
with alders so thick that one could scarcely see. There it was that they had stationed 
their two ambuscades, and where perhaps we would have been defeated, if they had not 
mistaken our advance guards for the whole army and been so hasty in firing. The mar- 
quis acted very prudently in not pursuing them, for it was a trick of the Iroquois, to 
draw us into a greater ambuscade. The marsh, which is about twenty acres, being 
passed, we found about three hundred wretched blankets, several miserable guns, and 
began to perceive the famous Babylon of the Tsonnontouans ; a city or village of bark, 



56 IliMokN (II- iiii: Ci r\ I'V K( k ii|.:si kk. 



situaU-il 111! tlie top of a mountain of earth, to wliich one rises by three terraces or 
hills. It a|i|ieare(i to us from a ilistame to he crow ned with round towers, hut these 
were onK" hu'L;e ehests (drums) of bark almut f lur feet in lenLjtli. set the one in tlie otiier 
about fi\e feet in diameter, in uhic h llie\ keep their Imlian inrn. Tlie \illa!4e had been 
burnt b\' thenisehes ; it was now eiu;lu days since. We found iiothuiv; ui the town ex- 
cept the c euieter\' and L;ra\■e^. It was filled with snakes and aiiinrds ; there was a j;reat 
mask with teeth and eves of br.iss, and a great bear skin with which they clisguise in 
their cabins. There were m the fiur corners L;reat bo.xes of i^'rain, wliic h the\- had not 
biuaiecl, Thev had outside this post their Indian ecirn ui a picpiet fort at the top of a 
little mount. hn. Stejis were cut clown cm ,ill sides, where it was kneediigh throughout 
the f irt." 

( )n the 15th several old ineii and wcmietl were ca|)tiired or siirrendcreil, 
cine of the old men being father ccr uncle of the chief of the Senecas. "After 
we liatl obtained from the old man all the information he could impart." con- 
tinues 1 )e\cin\ille "he was |)laced in the hands of the re\'erend Father Briiyas, 
who, finditiL; that he had some traces of the Christian reli;gicin throug'h the in- 
strumentality of the rexerend Jesuit fathers, missionaries for twenty years in 
that \ill.iL;e, he set about preparin;^' him fc^r baptism, before turniny him oxer 
to the Indians who had t.d<en him prisoner. He was baptised, and a little 
while after they contented themselves at our solicitation, with knocking him on 
the head w ith a hatchet instead of burniuL; him accordiiiL; to their custom. Our 
first achiexement this day was to set fire to the fort of which xvc had spoken. 
It xvas eiL,dit hundred paces in circumference, xxell enough flanked for saveges, 
with a retrenchment adxanced for the purpose of commimicating with a spring 
which is half way down the hill, it being the only place xvhcrc they could ob- 
tain water." During the three dax's following, the French were engaged in 
the destruction of corn, beans and other produce, multitudes of horses, hogs 
and \-,iiic)us kinds of property belonging to the Senecas; the grain c.if the small 
xill.ige of St. Michael, or Gannogarae, distant a short league frcmi the large 
town, being destroyecl on the 17th. The Indian allies xvere busy scouring the 
coimtry and reported the enemy dispersed through the wciods c.ni their retreat 
to the Cayugas. From this point DeNonville's narration may be quoted 
directly : — 

'•(.)n the 19th of July nio\ecl our camp in the morning from near the \illage of St. 
James or Gannagaro, and enc.am]ied betore Totiakton,- surnamed 'the great xillage.' or 
the village of the Conception, distant four leagues from the former. We found there a 
still greater number of plantecl fields, and wherewithal to occupy ourselves for many 

days Un the 21st went to the small village of Gannounata,'' distant 

two leagues from the larger, where all the old and new corn was destroyed the same 
day, though the C|uantity xvas as large as in the other villages. It was at the gate of 

1 liuugliton hill. 

^ It w.is at tliis viil.ige tli.it the /;w<',v t',/-A;/ (act c. flaking fcirmal ll.l■,sc^^i.cll of tliL- ccmntiy) was read. 

■< This ]i!acc;- ijie fourth Senec.i village, i-, >,ii|i|iom-c1 lo have l)eeii alcoul two iicile-, --oiitheast of East 
.\von, al llie souixe of a Miiall stream which emiilie^ into the C'oneMis. near .\von springs. It w,as 
called l>vu-cl()-ii.sot, liy the Senecas. from its location "at the spring." 



ToTiAKTON — Its Anciext and Modern History. 57 

this village that we found the arms of England, which Sieur Dongan, governor of New 
York, had caused to be placed there contrary to all right and reason, in the year 1684, 
having antedated the arms as of the year 1683, although it is beyond (|uestion that we 
first discovered and took possession of that country, and for twenty consecutive years 
have had Fathers Fremin, Gamier, etc., as stationary missionaries in all these villages. 
On the 22d we returned to Totiakton, to continue there the devastation already com- 
menced. On the 23d we sent a large detachment of almost the entire army 

to complete the destruction of all the corn still standing in the distant woods. About 
seven o'clock in the morning seven Illinois, coming alone from their country to war 
against the Iroquois, arrived at the camp as naked as worms, bow in hand, to the great 
joy of those whom Sieur de Tont\- had brought to us. .\bout noon of the same day 
we finished the destruction of the Indian corn. We had the curiosity to estimate the 
whole quantity, green as well as ripe, which we had destroyed in the four Seneca vil- 
lages, and found that it would amount to 350,000 minots of green, and 50,000 of old 
corn [1,200,000 bushels]. We can infer from this the multitude of people in these four 
villages, and the great suffering they will experience from this devastation. 

" Having nothing more to effect in that country, we left our camp in the afternoon 
of the same day to rejoin our bateaux. We advanced only two leagues. On our way 
a Huron surprised a Seneca who appeared to be watching our movements. He was 
killed on the spot because he refused to follow us. On the 24th of July we reached 
our bateaux after marching six leagues. We halted there on the next day, the 25th, in 
order to make arrangements for leaving on the 26th, after having destroyed the redoubt 
we had built. We dispatched the barque for Cataracouy, which we had found with 
the other two at Ganniatarontagouat, to advise the intendant of the result of our expe- 
dition, and by that opportunity sent back those of our camp who were suffering the 
most from sickness. On the 26th we set out for Niagara, resolved to occupy that post 
as a retreat for all our Indian allies, and thus afford them rhe means of continuing, in 
small detachments, the war against the enemy whom they have not been able to harass 
hitherto, being too distant from them and having no place to retire to." 



CHAPTER IX. 

Totiakton — Its Ancient and Moilern History — DeXonville's Return Route to the -Sand-Har. 

THE history of Totiakton is a matter of local interest, and the positive iden- 
tification of its former site will explain to many inquiring minds the "mys- 
tcr\" regarding the numberless antiquities discovered in its neighborhood. In 
1677 Wentworth Greenhalgh made a journey from Albany to the Indians west- 
ward, lasting from May 27th to Jiil\- 14th. In his Observations {Col. Mss., 
III., p. 252) Mr. Greenhalgh says: — 

"Tiotehatton lyes on the brinke or edge of a hill, has not much cleared ground, is 
neare the river Tiotehatton, which signifies 'bending;' itt lyes to westward of Canagorah 
about thirty miles, contains about one hundred and twenty houses, being ye largest of 



58 



History of the City of Rochestkr. 



all ye houst-s wee saw, ve ordinary being alinut fifty or sixty feet and some one hundred 
and thirty or one himdrcd and forty foott long, with thirteen or fourteen fires in one 
house, tliev have a good store of coriie growing aliout a mile to ye northward of the 
towne. lieing att this place the 17th of June, there came fifty ])ris(>ners from the south- 
west-ward, thev were of two nations some whereof have few gunns, ye other none at 
all; one nation is about ten da\s jmn-ney from any Christians aiid trade only with one 
greatt house nott farre from \e sea, and ye other trade only, as they say, with a black 
people ; this day of them was burnt tud women and a man, and a chilil killed with a 
stone, att night we heard a greatt no\'se, as if \'e houses had all fdlen, butt itt was f)nlv ve 




1 I'l.liaktc.n ;. ^. 2 Cemeteries. ^, i, , niuffs. 4 P.-ilis.i(iL-d l-V.rt. 5 Spring. 6. 6, 6 H(.nei>ve Ouile 
Sl.cU.,n. 8 J. Kussell. g SheWun\ PLiin, 10 SiWeyville 1 1 H.meoye Falls. 12 Line between Miiidun and 



-)K 101 I.\K I I 



,\NIi VII IM I V. 



inabitants driving away ye ghosts of ye murthered. The i8th, goeing to Canagorah, 
wee overtook ye prisoners ; when ye soldiers saw us the\- stopped each his prisoner and 
made him sing, and cutt off their fingers, and slasiit their bodvs with a knife, and when 
they had sung each man confessed how many men in his time he had killed." 



Location of Totiaktox. 59 

Totiakton was distant from Gannagora just eleven miles in a northwest 
direction. Its former site was located by O. H. Marshall in 1847. Blacksmith, 
the aged Seneca chief from whom Mr. Marshall obtained much information, 
called this village De-yu-di-haak-doh, which he said signifies "the bend," from 
its location on a bend of the creek. In this he agrees with Greenhalgh. The 
present w riter has searched out the old town site and prepared the foregoing 
map of the locality from personal sur\'ey. 

It is in the town of Mendon, Monroe county, on the northcasternmost bend 
of Honeoye outlet, two miles north of Honeo)'e F"alls, and exactl}' tweh'e and 
one-half miles in an air line due south of the center of Rochester. In this 
vicinity the Honeoye flows in a beautiful valle\- varying from one-fourth to 
three-fourths of a mile in width, and the channel t\\ ists and turns in all direc- 
tions through the fertile bottom. The ancient town w-as located on the table 
land which projects into the west side of the valley in the form of a bold bluff, 
facing the east, at an elevation of about one hundred and fifty feet above the 
water. This ground was purchased by Abner Sheldon, in 1802, and is now 
included in the estate of his son J. F. Sheldon, a gentleman whose courtesy 
and valuable assistance in the collection of many facts connected vVith this sub- 
ject will be long and gratefully remembered. The so-called "clear ground," 
when Abner Sheldon came in possession, consisted of "oak openings," and a 
number of large trees were then scattered about the old town site. Judging 
from the limits within which relics have been found, the Indian village occu- 
pied an area of about twenty-five acres. A plentiful supply of water was ob- 
tained from springs situated along the base of the bluff to the north. A fine 
"medicine" spring of sulphur- water is now in operation. The ground has been 
under cultivation seventy-five j'ears, yielding an annual harvest of antiquities 
including human bones, gun-barrels, locks, knives and hatchets of iron ; toma- 
hawks, arrow-heads, pestles, skinners, etc., of stone ; wampum and beads of 
clay ; pottery, brass kettles and trinkets, brass rings bearing the legend I. H. S., 
pipes, bullets, etc., etc. Three cemeteries have been discovered in locations 
designated on the map, and all skeletons unearthed have been found in a sitting 
posture, facing the east. 

On the edge of the bluff", about eighty-five rods southeast of, and overlook- 
ing the old town, Mr. Sheldon discovered the ruins of a palisade inclosure, 
occupying half an acre of land. It was nearly square in form and built of logs 
twelve feet long set closely together in the earth to the depth of four feet. At 
the date of its discovery the timber was greatly decayed, many of the palisades 
having rotted to the ground. It was doubtless erected by the Indians who 
rallied immediately after DeNonville's departure, as a temporary abode and 
defense prior to their permanent settlement elsewhere. The statement of De- 
Nonville and other historians of the expedition, regarding the immense amount 
of corn destroyed by the French troops, has been questioned by late writers, 

5 



6o History of the City of Rochester 



yet a thorough survey of old Totiakton and its environs cannot fail to impress 
one with a sense of the good judgment exercised by the aboriginal inhabitants 
in its selection as a place of permanent abode, and the superior advantages 
possessed by the natives fi>r the cultivation of the soil. About two hundred 
acres of ground lying southwest of the old Indian village presents a surpris- 
ingly smooth, level surface, and was long known as "Abraham's plain." It is 
now termed "Sheldon's plain." The Indian corn fields mentioned b_v (ireen- 
halgh were in the oak openings on this plain, and the rich flats in the valley 
bottom were undoubtedly cultivated to some extent. 

DeNon\iIle states that the French left Totiakton in the afternoon of July 
J^d, and ad\anced two leagues (six miles). On the f illowing da_v the\- reached 
their bate<iu\ at the mouth of Irondcciuoit ba\-, <ifter marching six leagues or 
eighteen miles. It is evident that the expedition did not return to Irondequoit 
o\er the same route b_\- which it reached Totiakton, and the course pursued by 
the arm_\' on its return to the sand-bar has never, within the knowledge of the 
present writer, been described or suggested in print. As early as 1682 the 
French had become accustomed to all the woods and acquaintetl with all the 
roads through them (Col. J/ss., /A'., 195), and the Jesuits, se\'eral of whom ac- 
companied the expedition, had occupied missions in all the Seneca towns tor a 
period of twent\- }-ears, aiul doubtless untlerstood e\er}- mile of Intlian path 
east of the Cienesee. So well known and public a thoroughfare as the portage 
trail between Red creek ford and lronde(iuoit landing could not ha\'e escaped 
their know ledge. Personal researches have satisfied the writer that the Indians 
once had a road from the I loneoye outlet to Red creek ford. This trail crossed 
the lloneo)e north of old Totiakton, ran nearl\- west to an Indian \illage at 
the present Fast Rush cemeter\-, ani.1 thence northwest to the farm now owned 
by Marvin Williams half a mile south of West Henrietta corners, where e\i- 
dences of earl)' Indian occupation h,i\e been frequently found. A second trail 
left the I Ioneo)-e above Rush junction, ran north t'ia Hart's Corners and crossed 
the farm of David Ely in its course straight to the town on the Williams fiirm, 
which is about six miles from old Totiakton. This place would have been De- 
Non\ille's camping ground on the night of July 23d if he had foll<.)wed this 
trail. At the east base of the hill uiion which the town was located is a large 
pond said to ha\'e been the origiuiil source of Red creek. The distance from 
the camp down the Red creek trail to the ford, and ria the portage trail and 
Irondequoit landing to the sand-bar, is about twent}--two miles. If the F'rench 
arm\' pursued this route it passed o\-er the present site of Rochester; but it 
would appear that this road is much too long. 

The writer has traced a trail from the Irondequoit landing-path at the resi- 
dence of Charles M. Barnes in Brighton, across the Pittsford roatl to an okl 
town site on Allen's creek in the tow n of Pittsford, which ran up the east side 
of the creek directlv south. If this trail continued on the same general course 



Numerical Strength of the Ikoouois. 6i 

it would strike Totiakton. On this line, a short distance north of Mendon Cen- 
ter, are se\eral large ponds fed by springs, where the Senccas went to fish, and 
numerous indications of Indian camps have been found the entire length of the 
Allen's creek valley. The distance from the old Indian settlement, by the pres- 
ent road, to the mouth of Irondequoit bay is about twenty-two miles, and this 
agrees more perfectly with DeNonville's estimate of eight leagues, or twenty- 
four miles. That an Indian path once extended over this line from Irondequoit 
to Mendon can hardly be doubted, though its e.xact course is not known, and 
it is very probable that the French army returned to the sand-baron this trail. 



CHAPTER X. 

Strength of the Iroquois — A Terrible Revenge — French Invasions — Irondequoit a IMace of (Ireat 
Importanee in Colonial Times — F'ort des Sables — Charlevoix Describes the Casconchiagon — Captain 
Schuyler Builds a Trading-House at Irondequoit Landing — His Official Instructions — Oliver Culver 
Discovers the Ruins of the Trading-House — Senecas Sell the Lower Genesee Country to the King of 
England — British Armies at Irondequoit. 

THE earh' French ignored the native names of people and places in many 
instances, and applied such designations as pleased themselves. Occa- 
sionally Indian names were used, but not as a rule. The Mohawk canton was 
called Anniegue, the Oneida Onneiout, the Onondaga Onnontague, Cayuga 
Oioguen, and the Seneca Sonnontouan. In 1665 the Jesuits estimated the num- 
ber of warriors at 2,340. In 1667 Colonel Courcey, agent for Virginia, stated 
that the Five Nations had 2,150 warriors. Wentworth Greenhalgh in 1677 
placed the number of fighting men at 2,150. In 1685 DeNonville gave the 
numerical strength of the Iroquois as follows: Mohawks 250, Oneidas 150, 
Onondagas 300, Cayugas 200, Senecas 1,200, or 2,100 men all told, capable 
of bearing arms. Marshall estimates the entire population about that date as 
7,000, but Bancroft says that in 1660 the whole number could not have varied 
much from ten thousand ; and their warriors strolled- as conquerors from Hud- 
son's ba\' to Carolina, and from the Kennebec to the Tennessee. The Seneca 
was the most powerful nation of the league, and had all its bra\es been a 
home when the French arrived at Irondequoit, the history of DeNonville's 
expedition would doubtless record a disastrous repulse of the invaders, who 
claimed that they routed and put to flight eight hundred Senecas. The latter 
stated that the greater part of their warriors were absent, fighting distant foes, 
and their entire force in the engagement with the French consisted of only four 
hundred and fifty men. The Seneca loss probably did not greatly exceed one 
hundred, and many of these were old men and boys not reckoned active war- 
riors, hence their military strength was but slightly diminished. They retreated 



History of the City of Rochester. 



to Caiiaiulaigiia, and in an incrc<lil)ly short space of time collcctctl a force of 
one thonsand men, who tonk tlie trail fur Niacjara. Upon the completion of 
the f(irt at that place b\- the I'rench, a detachment under La llontan was or- 
dered west tn relie\-e the L^arrison of ]'"(irt St. Joseph at Detroit. That officer 
pnrtaLjed the falls of Niagara and embarked his tr(.iops at Schlosser. The party 
had barel}- left the land when the thonsantl Iroquois appeared on the shore in 
close pursuit. The h'rench succeetletl in reaching Lake ICrie in safety, and, 
ilistancing the heavy canoes of the Indians, escaped to the north shore. 

In 1688 DeNonvillc induceil the k"i\e Natii.ms to send a delegation to Mon- 
treal f<ii' the purpose of agreeing upon terms of peace. The Iroquois dispatched 
sex'enteen hundred men to the St. Law i"ence, h\e hundreil \-isiting Montreal as 
a peace delegatiim, and tuehe hundred .iwaiting the result near at hand. A 
treatx' was cuncludeiJ, but die Kmidianink, a Huron chief determined to frus- 
trate it. When a part}' nf the Ircxiunis peace eiu'oys were returning up the 
St. Lawrence, Kondiaronk attacked them, killed several and capturei.1 the rest. 
He represented that he was acting upon an understanding with the I'"rench, and, 
when informed that he had destro_\'ed .1 peace delegation, aflecteil great indig- 
nation, released his prisonc-rs and ad\'ised them to a\-cnge their fdlen friends. 
During the summer tweh'e hundred Iroquois landetl on the south sitle ol Mon- 
treal, and destroyed the place, slaughtering men, women and children without 
mei-c\-. Smith sa_\-s that "a thousand h'rench were slain in the inx'asion, and 
twent\'-siN carried into capti\ityand burne(.l ali\'e. Many more were made 
juisoners in another attack in ( )ctober, and the lower part ol the Island of Mon- 
treal wholly destro\'ed." 

War between I'rance antl I'.ngl.ind occurred soon after, lasting until 1 697. 
With lew exceptions the InKpiois i-emained implacable enemies of the I'Vench, 
ami the' kitter made se\'ei'al in\asions of the Irocjuois countr}'. In i68y La 
Hontan entered New York from the south shore of Lake lu'ie with an army of 
western Intlians, and hatl se\'eral engagements with the Iroquois, but his battle 
grountls have never been identified. In h'ebruary, 1692, an army of French 
and Huron allies attacked the hunting [xu'ties of the Senecas in Upper Canada. 
In 1693 the Mohawk countiy was devastated. The last h'rench e.xpediticjn 
against the h'ive Nations of which we have an\' record occurred in 1696, when 
Count tie I'rontenac landed an army.it Oswego and destroyed the crops of the 
(Jnondagas and Oneidas. That e.xpetiitions were made to the Seneca country, 
and b.ittles fought here of which no known record exists, is fully believed by 
those who ha\'e gi\'en the subject of Indian antiquities thought and study. 
Did space permit, many excellent reasons influencing this belief might be pre- 
sented. The French occupancy of Western New York has never been fully 
recorded, and lasting memorials of unknown struggles upon our home soil have, 
for years, proved perplexing obstacles to the completion of a perfect history. 
From i6S9to the treaty of Utrecht, in 171 3, the French and hLnglish may be 



Fort des Saki.es. 



said to have been continually at war in all our great lake region, and the con- 
test for dominion and control of the Indian trade ceased only upon the final 
overthrow of h^'ench power in Canada. During all this period Oswego, Iron- 
dequoit and Niagara remained subjects of contention. 

In April, 1700, Robert Livingstone, then secretar}- of Intiian aftairs for New 
York, made a journey to Onondaga to ascertain the condition of matters within 
his jurisdiction. In his report of the trip to the earl of Bellomont, he says: 
"I do humbly offer that it is morally impossible to secure the Five Nations to 
the English interest any longer, without building forts and securing the passes 
that lead to their castles." Mr. Livingstone recommended the erection of a 
fort between Lakes Erie and Huron at a point 744 miles southwest of Albany, 
antl mentions the route to that place as follows : "Albany to Terindcquat [Iron- 
decjuoitj at the Lake of Cadaracqui [Ontario] 400 miles, thence to Onyagara 
where the great fall is eighty miles, from thence to the beginning of Swege 
[h>ie] lake 64 miles, to Swege creek and from thence to W'awachtonok 160 
miles." He also recommended a fort on the Onondaga river, to be garrisoned 
with 100 youths, and remarked : " It is true that the French do trade, and have 
small hutts and berks which they call forts at some of those Indian habitations 
where they have priests." 

The governor of Canada also desired to erect forts, one at Niagara, "the 
second at Jerondaquat, that is, on this side of Cadaracqui lake where the path 
goes up to the Sinnekes castles, about thirty miles from where the Sinnekes 
have now their castles." August 20th, 1701, Lieutenant-Governor Nanfan 
reported to the lords of trade that he had procured from the Five Nations an 
instrument whereby they con\'eyed to the crown of England a tract of land 
Soo miles long and 400 broad, including all their beaver hunting, which tract 
began at Jarondigat." ' 

In 1 7 16, the French erected a building near the present site of the Sea 
Breeze hotel at the northwest angle of Irondequoit bay and Lake Ontario.- 
It was known to the French as F"ort des Sables, and appears to have been con- 
sidered quite an important station. At a private conference held in June, 1717, 
between Governor Hunter of New York and two sachems of each of the Five 
Nations, the latter said : — 

"We have had two messages from hence — one last fall and another this winter — 
lo inquire if the French had built a fort and planted a garrison on this side the great lake, 
at a place called Terondoquat, belonging to the Sinnekes; we could not give them a 
positive answer till we had sent as far as the Senekes; but now can tell your excellency 
that there is no such thing, but that the French have built a trading-house at the said 
place, where they supply our Indians with powder and lead to fight against the Flat- 
heads and other enemies of the Five Nations ; and we must likewise acquaint you that 

1 Co/. Mss., IK, 888. 

- For the identification of tliis location I am indebted to my good friend B. Fernow, keeper of his- 
torical documents of the state library al .Mliany. 



64 HisTuKV OF THE Ci'iv OK Rochester. 

our peoplL- are furnished with nlher gnoils also at the saiil FreiK h trachng-house, as 
rlothin.L; ami other necessaries. whi( h slo]is a '^wM ileal of |ieltrv coming; hither; but the 
French are supplied with all those -onds from tlie people here at Albany. whi( h goes 
tirst to Canada and from thence up Mount Roval river and so on to Teromloiiuat. where 
the Frenc h trading-house is built upon ,L;round belonginti; to the Sennekes. If you will 
stop that trade of goods being carried from hence to Canada the other trade will tall of 
coiirse." 

In Ma>', 1720, Lawrence Clawscn was sent tu Niagara to protest against 
the erection of forts on the Seneca lands, b\- the French, and in his journal 
says: "On the 7th I returned to Tjerondequatt, where I mett a F'rench smith 
sent by the governor of Canada to work for the Sinnekies gratis." 

It would seem that l'"ort des Sables was not in the ordinary sense a military 
post. Charle\-oix tells iis that the h'rench erected cabins, surrounded by pickets, 
"to which they give beforehand the name of F'ort, for they say that in tiiDc 
it will be changed into a real fortress." Rev. John Durant, who passed Ironde- 
quoit in 171S, sa\-s the F'rench left only one storekeeper and two sokliers at 
such posts during each winter. In ( )ctober, 1720, the Sieur de Joncaire left 
Montreal for Niagara, with two canoes laden with merchandise, and twelve 
soldiers, "whereof he sent six when he arrived at the fort of Cataraque. He 
pursued afterward his voyage, but the ice stopped him thirty-five leagues from 
the mouth of the river of Niagara, where he was obliged to go into another river 
called Gaschonchiagon, where he passed the winter." Father Charlevoix 
stopped at Irondequoit bay in May, 1721, on his journey westward, and, writ- 
ing soon after from Niagara, says : — 

•■I departed from the river of Saliles the 21st. before sunrise; but. the wind con- 
tinuing against us. we were obliged at ten o'clock to enter the bay of the 'Fsonnon- 
thouans [Bradtlock's bayj. Half w ;iy from the river of Sables to this bay there is a 
little river [the Genesee], which I would not have failed to have visited, if I had been 
sooner informed of its siiigularity. and of what I have just now learned on my arriving 
here. 'I'hev call this river Casconchiagoii. It is very narrow and of little depth at its 
entrance into the lake. A little higher it is one hundred and forty yards wide, and they 
say it is deep enough for the largest vessels. Two leagues from its mouth we are 
stopped by a fall which appears to be sixty feet high, and one hundred and forty yards 
wide. A musket shot higher we find a second of the same width, but not so high by 
two-thirds. Half a league further ,1 tiiird, one hundred feet high, good measure, and 
two hundred yards wide, .'\fter this we meet with several torrents; and after having 
sailed fifty leagues further we meet a fourth fall [Portage] every way equal to the third. 
The course of this river is one hundred leagues, and when we have gone uj) it about 
si.\ty leagues we have but ten to go by land, taking to the right, to arrive at the Ohio, 
called La Belle Riviere. The place where we meet with it is called Ganos : where an 
officer worthy of credit (M. de Joncaire) and the same from whom 1 learnt what 1 have 
just now mentioned, assured me that he had seen a fountain the water ot which is like 
oil, and has the taste of iron. He said also that a little further there is another fountain 
exactly like it, and that the savages make use of its waters to appease all manner of 
pains. The bay of the Tsonnonthouans is a charming place. .\ pretty river winds 
here between two meadows, bordered with little hills, between which we discover 




SI ir I III' Asi \ II u II I III 1 I \ 1 \ 

CASCONCHIAlKlN (iRliriIFsr\l(\skl\ll 

I76S. 



\Ki-: ' iv I .\\ii< 




SOUTHEAST VIFAV OF IT I F I.i-iWFR r\r\RACT 
■ CASCONCHIAGON [GENESEE] OR UTTLE SENECA's RIVER, LAKE ONTARIO. 
176S. 



Trading House at Irondequoit. 65 

valleys which extend a great way. and the whole forms the finest prospect in the world, 
hounded by a great forest of high trees: hut the soil appears to be somewhat light 
and sandy." 

The actual occupation of the Seneca country by the F"rench was an incen- 
tive to the English to adopt measures for protection of the Indian trade, and 
in the early summer of 1721 the as.sembly of New York pas.sed an act for 
raising the sum of five hundred pounds for securing the Indians to the English 
interest. This sum Governor Burnet expended chiefly in the establishment 
of a settlement at Irondequoit. His project met with the hearty approval of 
the authorities at Albany, and a small company of volunteers was promptly 
organised to carry it into effect. This company consisted of Captain Peter 
Schuyler, jr.. Lieutenant Jacob Verplanck, Gilleyn Verplanck, Johannis Van 
den Bergh, Peter Gronendyck, David Van der Heyden and two others whose 
names are unknown. Governor Burnet's instructions tcj Captain Schuyler 
were as follows : — 

'' Vou are with all expedition to go with this company of young men that are will- 
ing to settle in the Sinnekes' country for a twelvemonth to drive a trade with the far 
Indians that come from the upper lakes, and endeavor by all suitable means to persuade 
them to come and trade at .Albany or with this new settlement. You are not to trade 
with the four hithermost nations but to carry your goods as farr as the Sinnekes' 
country to trade with them or an)- other Indian nations that come hither. You are to 
make a settlement or trading-house either at Jerondoquat or any other convenient place 
on this side of Cadarachqui lake upon the land belonging to the Sinnekes, and use all 
lawfull means to draw the furr trade thither by sending notice to the farr Indians that 
you are settled there for their ease and incouragement by my order, and that they may 
be assured they shal have goods cheaper here than ever the French can afford them at 
Canada, for the French must have the principal Indian goods from England, not having 
them of their own. You are also to acquaint all the far Indians that I have an abso- 
lute promise and engagement from the Five Nations that will not only suffer them to 
pass freely and peaceably through their country, but will give them all due encourage- 
ment and sweep and keep the path open and clean when ever they intend to come and 
trade with this province. Being informed that there are sundry French men called by 
the Dutch ' bush loopers,' and by the French courciirs dii boh, who have for several 
years abandoned the French colony of Canada and live wholly among the Indians, if 
any such come to trade with you, with their furrs, you may supply them and give them 
all possible incouragement to come hither where they shall be supplyed with Indian 
goods much cheaper than at Canada, .\ltho the place where you settle be land be- 
longing to the crown of Cireat Britain, both by the surrender of the natives and the 
treaty of peace with France, nevertheless you are to send out skouts and spyes and be 
upon your guard, the French not being to be trusted, who will use all means to prevent 
the far Indians coming to trade with you or their coming to Albany. You are to keep 
an exact dyary or journall of all your proceedings of any consequence, and keep a 
constant correspondence with the commissioners of the Indian affairs at Albany, whom 
I will order to give me an account thereof from time to time, and whenever you shall 
receive orders from me to treat with the Sinnekes, or any of the Five Nations, you are 
to be carefuU to minute down your proceedings and their answers, and to send them to 
me with the first opportunity, inclosing them to the commissioners of the Indian affairs 



06 History of the City of Rochester. 



who will forward them with all expedition, and it" any matters of great moment and fit 
to he kept \er\' secret do on ur, nou are to send an account thereof to me in a letter 
sealed, uliic h nia\- be inclosed to the commissioners in order to he forwarded, and \ou 
are not obliged to mention such matters in your letter to the commissioners. When 
you come to the Sinnekes' couiUrv \ou are to gi\e them a belt of wampum in token 
that the\' are to give credit to you as m\ agent to treat with them of all matters relat- 
ing to the public service and the benefit of tlie trade, and at your desire to fm-nish you 
with a lumiber of their people as you shall want fir your assistance antl safety on such 
conditions as yoti and the\ i an agree upon. When \ou have pitched uijon a con- 
venient place for a trading-house, you are to cndeaxnr to purchase a tract of land in 
the king's name, and to agree with tlie Sliinckes for it which shall be paid by the publick 
111 order that it may be granted by patent to those that shall be the first settlers there 
for their iiu ouragemeiit. You are not to hinder or nlole^t an\- other Uritish subjects who 
are willing; to traile there on their own hazard and a( count (or an_\' Indian goods, rum 
onl\ excepted. You are to lommuiiii ate to the compaii\- such articles of your instruc- 
tions as shall be proper fir their regulation from time to tune. If you jtidge it neces- 
sar\ \cui ma\ send one or two of \our comiiany either among the lar Indians, or to 
come to Albany, as the necessary ser\ u e of the company shall reijuire, but not abo\e 
tw(i of the said <oni|)an\'. of whiih yourself ma\' be one, will be permitted to be absent 
at one time. When \ ou are about to absent \ourself from the said settlement you are 
to lea\e a copy of such part of instructions with the lieutenant as yuti judge necessary 
lor his regulation. All the goods and merchandize that you and said company shall 
take awa\ wit,h you are to be u|)on one joint stock and account and all your profitt and 
losse to he the same. (lixeii under my hand at the manor of Lixingston the ele\enth 
day of September in the eighth year of Ins majesty's reign, anno Dom. 1721. 

'•W.\i. lU'K.N'trr." 
Additiclldt linti iictioiis. 
"Whereas it is thought of great use to the ISritish interest to have a settlement upon 
the nearest port of the Lake Kree near the fills ol lagara. you are to endeaxor to 
jjUK base ill his majest\'s name of the .Smnekes or other native propnators all such 
hinds abo\e the fdls of lagara fiU_\- miles to the soutliward of the said falls which the\- 
can dispose off. \ou are to ha\e a copy of iiiv pro|iositioiis to the Fi\e Nations and their 
answer, and to use \'our utmost eiidea\-ors that they do peiform all that they ha\'e 
promised therein, and that none of these instructions be shewn to any person or persons 
but what \ou shall think necessary to c omnuinicate to the lieutenant and the rest of 
the coinpaiu," 

1^1)011 his arrival at Irondcciiioit Captain Schuyler selected a location for 
his trading-house secure front I'"reiich surveillance, yet affording" easy access 
frniii Lake Ontario, and control of all Indian paths leading to the water. The 
actual site of the building v\as a little plateau overlooking the noted Indian 
landing on Ir.nulequoit creek, at the eastern terminus of the grand portage 
trail. This sjiot may be regarded as the most important point in all the lower 
Genesee countr)'. It was the great Indian landing-place from Lake ( )nt;irio, 
and general trading-ground of the early tribes. Previous to the building 
of l'"ort ties .Sables the h'rench ran their little sailing vessels up the bay ;tnd 
creek to this landing, and it was doubtless at this place, and not in the Genesee 



Purchase of Irondequoit by the English. 6-j 

river, that the brigantinc of La Salle dropped anchor in June, 1670. There 
the Senecas went to trade furs for arms, trinkets and brandy; there Father 
Hennepin left the bartering crew of h'rcnch and Indians, and wandered deep 
into the woods, built a chapel of bark wherein, secure from observation and in 
communion with nature, he [Performed his religious duties.^ The house erected 
by Captain Schuyler's company stood a short distance from the edge of the 
bluff, with one side facing the creek It was an oblong structure of consider- 
able size. After an occupation lasting one year. Captain Schuyler returned to 
Albany in September, 1772, with all his company. While excavating the 
earth for a building upon the same location about 1798, Oliver Cul\'er dis- 
covered the foundation logs of a block-house, evidently destroyed by fire, and 
musket balls, etc., in large quantities. It has been assumed by certain writers 
that the ruins discovered at the Irondequoit creek landing by I\Ir. Cidver were 
the remains of a battery or redoubt built by DeNonville, and that his army 
actually landed at that place, but this is an error. As we have already sho'vn, 
DeNonville's army landed at the mouth of Irondequoit bay, and the onl}- 
fortification erected by the French at that time was on the sand-bar. It is 
supposed, however, that the "first defile" mentioned by DeNonville was the 
passage through the valley at the Irondequoit landing. The ruins found by 
Mr. Culver were undoubtedly the lower logs of Captain Schuyler's trading- 
house. 

For many years Irondequoit, as the great pass to the Seneca countr)-, 
proved a bone of earnest contention between F'rench and English, each nation 
proposing to build a stone fortress at the entrance of the bay upon obtaining 
the consent of its rightful owners, the Seneca Indians. In August, 1741, 
Lieutenant-Governor Clarke, _ of New York, wrote the lords of trade as 
follows : — 

" I have the honor to inform \our lordships that by the means of some people 
whom I sent last year to reside in the Senecas' country (as usual) I obtained a deed 
for the lands at Tierrondequat from the sachimes, and I have sent orders to those 
people to go around the lands in company with some of the sachimes and to mark the 
trees, that it may be known at all times hereafter how much they have given up to us." 
" Deed to His Majesty of the Lands Around Ticrondeqiiat. 

"To all people to whome' these presents shall or may come We, Tenekokaiwee, 
Tewasajes and Staghreche, Principall Sachims of the Sinnekes' country, native Indians 
of the province of New York, send greeting. Know yee that for sundry good causes 
and considerations us Moveing but More Especially for and in consideration of the 
value of one hundred pounds currant money of the said province, unto us in hand paid 
and delivered at and before the ensealing and delivery hereof by the receipt whereof we 
do hereby acknowledge and therewith to be fully paid and contented thereof and there- 
from and of and from every part and parcell thereof, do fully clearly and absolutely 
request exonerate and discharge them the Said their Executors Administrators and 

1 Nc~iu Discmery, p. 109. 



68 IIlSToKV OK TIIF, CiTV OF RoCIIKSTKR. 

Assigns and every of them forever by these presents have therefore given granted 
released ami lnre\cr quit Claimed and li\ tliese [iresents for us and our defendants do 
give grant release and fi>re\er i]uit ( laim untn mir most gracious So\-ereign Lord 
(leorge the second 1)\- the grace c}f Cm] <>( (ireat llruain i''ranre and Ireland King 
Defender i>f the taitli elc. his heirs and Successors all our Right title and Interest 
Claime property profession and demancl of in and lo all that tract of land Scituate 
lying and being in tile c cniiil\' of Alliain heginning on the hank of the Oswego lake 
six miles easterd of 'I'lerondeciuat and runs from theiic e ahmg the Lake westward 
twenty miles and from the Lake southeastward thirty miles keeping that distance from 
the Lake all the way from the beginning to the end with all and Singular of woods 
underuciods trees mines miiieralls i|iiarr\s herechtainenls and appertenances whatsoe\er 
and the Reversion and Reversions Remainder and Remainders Rents Issues and 
I'rohtts thereof to ha\e and to hold all and siii-ular the above bargained premisses with 
the appurtenances unto our said most giac ioun Sovereign Lord his heirs Successors and 
Assigns to the sole and only proper use lieiietitt and behoof of our said Sovereign Lord 
his heirs Sue cessois and Assil;iis forever, in Testiinony whereof we have hereinto sett 
our marks and seals this tenth dav of Januarv in the fourteenth year of his Majesties 
Reign annoc| : Doni ; i 74". 



Sergrmen. 

o 



Siahiirksi;h 




DKKCISClt I'KN 
d/zas TlvNEHOKAIWKli 



Signed Sealed and Delivered 
In the presence of 

Hendrvck W'kMI'KI, 
Jacciiu's Van Ei's 
Phii.ii' Rvokr 

'• Alljany 3d ()ctolier 1741 appcarecl before Philip Livingston Kscjuire one of his 
Majesties Council I tor the I'icimhc e of New \'ork Hendrik Wemp Jacobus Van Lps 
and Philip Ryder vviio dec lared on the holy Kvangelisls of Almighty God that they 
saw the within named leiiehokaiwe Tew assajes and Staghreche Sachims Sign Scale and 
deli\er ye within cleecl as tlieir volunlarv act and deed for the use therein mentionec_l. 

'• P : LiviNosiciN." 

Cicjvenior Clarke iiiadc repeatcil ctTorts to effect the settlcincnt of an Enolish 
colony at Iroiicleciiioit, without success. Oswego, being on the main water 
communication between /Mbany and Lake Ontario, and Niagara, controlling 
the p.assage to \iv\tj and the western lakes, became the ])rincipal pciints of 
contest, and great fciris were built at those places while Irc>ndeqiic}it remained 
a simple trading station. July ist, 1759, Genercd I'rideau.x, with Sir William 
Johnson sect)nd in command, left Oswego with an army of two thousand men 
and five liundred Indians on an expedition against h'ort Niagara, at the mouth 
of Niagara river, then occupied by the French. The expedition was supplied 
with heavy artillery and all necessary military equipments for a protracted 
siege, and was transported in vessels, bateaux and canoes. Coasting the south 
shore of Lake Ontario, the first night's encampment was at Sodus, the second 



The Seneca Castles on the Genesee. 69 

at Irondequoit and the third in l^raddock's bay — which latter place was then 
named Prideaux ba)-, in honor of the English commander, who was killed a 
few days later during the siege. At each halting-place discharges of artillery 
were made to inspire their Indian allies with courage, and their foes with terror. 
Upon the surrender of I-"ort Niagara Sir William Johnson, with nearly all his 
army antl six hundred prisoners, retiu'ned down the lake to Oswego, again camp- 
ing at Irondequoit. In 1764 General Hradstrcet left Oswego upon an expedi- 
tion against the hostile western tribes under I'ontiac. During the passage up 
Lake ( )ntario his army, consisting of twehe hundred troops, followed by Sir 
William Johnson with si.x hundred hulians, also encamped at Irondequoit. 
Israel I'utnam, of Bunker Mill fame, was then lieutenant-colonel of the Con- 
necticut battalion in the exjicdition, and several other men who subsequently 
became illustrious patriots of the Revolution, were officers of Hradstrcet's army. 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Seneca Castles on tlie (k-iiesee — Treaty of Peace with tlie iMiglish — Decline of Iroijuois 
Power — Sullivan's Camjiaign ai;ainsl the .Senecas — Fate of Lieutenant Boyd — .Sullivan's Troops on 
the Site of Rochester. 

THE red men seldom rebuilt upon the site of a town destroyed by enemies, 
though they occasionally settled in the near vicinity of such places. As 
a rule the surviving inhabitants removed to a distance. After the destruction 
of their four principal villages by DeNonville, the Senecas sought other local- 
ities for their settlements. Towns sprang up in the lower Genesee country, 
mainly on the trails leading to Irondequoit bay, but as early as 17 15 their cas- 
tles were located on the middle and upper Genesee. The frequent removals 
and establishment of new towns render any chronological account of the Seneca 
settlements impossible. The soil of the Genesee valley is rich with humble 
memorials of their presence in every part of- its rugged uplands and alluvial 
flats, and, did space permit, it might prove an interesting theme to point out 
existing evidences of several large Indian towns w hich were located in the im- 
mediate neighborhood of Rochester ; but this shall be our task at some future 
day ; at present we must hasten with the record of changes contemporary with 
the close of aboriginal occupation. I'or a period of twenty }'ears following the 
termination of French dominion in Western New York in 1759 there are few 
events of direct local bearing recorded in history. The Iroquois had steadily 
maintained their sole right to possession of the Genesee country against all 
comers, and upon the overthrow of the French at Niagara naturally sided with 
them against the conquerors, entering into active preparations to rid the coun- 



History nv the City of Rochester. 



try of L'\'cr\' Englishman. ImnicdiateK' .succeeding tlie treaty of I'aris in 1763 
and consecjucnt end of the Trencli war, tlie Iroquois decided to acquiesce in 
the general submission to liritish rule. April 3d, 1 764, a preliminary treaty 
was arranged between the Senecas and Englisli at Jolmson Hall, aiul ratified 
at Niagara the following summer undei" a peremptor_\' threat of General I'rad- 
street to at once destroy the .Seneca settlements if the peace compact was not 
promptly and fully confirmed by all the nation. This treat)' was the beginning 
of the end of Indian domin.ition in the (/lenesee countr}'. Among other con- 
cessions wrung from the Senecas b\- the terms of this peace was the surrender 
of title to lands along the Niagara ri\'er between Lakes Ontario and Erie 
Having large military forces at ( )sw ego and Niag,u-a, the I'aiglish were [jrepared 
to fillow up this acquisitiim of title by actual occui.)ati<in and control of the 
grounds cetletl, and the f'othold thus obtained by the whites was never relin- 
quished. 

The dixersion of the direct channel of western trade to and through ( )swego 
eastward, upon the asceiulenc)- of the h'.nglish, rentlered Irondequoit and the 
lower (lenesee ci iniparati\el\- unimpoi'tant stations, or ports of the Senecas. 
Iiuli\idual traders and sm.tll parties of whites often visited the Indian settle- 
ments and British troops occasionally passed through the dark forests, but the 
liorder line nf civilisation was fu' to the (.-astw.u-d, and the e.Kciting events pre- 
ceding the struggle between the colonists and miither-lan(.l filled to tlisturb the 
primiti\e ]jeace of our home wildeiiiess. rhrough all the dreadful scenes of 
the Re\'olution the occurrences on the lower Genesee were confined to the pas- 
sage of war parties of British and hulians, but the great " vale of the Senecas" 
became a stronghold and secure retreat for predatory bands of tories and sav- 
ages, who niatle frequent, tlesolating incursions and "hung like a scj-the of 
death" about all the border towns of the Americ<m colonists. In retaliation Gen- 
ei'.il John Sullivan invailed the Genesee country with an army of four thousand 
men during the summer of 1 779, antl destro)'eil the Indian settlements. On 
his m.uch up the Tioga — or Chemung, as it is now called — he attacked and 
routed S(}me twelve or fifteen hundred British troops, tories and savages under 
Butler, Johnson and I-Srandt, who were intrenched at Newtown, about four 
miles below the present cit)- of I'dmira. The retreating eneni}- were followed 
to Geneva, Canandaigua and Conesus. Sullivan expected to fintl the fmious 
Genesee Indian castle at the mouth of the Canaseraga creek, but in all his army 
there was not a single person sufficiently acijuainted with the country to guide 
a part}- <nitside the Indian trails, and on his ari'iwal at Ka-naugh-saws ( head of 
Conesus lake) he dispatched Lieutenant Thomas Boyd of Morgan's rifle corps, 
with twenty-si.x men, to ascertain the location of the tow^n. Boyd's little band 
crossed the Conesus outlet and followed the trail to a village on the Canaseraga, 
about seven miles distant, which was found deserted, the fires still burning. 

The part)' encamijeil nccU' the town and on the following morning, Sejjtem- 



Sullivan's Expedition. 71 

ber 13th, 1779, started to rejoin the army. Just as they were descendhig the 
liill at the base of which the army lay, five or six hundred warriors and loyal- 
ists under Brandt and Butler rose up before them and with horrid yells closed 
in upon the little band from every side. In the terrific struggle that followed, 
all the party were killed except Murphy, McDonald, Putnam and a Canadian, 
who escaped, and Boj^d and Parker, who were captured. The prisoners were 
conducted to Little Beard's Town (now Cu)'lerville), which was then termed the 
Chinesee castle, and upon their refusal to impart information regarding Sulli- 
van's army were turned over to the Indians. Parker was simply beheaded, but 
Boyd was subjected to the most horrible tortures that savage ingenuity could in- 
flict. Sullivan's soldiers, who had crossed the Genesee to attack Little Beard's 
To\\ n, were so close at the time that the advance found the remains of Boyd 
and Parker while the blood was still oozing from the headless trunks. They 
were buried that evening with military honors, under a clump of wild plum 
trees, at the junction of two small streams which form Beard's creek, and a 
large mound was raised over the grave.' 

Previous to the arrival of Sullivan's army the Indians had sent all their 
women and children to Silver lake, and upon the first appearance of the Amer- 
ican troops on the west side of the river the enemy fled precipitately. Brandt 
with his warriors and the British regulars took the Moscow trail for Buffalo 
creek and Niagara, while the tory rangers went to the Caledonia springs. From 
that place Walker, the noted British spy, was sent to Fort Niagara with instruc- 
tions to obtain a sufficient number of boats to transport the tories and meet 
them at the mouth of the Genesee river. The rangers then came down the trail 
to Red creek ford at the rapids in South Rochester (see chapter VI.), where 
they divided into two parties, one going directly to the lake, by the St. Paul 
.street route; the other over the portage trail to Irondequoit landing and the 
tories' retreat in the great ox-bow curve of the Irondequoit creek, thence across 
the country to the mouth of the Genesee, where the boats from Niagara found 
the entire party in a starving condition some days later. Little Beard's Town 
is said to have been the extreme western point reached by Sullivan, and it has 
long been a question of considerable interest whether any part of his army de- 
scended the Genesee to the vicinity of Rochester. Following the arrival of the 
troops at the Genesee castle all property of the Indians was ruthlessly destroyed, 
including one hundred houses, some two hundred acres of grain, large crops of 
beans and potatoes, and several orchards, one of which contained fifteen hun- 
dred trees. "While this work was in progress at Little Beard's Town," .says 
Norton, "General Sullivan, according to the undisputed tradition of years, sent 
Generals Poor and Maxwell down the river to Cannawaugus, which place they 
destroyed, and on this return march likewise burned Big Tree village. Gen- 



1 For an account of the final dispositiiin of their bones, the reader is referred to chapter XIX. of this 
history. 



72 HiSIORV i)K THE CiTV OF RoCHESTKR. 

eral Sullivan make? no mention of this fact, nor is the destruction of Canna- 
waugus recorded in the numerous journals kept by officers of Sullivan's army ; 
the conclusion is irresistible that no portion of the arm}' t;ot as fir north as 
Cannawaui;us, and that that \illa;^'e escaped the L;ener.il ilestruction ; Big Tree 
village, it is sufficient to say, had no existence on the (jenesee until after the 
Re\'olution." ^ 

While the return route of Sulli\an's arm\' is full)- understood, it is not prob- 
able that the minor incidents of each scouting e.\[jedition were considered of 
sufficient importance to merit sijecial record. Sullivan's spies imdoubtedly 
followed the retreating enemy some distance, and one oi' more p.u'ties of scouts 
ma\- ha\-e trailed the t(.>ries to Irondecpioit and the mouth of the river. The 
rangers certainK- believetl that Sullixau's men were in their immediate vicinit}', 
as they concealed themsehes in the brush and ilareil not shoot a gun, build a 
fire or expose their precious carcasses until the a|)pearance of Walker with the 
boats for their remo\-al. The Indians retreateil to l^'ort Niagara, and most of 
the Senecas remained there tluring the winter, which was unusually severe. 
The food furnished b\- the British being insufficient and of inferior qualit\-, hun- 
dreds of Indians tiled from star\-ation and scur\-y. Few ever returned t(.i their 
old homes east of the Cienesee, the main body of Senecas settling at l^ufifalo 
creek, Squawkie hill. Little Beard's Town ami Cannawaugus. Some came upon 
the lower Genesee, and as late as 1796 the town located on the Culver farm in 
Irondequoit (see chapter \T.) numbered o\er three lumdretl inhabitants. Their 
power as a nation was completely broken, and upon the conclusion of peace 
between the United States and ICnghmd, the latter nation made no i)ro\-ision 
for her defeated Indian allies, leax'ing them entirely to the mercy of the 
Americans. 

1 Sid/h'aii's C(? »//><> ii^ii, ])y A. Til'faiiy Nortmi, p. l66. While tliis st.itement of Norton's would 
appear to efteclually ili.siiose [if the question, it is quite certain that the pioneers of the lower Cienesee 
firmly believeil that Sullivan's army, or some considerable portion of the troops, actually came within 
the present boundaries of Kocliester. In iSlo Jacob Miller settled the Red creek ford farm on the east 
bank of the (ienesee, and found a nunilier of decaying boats near the mouth of Red creek. Mr. .Miller 
was repeatedly informed by Indians that these were the remains of boats used by Sullivan's soldiers 
who came do\\'n the ri\'er in jnirsuit of the tory rangers. 

.■\bout 1821 Charles M. Barnes, Calvin and Russell luaton and a fourth boy named Stanley were at 
play on the bank of .\llen's creek in Brighton, near the crossing of East avenue. I'hey noticed a man, 
apparently about seventy years of age, looking around at various objects, and inquired what he was 
searching for. The stranger replied " I was in Sullivan's army, and the first night after the fight I 
slept under a large white oak tree that stood near this s|iot. The jilace has altered yery much, but I 
recoiled thai it wa^ under a tree that stood cL.se to the creek." The boys pointed out a large while 
oak slump standing on the east liank of the stream some rods lielow, and the stranger thought that 
might have been the exact spot where he sleiit, but could not say jjositively, as the surroundings were 
so changed. He told the boys his name and rank and related several incidents of Sullivan's march. 
Mr. Barnes is still living, hale and hearty at seventy-three, and has a distinct remembrance of the cir- 
cumstance, though the name of the stranger was forgollcn years ago. The relation of siinilar incidents 
was common among our early settler-., and there can be lillle iloulit that they were founded on fact. 



First White Occupancy. 



n 



CHAPTER XII. 

The White Man'.-, ( )ecii|),iiKy nf ihe Ceiicsee Country — The Native Title Kxtingiiished — Indian 
Reservations — Present In<lian Pupulation. 

THE soldiers of Sullivan's army caiTied to their eastern homes wonderful 
tales of Western New York, of its grand forests, natural meadows, rich 
soil and valuable watercourses, and to many the Genesee country became the 
land of promise and the Eden of pioneer hopes. At the close of the Revolu- 
tionary war all of New York west of German Flats was a wilderness inhabited 
by Indians only. At the conclusion of peace in 1783 King George III. re- 
linquished his claim to this territory, to the United States. The state of New 
York asserted her right to all lands extending westerly to Lakes Erie and On- 
tario, founding her claim mainly as successor to the Five Nations and on the 
acquiescence of the British crown. Massachusetts resisted this claim tipon the 
ground of prior title to certain portions of the land by virtue of a charter granted 
to the council of Plymouth by King James I. in 1620. This disptite was settled 
b)- a treaty held at Hartford, Connecticut, in December, 1786. Among other 
conditions of the settlement, Massachusetts relinquished all sovereignty and 
jurisdiction over all that part of the state of New York lying west of a meridian 
drawn through Seneca lake, and comprising what were subsequently known as 
the Phelps & Gorham and Holland Land company's purchases (see Ne%v York 
Charter, by O. H. Marshall), reserving the right of preemption in the soil, or 
in other words the right to purchase of the Indians. In April, 1788, Oliver 
Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham purchased of Massachusetts the preemption 
right of the territory ceded to that state, comprising some si.x million acres, 
for one million dollars. In July of that year these gentlemen extinguished 
the "native right" to a portion of these lands by purchase of the Indians at a 
treat)' held at Buffalo, and in 1790, being unable to fulfill their agreement with 
Massachusetts, prevailed on that commonwealth to take back four million 
acres and reduce the amount of ther purchase money to thirty-one thousand 
pounds. After settling a portion of their tract, in November, 1790, Phelps and 
Gorham disposed of nearly all the residue, about 1,264,000 acres, to Robert 
Morris, who sold the same to Charles Williamson, who held it in trust for Sir 
William Pulteney. The Pulteney estate was bounded "on the north by Lake 
Ontario, east by the preemption line, south by the state of Pennsylvania, west 
by a transit meridian line due north from latitude 42 to the Genesee river at 
its junction with the Canaseraga creek, thence by the Genesee river to the 
south line of Caledonia, thence west twelve miles, and thence northwesterly by 
the cast line of the 'triangle,' twelve miles west of the Genesee river to Lake 
Ontario." It is not otir purpose at this time to trace the succession of title 
to lands in Western New York. It is sufficient to say that Massachusetts sold 



74 HisTiiRV (IF TiiK City of Rochester. 

the finir million acres L;i\en up l)_\- riicljis aiul (jorhani, to Rdbcrt Morris. In 
1792-3 Mr. IMorris sold nc.trl_\- all of his interest in lands west of the Cienesee 
ri\er, to Herman Le Ro\-, William ]5a_\-ard, Matthew Clarkson, Garrett l^oon 
antl ](ihn Linkhien, in trust fur certain Ljentlmen in Holland, and this tr.ict was 
afterwaril known as the "Holland I'urcliase." ,\ law permitting; aliens to hold 
real estate was passed soon after, enabling Sir William Pultene_\- and the Hol- 
landers to assume the titles of their respecti\'e estates. By the terms of his 
transactions -with Sir William Pulteney and the Holland compan)', Mr. Morris 
was bound to extinguish the whole nati\'c title to all lands between Seneca 
lake and the Niagara frontier, and accordingly a treaty with the Senecas was 
lield at Geneseo (Rig Tree) in September, 1797. Of the six million acres in 
Western New York owned by the Inilians previous to Phelps and Gorham's 
first purchase in 1787, the terms of the Geneseo treaty left for their use only 
the following described " reser\'ations: " — 

" I . Caiinauaugus, two s<|uare miles lying on the w est hank of the Genesee ri'.er, west 
(if .\\un. J and 3. Big Tree and Little Beard, in all four ^^l|uare miles on the wc-st 
liank of the Genesee, near Geneseo. 4. S(|ua\vkie Hill, two miles square, on the west 
bank of the Genesee, north of .Mount Morris. 5. Ganleau, or Gardow, the "white 
woman's" reservation, containing about twenty-eight square miles (17,927 acres) on l)oth 
sides of the Genesee river, lietweeu Mount Morris and Portage. 6. Caneadea, sixteen 
square miles, on both sides of the Genesee above Portage. 7. Oil Spring, one square 
mile on the line lietween .Alleghanv and Cattaraugus counties. 8. Alleghany, forty-four 
M|uare miles, on lioth sides of the .Mleghanv river, near Salamanca. 9. Cattaraugus, 
forty-two scjuare miles, on lioth Nides and near the mouth of Cattaraugus treek. on 
Lake Erie, twenty-si.x miles north of Buflalo. 10. Buft'alo. one hundred and thirtv 
scjuare miles, on both sides of Buffalo creek, near lUiffalo. 11. Tonawanda, seventy 
sr]uare miles, on both sides of Tonawanda creek, about twenty-five miles from its mouth, 
and sixteen miles northeast of Ruflalo. 12. Tuscarora, one square mile, on the moun- 
tain ridge, three miles cast of I.ewiston." 

The Indian title to all these reservations, e.vcept Alleghany, Cattaraugus, 
Tonawanda and Tuscarora, has since been extinguished. As early as 1820 
the red man had few representatives in the Genesee valley, and about 1830 
they ceased to occupy their old camp grounds along the lower Genesee. In 
1826 John De Bay and Samuel Willett, two men who accompanied Clark in 
his famous western expedition in 1806, then residents of Rochester, purchased 
a quantity of goods, engaged T. J. Jeffords,' a lad of thirteen, as assistant, 
and made the tour of Indian towns in Western New York. The first camp 
visited by the traders was located on the ridge, east of Irondequoit bay, and 

1 Mr. Jeftbrd-, is well known to the citizens of Rochester, having held several positions of honor 
and trust in the county of Monroe. The pleasure of a visit to his pleasant home in Kasl Rush is 
greatly enhanced by the presence of his .lunt, Mrs. Rehelcah Price, the first white child born in Rich- 
field, Otsego county, .September 2d, 1791. Mrs. Price has lived at Rush since 1800. Her mind is as 
clear and .active as that of many peojile at si.xty. From the rich store-house of her memory ami llie 
recollections of .Mr. Jefifords, many interesting facts concerning Indian and pioneer times have been 
obt.ained. 



The Genesee Falls Mill Lot. 75 

consisted largely of French associates of the Indians, with whom they were 
hving. The second town was on or near the present farm of Judge Edmond 
Kell\-, south of Irondequoit landing. The traders found about twenty Indians 
at the Bell farm on the north side of Honeoye outlet, and one hundred and 
fifty at Cannawaugus. Passing through York to Wiscoy above Portage, they 
struck a town of three hundred Scnecas. At Red House station, above Sala- 
manca, thc\' found four hundred and fifty Indians. On the bank of Silver 
creek, near Captain Camp's residence, one hundred Senecas were engaged in 
a council. 

In his late work, Weird Li\i^ciii/s and Traditions of tlic Sciicca Indians, 
issued in Ma}', 1884, Rev. J. W. Sanborn presents the results of his experience 
as a missionary to that nation. Touching the present population of the In- 
dians, chapter XXIV., he says : — 

"In Western New York the total population of the Senecas is 3,014, disposed as 
follows: On the Alleghany reserve 914, Cattaraugus reserve 1,500, Tonawanda reserve 
600. The Indian population, including all the tribes in the state of New York, is fully 
6,000." 



CHAPTER XIII. 1 

The Genesee F.ills Mill Lot — The Triangle — Ebenezer Allan's One-Hunclred-.\cre Tract — The 
Stone Ridge — Peter Sheffer — Allan's Mills — The Mill Stones — Jenuhshio or " Indian" Allan — 
The First White Settler — First Grist Mill in the Genesee Valley — .Allan's Deed to Benjamin Barton 
— Close of .\Uan's Career — His Son Claims the One-Hundred-.\cre Tract. 

WHEN Oliver Phelps held his treaty with the Indians at Buffalo, in 17S8, 
he was anxious to secure all their lands within the Massachusetts pre- 
emption claim, but the Indians declined to part with any land west of the 
Genesee river, regarding that stream as a natural boundary set by the Great 
Spirit between the white and red men. Unable to effect his object by honor- 
able purchase, Mr. Phelps appealed to the generosity of the Indians and asked 
them for a piece of land west of the Genesee, large enough for a "mill seat," 
representing the great convenience a mill would be to them, whereupon the 
Indians requested him to state the amount of land required for such a purpose. 
Mr. Phelps replied that a piece about twelve miles wide, extending from Canna- 
waugus (Avon) on the west side of the Genesee river to Lake Ontario, about 
twenty-eight miles, would answer his purpose. The Indians were reluctant to 
part with so large a tract, but, upon Mr. Phelps's assurance that it was all 

1 The material for chapters XIII. and XIV'. is derived from the journals of Charlevoix, and Maude, 
the Life of Mary Jemison, Turner's histories of the Holland Pmrhasc, and Phelps &= Gorham Pur- 
chase, Pioneer Collections, and private journal of the writer compiled from personal researches. 

6 



■j6 History of the City of Rochester. 

needed, granted his request. This stri[) of land, thus acquired b)' Oliver 
Phelps, contained about 200,000 acres and was designated the "Genesee Falls 
mill lot." The first survey of the mill tract was made by Colonel Hugh Max- 
well, who started at Cannawaugns, ran twelve miles west of the Genesee river, 
and then due north to Lake Ontario. Whether these lines were run with a 
view of again cheating the red men, or were made through mistake is not cer- 
tain; but the Indians bitterly opposed the boundaries thus created, and Augus- 
tus Porter ran a new line which was as near an average of twelve miles from 
the Genesee as a straight line woukl permit. In after sur\-e\'s west of this 
line, the tract struck out of Ma.xwell's sur\'e\' by Porter was termed the 
"Triangle." 

.Mr. Phelps fulfilled his agreement with the Indians by a contract with one 
Ebenezer Allan, who agreed to erect saw and grist mills at the Genesee falls, 
the consideration being the conveyance to Allan of one hundred acres of land, 
cinnmencing at the center of the mill and e.\tending an equal distance up and 
down the ri\'er, then west far enough to contain the hundred acres in a square 
form. So far as known no writings ever passed between Phelps and Allan, but 
in a deed for twent_\- thousand acres embracing all the present site of Rochester 
west of the Genesee river, sold to Ouartus Pomeroy, Justin Ely, Ebenezer 
Hunt and a Mr. Breck in i/QO, an exception and reservation was made of 
"the one hundred acres pre\'iousl\- granted to h^benezer Allan." 

Allan is supposed to have been the first white settler in the Genesee valle}-, 
other than the tor)- Walker at the mouth of the Genesee, and first white 
occu[)ant of the territory now co\-ered b_\- the cit\- of Rochester. Whatever 
his faults and \Mces, this fact is patent, and from his first appearance as an 
actual resident of the Genesee valley dates the era of permanent settlement. 
No history of Rochester would be complete that omitted mention of Ebenezer 
Allan and his many interests in Western New York. From the mouth of the 
river at Lake Ontario to the lower falls at Gardeau, Allan inaugurated im- 
provements which have found their full development only during the present 
generation. Nearly a century has elapsed since the sounds of his rasping 
mill- saw first echoed across our beautiful ri\er and were hushed in the roar of 
untamed waters dashing over their rocky bed in the channel below; but the 
memory of his presence, here, on the soil we love so well, must be cherished 
while the Flower city has an existence. 

In the Revolutionarj' war Allan was a tory and became acquainted with 
the Senecas during their incursions against American settlements on the Sus- 
quehanna. He joined the Indians in their predatory battles, and excelled all 
his savage associates in ferocious cruelt)-. Mary Jemison, the "white woman," 
sa\-s that during one of his scouting expeditions with the Indians Allan entered 
a house very early in the morning where he found a man, his wife and one 
child, in bed. The man instantly sprang on the floor for the purpose of 



Ebexezer Allax. -j-j 



defending himself and family; but Allan killed him at one blow, cut oft' his 
head and threw it into the bed with the terrified woman; took the child from 
its mother's breast and dashed its head against the jamb, leaving the unhappy 
widow and mother alone with her murdered family. It has been said by some 
that after killing the child Allan opened the fire and buried it under the coals 
and ashes, but of that Mrs. Jemison was uncertain; though she thought 
Allan repented these deeds in later days. He accompanied the Senecas to the 
Genesee, and was with Walker at the battle of Newtown. When the Indians 
returned to their desolated homes, after the departure of Sullivan's army in the 
fall of 1779, Mrs. Jemison went to Gardeau and husked corn for two negroes 
who lived there. In the spring of 1780 she built a house on the flats, and 
Allan made his appearance at that place soon after. He was apparently with- 
out any business to support him, and remained at the white woman's house 
during the following winter. In the spring Allan commenced working the 
flats and continued to labor there until the peace of 1783, when he went to 
Philadelphia, and in a short time returned with a horse loaded with dry goods. 
Locating on the present site of Mount Morris he built a house and became a 
trader. 

Dissatisfied with the treaty of peace, the British and Indians on the frontier 
determined to continue their depredations on the white settlements between 
the Genesee and Albany. The Senecas were about setting out on an expedi- 
tion when Allan-, understanding their mode of warfare, procured a belt of 
wampum and carried it as a token of peace either to the commander of the 
nearest American military post, or to the American commissioner. The officer 
sent word to the Indians that the wampum was cordially accepted and a con- 
tinuance of peace was ardently desired. The Indians considered the wampum 
a sacred thing, and dared not go against the import of its meaning. They 
immediately buried the hatchet as respected the Americans, and smoked the 
pipe of peace; but with the aid of the British resolved to punish Allan for 
presenting the wampum without their knowledge. A party of British soldiers 
was sent from Fort Niagara to apprehend Allan, but he had escaped and they 
confiscated his property and returned to the fort. A second attempt to cap- 
ture him failed, as he was concealed in a cave about Gardeau and supplied 
with food by the white woman ; a third effort was successful and Allan was 
taken to Montreal or Quebec for trial, where he was honorably acquitted of 
the crime charged, that is, putting too sudden a stop to the war. Proceeding 
to Philadelphia he purchased on credit a boat load of goods, which he brought 
by water to Conhocton, and thence to Mount Morris on horses provided by 
the Senecas. These goods were exchanged for ginseng and furs, which Allan 
sold at Niagara. Harvesting a large crop of corn on his own land, he carried 
it down the river in canoes to the mouth of Allen's creek, then called Gin-is- 
a-ga bv the Indians. There he built a hou.se and cultivated the soil. Butler's 



AZei rrrrrTHTrrsf *ilL V~ Z^eihs 31 
~ fn-"rr.£; ^^e iSzwrmi snmHtfr le luilr 3j± 3irr--m"' fm* i?;c ztnz znnner ir i 
lie rrsfifTT ariTP'^ii~. srrrrr 1:: ±:e racs :iHit s: lie thL sai "^r*^ ~-n^?sTr 
~ ~ ill irurtEsx -fe-^ if^i. -vTrer^ tie aitieniEz: is 

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pcsssm -ill Tr iT^ rctne X - ^I'ITi ' 31c i -rcrior ie is bjse ar^v ix3i5 zie Tr^sraLDc 
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en: . 'itiiiip-" rf -Ess: zzt-^l. 's ""tTic"- |7-.-Tinifl ' "jue SEv-mH srsczef rnr ALht 
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ssrcmf Tf^ ir ~Te 5:23: 3riIL "^^ri- -rttr ~tttt ^ -v^s j-mc n Iche^ Scoie. 

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jac i rnnnnns-ic jrc junse iit Jis sm- -rrs; riTm-T^ ^- ar-: : mo 

iesr ^'ss. imr i^r ::ie I^msis. ^?m-^ rne- iiu i-rf i:if s?is:r7_ _. _ _ _--i :r 

?^»ris tTH' ' -»'! i-^nr Seme anrx a - ->- jf - - in— —nl ■ j,-.4ri-TT Tm- 

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T- -TV- -;^^^llc^ Tr rt^ rr- 



Erectiox of Aixax's Mill 



The mill firame was ljea\-\-. bewed tiinber. tweni>--iix by thirty feet. It stood 
nordi of die saTr-nuII r - apos wiiat was afterward known as 

tbe "oM red mili" ate. do- 2." This exact spot Ls directly 

ir " nnmbeis 3-^ iau 4; Zist Main street, hab" way betwe«i Aque- 

c_ -.Tes streeL The j-:-"-^ -^ now occapied by M. F. Re\-nolds's 

paisi niii., iuK2 EL R. A- _ eaablishment- Allan procured mm 

fr:— 1 t-ii rz "-•:" it -, .e- ir.i '";u:r -.- "free as water." 

T XI tbe gronac : r for the mill 

r - . sawed and was ; , ^ i^jmIs indulging 

evening and then sleej»ng on the new floor. The iron for 
_ :.. __ ._- _ _::aght ns. horseback frcwa Conhocton to Allan's brm. and 
thence down the river in canoes. In bringing die mfll irons down, a Dutch- 
man EL=2ned Andrews,, having them in charge, went o^ier the upper hS and was 
dirowned- The iron was recovered, bat Andrews »^s ne\-er seen again, and 

"r - ^^^ an EJigS^ travder, pass, ^ die 

I; — , 3^i :z iii ^ "the Allan grist —ill says ; "It 
c , iir of stones m^i r stone of a neighboring qnarrv% 
which is ;^.;^uid to be verj- suitable for rr..^ piirpQse." This carious statement 
of M2r-:?e> has beoi repeated b\- every historian writing on this subject. ?- fsr 
a5 ire. to die presseat day. The "quarrj-" mentioned ha5 
:h-5 fir •t^^'^V and Mr. Maudes infc— -:l=: !r; '-;~ 
15, one -of which was tl - 
1 , rrfells(50-e — e=:. - - - :, : :^ 

aT _\ zo ChariercKx's desc- v e Genesee in 172 1 shows 
that ic - z were then identically u:- ;, : at present, as regards dis- 
tance The —.in rf stooe used in Allan's grist mill were made firom boulders 

c- - - -- -- _- -- ■-- -jjjL With the 1 - -- — -"'--'-ans, 

.-. ,i- He was a bli tge 

r^ ; i: .^-ti - ited 

tl - with his re- 

pair- , 

W^i : lazy. He -^35 - ap- 

p; , -iner had a b-Did, detc 2nd 

ti^ , He osuail}- had from : In- 

c 1 m return saopiseu Laem and their lamiiies wiia cvcjyr'ning 

r, 1 "'hif'-n ""he'ever Allan went, a company of Indian satel- 

1" I uring his stay at the grist mill the Senecas 

ci li ;irer:, ind at thelniim ;ini 1 He .vi^s 

^- - Tas knov. 

" - r--. ,- 1 . . -_. _ J - -i with the 1 ; - : 

1 m Allan " bv the greadv disliked him. About the time of 



So Ilis'iiiin (IF riiK Cnv oi- Rochkster. 



liis first appearance on tlie Genesee, Allan married a Seneca squaw named 
K\en-da-nent. Her l^n,L(lish name was Sally. They had two (.lauL;liters, 
Mary, born in 1780, and Chloe, born March 3d, 17S2. While at the falls in 
1789 a man named Chapman stopped with his family on their wa_\- to Canada, 
and Allan proposed to the daughter Lucy, to wIkjui he was mariied b)- a 
sham magistrate. Chapman went on his journe\' to Canada and Lucy was 
taken back to Allan's farm, where she found his squaw wife and children. 
About this time Allan beat a boy to tleath. and pushed an old man into the 
Genesee, intending to drown him and marry his wife. The man gut out of the 
river, but died next da\-, and his murderer added the widow to his harem. lie 
also married the half-breed slaughter of a negro named Captain Sunhsh, and 
robbed the old man of his mone_\'. C)n his removal to Mount Morris .Alhm 
married one Millie McGregor, daughter of an Lnglish tor}', and is said to have 
had half a dozen other wives during his residence in the Genesee valley. 
Luc_\' Allan had one child, Millie six. and Sally two. L^pon the ci.impletion of 
the mill Allan moved inti:> a ro<im in the buililing, and so far as kn(jwn his was 
the first white famil}- that residetl on the site of Rochester. Poor as it was, the 
grist mill proved a benefit to the few settlers in the sparsely inhabited region. 
People came from Lima, Avon, Victor, Irondequoit and other towns to get a 
grist or procure a few boards from the saw-mill. 

It has been frequently stated that Allan's was the first grist mill in the Gen- 
esee valley, but this statement is incorrect. During the winter of 1788-9 John 
and James Markham built on a little stream which enters the Genesee river 
about two miles north of A\-on. It \\ as a small log building, and all the lum- 
ber used in its construction was hewed out bv hand. The curbs were hewed 
])lank, the spinille made b\' straightening out a section of a cart tire, and the 
stones roughU" cut from native rock. There was no bolt, the substitutes being 
hand sie\'es made of splints. The mill was a rude, primitive concern, but it 
niasheil corn better than the wooden mortar and pestle then used by early set- 
tlers, and during the year or two of its existence was highly valued. 

Allan's residence here was temporary. In 1790 he bought a stock of goods 
in Philadelphia and reopened his trading station at Mount Morris, leaving his 
brother-in-law, Christopher Dugan, in charge of the mills. Just when Allan 
moved his family to Mount Morris is not known, but it is probable that they 
left the mills early in 1792, soon after the sale of the one-hundred-acre lot to 
Mr. Barton. The deed, or more properly, assignment of his interest, given by 
Ebenezer Allan to Benjamin Barton, is the foundation of all titles to real estate 
\\ithin the so-called " one-hundred-acre tract," the boundaries of which may 
be crudely described as running from the jail on the bank of the Genesee 
about four hundred feet south of Court street, west to a point near Caledonia 
avenue and Spring street, thence north to an angle about one hundred feet 
northwest of the corner of PVank and Center streets, and due east to the river 



Deed of the One-Hundred-Acre Tract. 8i 

directly east of Market street. A fac-similc copy of this venerable document 
is shown on the next page. Its subject matter is as follows : — 

"Articles of agreement made this 27th day of March in the year of our Lord one 
thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-two, between Ebenezer Allin and Benjamin Bar- 
ton, witnesseth that for and in Consideration of Five Hundred pounds New York Cur- 
rency received by the said Ebenezer Allin of Benjamin Barton, the said Ebenezer AlHn 
doth sell all that Tract of land containing one hundred acres lying on the west side of the 
Genesee river in the County of Ontario State of New York Bounded East on the Genesee 
river so as to take in the Mills lately Built by the said Allin. From thence to run North- 
erly from said Mills Sixty three rods also southerly of said Mills Sixty three rods from 
thence Turning westerly so as to make one hundred acres strict measure. And the said 
P'.benczer Allin doth hereby impower the said Benjamin Barton to apply to the Honr'd 
Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham or Either of them for a good and sufficient deed of 
conveyance to be by them — or Either of them executed to the said Benjamin Barton, 
his Heirs or assigns for said Tract of land and the said Ebenezer Allin doth hereby 
request and Impower the said Oliver Phelps or Nathaniel Gorham to seale and Deliver 
such Deed to the said Benjamin Barton his Heirs or assigns, and the said Ebenezer 
.■\llin doth hereby exonerate and discharge the said Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham 
in consequence of their executing the deed ass'd, from all and Every agreement or Instru- 
ment which might or may have existed Respecting the conveyance of said Tract of land 
from them the said Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham or Either of tliem to the said 
Ebenezer Allin, in Witness whereof the said Ebenezer Allin hath hereunto set his Hand 
and Seal the day and year above written. 
" Sealed and delivered 

in the presense off "E.Allan heal] 

(Jertrude G Ogtlen 

John Farlin " 

" Reed, of Benjamin Barton a Deed for Aliens Mills on the Genesee River, in 
settling therefor I am to settle tlie Bond for ^'300 which he gave Ebenezer Allen for 
which I was security. Dec. 24th 1793. S.a.ml. Ogden." 



S ^ 2 -a S -^ g 



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1 This indorsement was made by Mr. Turner. 




t^-y-t- 






^<. a. ^ /^/^ -*. y^ ^/i^"/c<x ^..^y^ /^^.-<^>^ <Cr yyJ-< ^.^^ 

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84 I^isTiiRV OF THE CiTV OF Rochester. 

This deed has a curious history. Its existence appears to ha\-c passed from 
pubHc nieuK-iry until (Irsnmus Turner beyan the collection of material for his 
i^rand histories of the Phelps & ("lorham and Holland purchases. DuriiiL; a 
visit to the faniii_\- residence of Brandt, the noted Mohawk sachem, at Brantford, 
Ontario, Mr. Turner found the .Allan deed, among other papers formerh- be- 
longing to Brandt, stored in a bari'el in the garret. No information could be 
obtained regarding the ti'^- ■ >r manner in which Brandt came into possession 
of the document, whicn ; reatlih- given to Mr. Turner. In June, I S49, he 
retiuested D. M. Dewt . • [jresent the old deed to the Rochester Athenaeum 
for safe keeping. It passed into the possession of Isl. F. Re_\-nolds, with otiier 
effects of the Athenit-um. and is now carefull\- treasured in the Re\-nolds librar)'. 

Soon after his return to Mount Morris, Allan induced the Seneca chiefs to 
give a tract of land four miles square, where he then resided, to his half-breed 
daughters fir their sup|)iirt and education.' He artfulh- framed the con\'e\'- 
ance so that he could appropriate the land to his own use, but, in accordance 
with its proxisions, sent his Indian girls to a school at Trenton, New Jersey; 
also sending his white son to I'hiladelphia, to obtain an English education. In 
1792 Allan built a saw-mill on the millet of Silver lake, at Smoky hollow, 
near the Cienesee ri\er. He sold the land (.leeded to his girls to Robert Mor- 
ris, and remo\ed them from school. In 1 797 Allan disposed of all his prop- 
erty- in the (jenesee valle_\- and removed to iJelawaretown, in Upper Canada, 
leaving his squaw wife behind. He also arranged with two men to tlrown his 
white wife, Millie. The men brought her tlown the river in a canoe and pur- 
posely' ran the boat o\er the upper fill, but Millie escaped to the shore and 
followed Allan to Canada. Gox-ernor Simcoe granted him three thousand acres 
of land upon condition of certain impr(}\-ements, and Allan became rich. In 
1806 his white neighbors combined against him, and he was repeatedly arrested 
upon charges of forger}', larcen_\', etc., but was in\'ariabl\' acquitted. Losses 
of propert}' followed, and about 1 8 14 y\llan died in greatl)' reducetl circum- 
stances, willing all his interest to Millie and her children. About 1820 a son 
of I'Lbenezer Allan came to Rochester and set up a claim for his mother's right 
of dower in the One-hundrcd-acre tract. It will be seen, by reference to the 
conveyance given to Barton, that Allan's name alone is attached to the instru- 
ment. A compromise was effected with parties holding titles in the propert}', 
but our informant, the venerable Mrs. Abelard Reynolds, has too indistinct a 
remembrance of the affair to aid us with particulars. 

1 Tlii-s deed was recorded in the office of the clerk of Ontario county, at Canandaigua, .\ugust I-.t, 
1791, in book of deed.s number I, page 134. It was signed by eighteen sachems, chiefs and warriors 
of llie Seneca nation, So-go-u-a-ta, better known as " Red Jacket," being of the numlier. 



Christopher Dugax — Josiah Fish. 85 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Christopher Dugaii — Colonel Fish — The First Dwelling-House — Early .Settlers — .Maude's \ isit 
10 Uenesee Falls in iSoo— Destruction of the .Mian Mills — The Old Mill .Stones — Rochester, Fitz- 
hugh and Carroll Purchase the One-hundred-acre Tract — Early Towns and Pioneers. 



M^ 



R. BARTON sold the One-hundred-acre tract to Samuel B. Ogden, De- 
cember 24th, 1793. The latter transferred the property to Charles Will- 
iamson, of Bath, agent for Sir William Pulteney, and it thus became a part of the 
Pulteney estate. Upon his removal to Mount Morris, Allan placed his brother- 
in-law, Christopher Dugan, in charge of the mills, and Dugan's was the second 
family on the site of Rochester. Allan's sister is said to have been a lady of 
education and culture, who married an old British soldier, and followed her 
wayward brother to the wilderness, where she clung to him through all his 
wickedness for years. She became housekeeper for her brother, and with her 
husband formed a part of Allan's family until the latter left the mills. August 
9th, 1794, Dugan wrote to Colonel Williamson, saying: — 

"The mill erected by Ebenezer Allan, which I am informed you have purchased, is 
in a bad situation, much out of repair, and, unless attention is paid to it, it will soon 
take its voyage to the lake. I have resided here for several years, and kept watch and 
ward without fee or recompense ; and am pleased to hear that it has fallen into the 
hands of a gentleman who is able to repair it, and whose character is such that I firmly 
believe he will not allow an old man to suffer without reward for his exertions. I wish 
to have you come or send some one to take care of the mill, as my situation is such as 
makes it necessary soon to rernove." 

Mr. Dugan left the mill soon after, and settled on his farm near Dugan's 
creek. At the time of Aaron Burr's visit to the Genesee falls, the following 
summer, not a soul could be found about this vicinity. 

In 1795 Colonel Josiah Fish purchased a farm at the mouth of Black creek 
and with the aid of his son Lebbeus commenced improvements. They came 
down to the falls late in the season and boarded with a man named Sprague, 
whom they found in charge of the Allan mills. The fare consisted of "raccoon 
for breakfast, dinner and supper, with no vegetables. On extra occasions 
cakes, fried in raccoon oil, were added." It would thus appear that Sprague 
was the third resident of Rochester, though no mention was made of his family. 
In 1796 Mr. Williamson expended about five hundred dollars in improvements 
at the falls, and engaged Colonel Fish to take charge of the mills. The latter 
moN^ed his family, consisting of his wife, a son and one daughter, here in No- 
vember. They did their cooking in a board shanty which was built against 
the stone ledge at the present northwest corner of Basin and Aqueduct streets, 
and resided in the grist mill, which was minus glass windows and other com- 
forts. The next fall Colonel Fish put up three sides of a log house against the 
stone ledge, which constituted the back wall, in which a chimney-place was 
excavated. Turner says this house stood on the site of the old red mill near 



86 His'iokv (iF THE City of Rochester. 



Child's basin. It has been assumed that he was in error, but one fact appears 
til be ii\erIiKikcd, (ir is uiikiniwii tn certain writers; there were two "Red" 
mills, the secdiul one occuiiyinL; the present (1S.S41 site of the Arcade mills on 
tlie east side nf Aqueduct street. The ruins nf a Iol; house remained there in 
1812, and Turner liad reference to this sput. Colonel h~ish was the foiu'th res- 
ident nf R<.ichester, .uid the Imuse erected b_\' him w.is the first building occu- 
pied exclusive!)' as a dwelliiiL;', within the present bounds iif the I'dower cit_\'. 
When Thomas Moi'ris escorted Louis Philippe, afterward king of I'rance, and 
his brothers, the Duke tie Mont[)ensier and Count Heaujnlais, from Canandaigua 
to \-iew the (ienesee falls in 1/9/, they entirely o\'erloiiked the humble duell- 
ing at the mills; but in 1 800 a party bciund up the lake, <if which W'illi.un 
Ni.\<in Liicimis was one, wei'e oxertaken by a storm nfi the mouth uf the Cien- 
esee and, running intn the river f>r safet\', came up to view the fdls. "Upon 
the present site of Rochester they came to a solitary log cabin, knocked and 
were bitl to come in. L^pon entering they found that in tlie absence of the 
fuiiih' a parrot had been the hospitable representative. The family (Col. f^ish's) 
returned soon, however, and ga\'e them a supper of pfitatoes and milk." In 
1798-9 Jeremiali Olmstead nn)ved to the falls and lix'cd in a hut south of the 
House of Refuge. This shanty had been erected by one Farewell, who re- 
mained there but a short time. He was the fifth resident of Rochester and 
Clmstead the si.xth, so far as is known, but future researches ma_\' change the 
ortler of succession. Turner says the clearing made b)' Olmstead "was the 
first blow struck in the way (.if impro\-ement, other than the Allan mill, on all 
the present site of the eit_\- of Rochester." In 1 800 Oliver Culver purchased 
a farm on what is now Last avenue and the Culver road, cleared seven acres 
and sowed it to wheat. Suspecting that his title was imperfect, Mr. Culver left 
the fu-m until 1 805, when he returned and became a permanent settler. He 
was the sex'cnth resident within the present boundaries of Rochester. The 
same year Wheelock Wood, of Lima, built a saw-mill on Deep hollow, and 
operated it one j'ear, but the terrible fever and ague, the enem\- of all earl\^ 
settlers, prostrated his wurkmen and forced Mr. Wood to abandon the place. 
He is supposed to have been the eighth resident. In the journal of his visit to 
Western New York in 1800, John Maude sa)'s that on August 19th he arrived 
at " Genesee Mills." 

•• .-\s Colonel Fish, the miller, had not those accommodations which 1 e\pecte<l, n.-t 
even a stable, I was olili^ed to [iroceeil to iMr. King's at the (Ienesee landing, where I 
got a good breakfast on wild pigeons, etc. Mr. King is the only respectable settler in 
this township (numlier i short range) in which there are at jjresent twelve femilies, four 

of them at the landing Further improvements are much checked in 

conse(|uence of the titles to the lands here being in dispute. Mr. Phelps sold three 
thousand acres in this neighborhood to Mr. Granger for ten thousand dollars, secured 
by mortgage on the land. Granger died soon after his removal here, and, having sold 
part of the land, the residue would not clear the mortgage, which prevented his heirs 
administering the estate. Phelps foreclosed the mortgage, and entered on possession, 



Early Mills. 87 



even on that part which had been sold and im[)rov(.'d. Some settlers, in consequence, 
(|ijitted their farms; others repaid the purchase money; and others are endeavoring 

to make some accommodation with Mr. Phelps The landing is four miles 

from the mouth of the river, where two log huts are built at the entrance to Lake On- 
tario Vt noon returned in company with Colonel Fish. Had a fine view 

from the top of the bank, of the lower falls, of which I took a sketch. The lower fall 
is fifty-four feet, the middle fall ninety-six feet, and the upper fall must be something 

under thirty feet In a few minutes I joined Colonel Fish at the Mills. . . 

. . . The grist mill is very ill-constructed ; it is too near the bed of the river, and the 
race so improperly managed that it is drv in summer and liable to back-water in winter. 
This mill is not at present able to grind more than ten bushels a day ; were it in good 
order it would grind sixty. It is now almost entirely neglected, in consetiuence of be- 
ing so much out of repair. The saw-mill is already ruined." 

In 1802 Colonel Fish returned to his farm at Black creek, and after his de- 
parture the Allan grist mill had no regular miller. It was nominally in charge 
of a Mr. King, who came from Hanford's landing and lived in a shanty just 
west of the middle falls. Occasionally one or two settlers would make neces- 
sary repairs and grind their own grists free of cost. In 1804 Noah Smith built 
a mill for Tryon and Adams on Allen's creek in Brighton. This mill was 
located on the west side of the stream, about twent\- rods north of the present 
New York Central railway embankment. Oliver Griswold of Irondequoit land- 
ing purchased the old Allan mill stones and irons for Tryon and Adams, who 
placed them in the new mill. In 1803 the Allan saw-mill was swept away in 
a freshet which broke over the race gate and undermined the building, nearly 
carrying the grist mill also. This was destroyed by fire in 1807. In 1806 Sol- 
omon Fuller built a small mill on Irondequoit creek, and the Allan stones and 
irons are said to have been transferred to that mill. They passed into the pos- 
session of Lyman Goff, who sold them to Stephen Chubb. The latter used them 
in a horse-mill in Henrietta. In 1825 Isaac Barnes and Captain Enos Blos- 
som built a grist mill on the west bank of Allen's creek about thirty rods north 
of East avenue. These gentlemen bought the Allan stones of Mr. Chubb, 
and placed them in their mill, with one other run of stone. The mill was re- 
built in 1837, and the old stones were taken to Mr. Barnes's residence, where 
they were used as door steps for many years. In 1859 Lorenzo D. Ely and 
Oliver Culver reported to the Junior Pioneer association of Rochester, that the 
Allan mill stones were in the possession of Isaac Barnes, and his son Charles 
Milo Barnes, millers at Allen's creek, and suggested the propriety of securing 
these valuable historical relics of Rochester's first settler. Oliver Culver, Ly- 
man Goff and Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Barnes fully identified the stones as the origi- 
nal run made and used by Indian Allan. They consisted of the bed and run- 
ning stone, and were too large and heavy to place in an ordinary room. A 
petition was presented to the board of supervisors of Monroe county, in Decem- 
ber, and that body passed a resolution that "the Junior Pioneer society have 
leave to place in the rear of the court-house a pair of mill stones said to have 



8<S HisTdRV (IK riii-; City ok Rochester. 

been the first ever used in this county." ' In order to defray tlie expense of 
rcuKu iuL; the stones to Rochester, a subscription list was circulated by Jar\is 
\l. 1 latch between the 4th and I 5th of February, i860. It was signed by S. W. 
1). IMoore, .Samuel Richardson. Charles J, llill, Thomas Kempshall, L. A. 
Ward, Joseph Field, William l'itki)i. John 15. l^w-Hid, N. K. Paine, Rufus 
Keeler, Charles H. Clark, John Williams, F. F. Smith, Is.iac Hills, Jonathan 
Child, sr., Hamlin Stilwell, Mallb\- Stron-, C. J. Ha.wlen and Jacob Gould, 
each of whom agreed to pa)- one dollar. The Messrs. Barnes generously do- 
nated the mill stones to the Junior Pioneer association, and Charles M. Harnes 
liroughl them to the city. ,\ committee from the association received and 
likiced the stones in the rear of the court-house. At the building of the new 
cit\' hall, south of the court-house, the old mill stones were used as f luiul 
ations for two lamp-peists at the entrance to the cit\- hall. It would be a fit- 
ting and proper action for our cit)' authorities to remo\'e the x'aluable relics to 
■I permanent and secure place where the\' will be preserved for future gener- 
ations. I 

In 1802 Nathaniel Rochester, William Fitzhugh and Charles Carroll, bought 
the Une-hundred-acre lot of .Sir William Pulteney's agent, for seventeen and 
one half dollars [jer acre. Having greater interests elsewhere, the proprietors 
took no steps to improve or settle the tract until 1810. At the date of purchase 
the special interest of new settlers in this vicinity was centered in Try(.in's Town, 
south of Irondequoit landing, and King's (now Hanford's) landing, near the 
lower falls. It was thought b\- shrewd men that one of those places would 
in time become the great business center of the lower Genesee eoimtry. 
James Wadsworth succeeded to the agenc}' of the Pulteney estate and, beci.im- 
ing part owner of a tract on the west side of the river near the Rapids, made 
strenuous efforts to found a city there. The place was named "Castle Town" 
or Castleton, in honor of a resident, Colonel Isaac Castle. A tavern, store and 
other business was started, and several people located there, but the "city" was 
a failure. The hundred-acre tract was then termed "Fall Town," and the su- 
perior water privileges of this immediate vicinity, combined with other advan- 
tages of the location, eventually drew the strength of public opinion in its favor, 
while the indomitable spirit and enterprise of its pioneer inhabitants laid the 
foundation for our present magnificent city. Elijah Rose settled on the 
east side ol the river in 1S06, and built a log house on Mount Hope avenue, 
(the present street number of which is 2S1), about one hundred and fifty feet 
south of the present residence of George Ellwangcr. This house was subse- 
quently occupied by several families — those of Jacob Miller, Daniel Harris, John 
Nutt and other pioneers. The writer has often heard his aged grandmother 

1 For the veiificalion of this fact, and much valuable information regnrding the period of early set- 
tlement, we are indebted to Donald McXaughton, whose father. John McNaughton, was one of the 
first pioneers west of the Genesee. 



Early Pioneers. 



and her sister, the late Mrs. Lucretia Lee, relate their experience in fightintr a 
lot of wolves away from the blanket door of this same log house, about the time 
of the British invasion at Charlotte, when the men were all absent. 

In 1807 Charles Harford erected a block-house near the great falls. It is 
variously located on State street near Vincent place, and at the intersection of 
Center and Mill streets. It is said to have been the first well-constructed 
dwelling in the city limits on the west side of the Genesee. The next year 
Mr. Harford built a saw- mill, and completed a grist mill on the present loca- 
tion of the Phceni.x mill. His mill-race was the beginning of Brown's race. 
In 1807-8 Lj-man Sluinnvay put up a shant\- near the falls on the east side of 
the river; and Samuel Ware came in about 1 808— 9. In 1788—9 General 
H)de, Prosper Polly, Enos Stone, Job Gilbert, and Joseph Chaplin, of Lenox, 
Massachusetts, and John Lusk, of Berkshire, bought a large tract east of the 
Genesee, of Phelps and Gorham. In the summer of 1789 Mr. Lusk settled 
his land at the head of Irondequoit bay, and in the spring of 1790 brought 
out his family. Enos Stone's son. Orange, Joel Scudder, Chauncey and Calvin 
H\de, and others having families, followed soon after. Orange Stone located 
half a mile east of Brighton village on the Pittsford road, near the "big rock 
and tree," and opened a tavern. His brother, Enos Stone, jr., with other 
young men, drove the stock of the new settlers to Brighton, but continued to 
reside at Lenox for a number of years. He made several visits to the Genesee, 
and became an agent for the sale of lands. In compensation for his services 
he received one hundred and fifty acres on the east bank of the river, opposite 
the hundred-acre tract on the west side. Enos Stone, sr., did not make Roch- 
ester his permanent home until 18 16. but in 1808 he erected a saw-mill for his 
son, about one hundred feet north of the east end of the present aqueduct. A 
freshet afterward carried the' mill away. Earl)- in March, I 8 10, Jacob Miller 
arrived at the Genesee, and was temporarily domiciled in the log-house built 
b\- Mr. Rose. As soon as his house could be made read}', Mr. Miller settled 
on his farm directly west of the Monroe county penitentiary, and several of 
his children soon after located in that neighborhood. Enos Stone, jr., also 
arrived in March, with his family and effects. Mr. Stone made his home at 
the house of his brother Orange, for several w-eeks, and during that period a 
son, James S. Stone, was born May 4th, 18 10. The latter now resides on his 
farm in the tow-n of Greece, hale and hearty at the age of seventy-four. 

While staying with his brother, Enos Stone erected a log-house east of the 
saw-mill, which was rebuilt. In October he put up a small frame building 
sixteen by twenty feet. The cutting of the timber, raising and inclosing 
occupied three days, and Mrs. Stone, a hired man and a hired girl assisted. 
The site of this building was established by Schuyler Moses and Edwin Scran- 
tom several years ago. It was on the east side of South St. Paul street, 
directly east of the terminus of the aqueduct, and was the first frame(' dwell- 



90 



History of the Ctfy of Rochester. 



ng in Rochester. It was removetl to number 53 VAm street, where the 
iriL;inal timber frame is, co\'ered with iinnlcrn lioards, ami the building- used as 
I WDod-shed. 



CIIATTKR W 



in:srt,K I'l )st ( U' t ick. 



PRI()R to 1S12 the m.iin mute fnmi Canandaigua to the Niagara frontier 
was b>- the " IiuHiilo road," which ran through Bhiomheld, Avon, Cale- 
donia and other towns wcstwaril. In all tliat portion c)f New York between 
this road anil Lake ( )ntario not ,1 single post-office or mail route had been 
established. In the e.irlv season of th.it \ear Dr. Le\i Ward recei\'ed author- 
it)' from Gideon (iranger, then postmaster-general, to transport a weekl_\- mail 
from Caledonia, v/'ir Higa, Muria\-, I'.uiiia and Northampton, to Charlotte. 
According to the terms of the conti.ict the mail was to leave Caledonia ever)- 
Monday niornmg .it eight o'clock, ;ind arri\e at Ch.irlotte, a tlistance c)f about 
thirt\'-t\\o miles, at four p. m. Tuesd.iy. The postmaster- general agreed to 
appoint deput\' postm.isters in locations design.ited by the contractor, which 
were seven miles distant from each other. Dr. Ward's compensation was the 
net proceeds of letter and newspaper postage collected on the route. The rate 
was from tweiitv to t\\enty-fi\e cents per letter, according to distance, and for 
newspapers one cent e.ich. The pi. in was at once put in operation, and the 
success and satisfaction resulting induced the postmaster-general to enter into 
;i new contract with Dr. Ward, for the extension of routes along the Ridge 
ro.ul t<:i U.ik Orchard creek; from I'arm.i through ( )gden ami Riga to I^ergen, 
.iml from IVigen to li.itavia; in f.ict, the arrangement gave Dr. Ward discre- 
tionar_\' ■■authorit)- to design.ite the location of post-offices wherever he would 
agree to deli\'er mail once a week, for all the postage he might collect, in 
nearl_\- all the countr_\- fjctueen Canandaigua .ind the Niagara river, and from 
the Canandaigua and l^ufl'alo road northward to Lake Ontario."^ The s\steni 
continued in operation, suppl)-ing the convenience of mail facilities to a wide, 
sjjarsely populated region until 1.S15, and on some of the routes until 1820, 
when it was generalh' superseded b\' the ordinary contract system. 

As earl)- as 1804 the business men of Canandaigua contributed to the 
impro\-ement of a road that had been constructed many years before from 
Canandaigua to the crossing of Allen's creek on Hast avenue ;ind thence north 
to Tryon's Town near Irondequoit landing, and extended it northwest through 

1 Shh/i,:< 0/ J^oi/iati;; 1S38, Ijy Henry O'Rielly, p. 331. 



Early Mail Facilities. 91 

the present town of Irondequoit, passing in the rear of Hooker's cemeter)- 
(where the old road-bed still exists) and across the country to tlie east bank 
of the Genesee river and Charlotte, or Port Genesee, as the place was variously 
termed. All travel from Canandaigua, north of the Buffalo road, was over 
this so-called "Merchants' road" to Charlotte, and mail matter was occasion- 
all)- carried b}- teamsters. In 1812 the latter place was looked upon as the 
future great lake port and rising town of Western New York,' but no means 
of regular communication existed between that place and Rochester until 
I 8 14, when Gideon Cobb started a semi- weekly o.x-team line for the conve)-- 
ance of freight and passengers. 

C)n the establishment of Dr. W'artl's postal s\'stem F. BushncU was ap- 
piiintctl postmaster at Charlotte, and through the kindness of individuals who 
"called for mail," the residents of Rochester — numbering fifteen people all 
told, July 4th, kS 1 2 — were enabled to correspond with the world at large, 
and receive news via Canandaigua or Bath, Avon, Caledonia, Parma and 
Charlotte. This roundabout course was not considered a sufficient accom- 
modation, and the subject of direct mail connections with the east was ear- 
nestly discussed. The late Edwin Scrantom (whose record of early local e\-ents 
is invaluable) was authorit)- for the statement that "the first mail received in 
Rochester arrived in Jul\-, 1812." If the date is correct the mail must have 
been carried b}' pri\'atc iiidivitluals during tiiat summer, as no post-office 
existed and the first postmaster, Abclard Re\-nulds, was not appointed until 
October, and his commission not issued until November 19th, 1812.- P'or 
this appointment Mr. Rej'nolds was indebted to the influence of Colonel Roch- 
ester, through Henr_\' Chi}-, his intimate friend, and son-in-law of Colonel 
Thomas Hart, the business partner of Colonel Rochester. It was agreed upon 
(.luring an interview between Colonel Rochester and Mr. Reynolds, held at 
Dansville some time in Jul}-, 1812; no regular application for a post-office in 
Rochester had been made to the department at that time. 

While here in Jul}- Mr. Reynolds purchased lots 23 and 24 north side of 
Buffalo street, built tlie wall and frame of a dwelling twenty-four by thirty-six 
feet, upon lot 23 (now numbered 10, 12, 14, 16, East Main street), contracted 
for the completion of the house, and late in August returned to Pittsfield, 
Mass., for his famih'. In his unpublished memoir's Mr. Reynolds refers to his 
appointment as postmaster, in the modest manner peculiar to himself: — 

"While in the post-office at Pittsfield, in October, Colonel Danforth, the postmaster, 
informed me that he saw by the papers that I had been appointed postmaster at Roch- 
ester. I replied that I had not iieard of it, but it was not an unexpected event, as an 
office had been applied for at that place and my name recommended as a proper person 
to discharge its duties." 

1 Memoirs of Abelard Reynolils. 

2 Records of Post-Office UeparUnent, Washington. 



HlSIURV OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



Leiirning- that the contractor had done nothing to liis house, Mr. Rex'iiolds 
cncjat^ed CJtis Walker of IiriL;hton, to carry himself antl a load of furiiituie to 
Rochester, where he ari'iv'ed Xoxeniber 1st. He at once set about the erection 
of a buildiiiL; "n lot 24 (now luinibered 1 S, 20, 22, h'.ast Main street) which was 
completed janu.u'y 15th. ReturniiiL; to Massachusetts lie en_L;aL;ed William 
StroUL; to bring a load of furniture, and with his own horse antl cutter brought 
to their new home iiis wife, their son William, and Mrs. Re\-n(ilds's sister llul- 
d.ih .Strong, arriving at Rochester earh' in hebruary. Mi'. Rex'nolds was a 
saddler aiui occupied the front rcmm 1 it his house lor business [lurposes. There 
the citizens nf Ruchesler ,ind other earl_\' settlers of tlu- \icinit)' cime for their 

Ul.Lil 

.\mong the lurnitui'e bi'ought hum Pitt-^lield was a l.irge desk of pine, three 
and a half feet in length, two wide and f )ur feet high. It had a pigeon-hole 
comj),n-tment in the top and two large drawers underneath furnished with neat 
brass lang-pulls ; it was stained to resemble black walnut, and the sloj)ing top 
was co\ered with black \el\et trimmed with brass-headed tacks. This desk- 
was pi, iced in the shop, where it served a triple [lui'pose as the receptacle of 
toiils and pi'ixate and public pajiers. .\11 mail matter received was put in the 
pigeon-holes, ,uid jiractically the desk was the first post-office of Rochester. 
It was in constant use as the depository of mail and post-office papers during 
Mr. Re\-nolds's term of office, and now occupies an honored p(.)sition in the 
Rex'Uolds librar)-, firm and substantial as when first made, though plainl_\- e.\- 
llibiting the marks of t)\er se\'ent\'- two \'ears of service. ^\ cut of the desk sup- 
plements this chai.)ter. 

The first I'cgular mail was brought to Rochester from Canantlaigua on hvirse- 
back. It was received once a week', and pait of the time a woman (whose name 
histor)- fails to reveal) performed the dut)' of post-rider. The letters were carried 
in saddle-bags which hung across the horse in rear of the saddle, to which the\' 
were attached, and the old mail saddle-bags were usually well filled. The com- 
pletion of the bridge at Main street in R<jchester opened up a shorter route from 
Canandaigua to the Niagara river, and tliverted considerable of the thi'ough 
tiavel from the Buffalo road passing through y\\'on and Caledoni.i. The road 
from Rochestei' to l^iil'falo, z'/ii Hata\ia, was not then openei.1, and the ridge 
road between Rochester and Lew iston was siniph' a wide trail, at times nearly 
inipass.ible. In 1813 the legislature granted fi\'e thousand dollars for "cutting 
out the path antl bridging the streams," and the imprt)ved conditions turned 
the tide of western travel through Rochester, and o\'er the Ritlge road, in a 
steadily increasing flow. IJuring the summer cUid fall of 1S13 Mr. Re\-nolds fin- 
ishetl the basement stor\' and some of the rooms of the large house and mo\ed 
into it, transferring the post-office business to his new habitation, where the 
desk pre\iousl)- described continued in service as the regular depository of all 
mail matter. In 1S15 J, G. Bontl and Captain Elisha Ely determined to run 
a stage between Rochester and Canandaigua, and organised a company for 



. Rorr 



Learning ' !■ !• i, 
L-nqaL^ed Otis ^. .'.1- 
Rdchcstcr, w]-- :\ f 
i)f a buililin'^ 
CDiiiplctcd J; ;i ''v 
Stnin^r to bri ; : 
t(i their new r ' 
dali Stroni^-, ■; -i 
saddler and i ■ii;-': 
tlic citizens 1 v> -'■ 
mail, 

A nil 111;,; t '-■■ 
and a half k 
ciinipartnien 
brass rinL;-p' 
was c<)\ered 
was placetl 
till lis and pi 
piijeiin-hiile 
It was in co 
Mr. Keynnl 
Reynokls li 
hibitini; the 
plcments th 

The first 
back. It w 
histnr)' fails 
in saddle-b. 
w ere attach 
pletion nf tl 
Canandaiiji 
tra\-el from 
fremi Roclii 
road betwe 
impassable, 
out the pat 
the tide of 
steadily ini. 
ished the I 
into it, tra 
desk pre\'i( 
mail matter 
a stacje betwev.ii i^ 



■'■I'.'V '.' : .".i-i house, Mr. 

«■ . N'-ei- ■: . :i !ei,ld of (l, 

■■:. v.. r. ,r ■ se'- about t' 
, 3.. :-■ ■ -■ Maipso 

\[' '■ :■ ■ ■ 'tS 'le en;;,: ; - c ^' 

l!h . ;-• ■. Dofse and cutter brou 



nd the sloping 

t.i.;ks. Tlli^ d 




Ji^ll^-ti ^^-.,, 



Early Mail I'Acn.niEs. 



93 



that purpose, consisting of William Hildreth of Pittsford, and other tavern- 
keepers along the route. Mr. Hildreth put a light wagon on the road in No- 
vember, 1815, the post-rider discontinued his trips, and the mail was carried to 
and from Rochester by wagon twice a week. 

In January, 1 8 16, the company placed a coach body on runners, and it was 
the first four-in-hand mail coach that ever entered Rochester, the enthusiastic 
reception accorded to it by the villagers nearly reaching the proportions of a 
public celebration. Messrs. Bond and Ely extended their enterprise to the Ni- 
agara river, by enlisting the tavern-keepers along the Ridge road, their princi- 
pal supporters and earnest co-laborers being Messrs. Barton and Fairbanks of 
Lewiston. In the early spring of 18 16 General Micah Brooks presented a res- 
olution to congress, inquiring "as to the expediency of establishing a post route 
from the \-illage of Canandaigua, by wa\- of the \illage of Rochester, to the 
village of Lewiston in the county of Niagara and state of New York." The mail 
was then carried by stage, the company taking all postage received in payment. 
Congress soon after authorised the route proposed by General Brooks, and the 
company contracted to carry the mail for a set price. A tri-weekly four-horse 
coach was put upon the route in June, 1816, and within a )-ear there was often 
a necessity for sending out three and four extras a day for passengers. The 
travel increased to such an extent that for several years coaches ran in such 
numbers that they were seldom out of sight of each other along every mile of 
the Ridge road. 

In 181 5 Mr. Reynolds opened his house as a tavern, and in 18 17 rented it 
to Lebbeus Elliot for two years. During that time the post-oflice remained in 
the same building, to which Mr. Reynolds returned in the spring of 18 19. He 
added a' wing to the east side of the building for a bar-room, with a portico in 
front, at the east end of which he located the post-office, connecting it with the 
bar-room. The partition between the office and open part of the portico con- 
sisted of a glazed, pigeon-holed case for mail, and the delivery was through an 
opening in this case to the portico. Persons could thus step from the street 
into the portico, obtain their mail and pass onward without entering the ta\-ern. 
The steamer Ontario commenced her trips from Sackett's Harbor to Lewiston 
in 181 7, and once a week came to Hanford's Landing. The postmaster-general 
having authorised the carrying of mails by steamboats in 18 15, the American 
lake ports and Canada were thus brought into regular communication with 
Rochester. In 18 19 a mail route was established between Cuylerville and 
Rochester, and in 1820 mails were received once a week from Bath, Dansville, 
Geneseo, Avon and intermediate towns. It is said that mails from Canandai- 
gua and Lewiston reached Rochester daily in 1820; but "as late as 1821 there 
was not a single post coach in the United States west of Buffalo. The Erie 
canal was staked out but not a shovelful of earth had been removed from its 
bed in Buffalo, railroads were unborn and telegraphs unthought of" ^ 

1 Doty's History of Livingston County, p. 597. 



94 HisioRv di' TiiK Cri'v i>v Rochester. 



In 1.S24 the mail stage between Rocliester and Geneseo ran three times a 
week e.ich wa\-, lea\-ing here IMDiidays. \\'e(hiesdays and Frida_\-s at half- past 
five in the morninfj. In April, 1SJ5, ]■".. |-"iske established a daily line of stages 
from ("lenesen, "intersecting the east and west lines at A\'on, thus giving daily 
cnninnmication with Rochester. Canandaigua and Batavia." I'degant coaches 
were placetl i>n the mute in December, but the regular mail was carried only 
three times a week. In lSj6 the citizens of Rochester regularl)- receiveti 
thnnigh the post-office twent_\--si\ daily, t\\<i hundred antl eight_\--four semi- 
weekly and si.\ hundretl and ninety weekly newspapers, and the receipts of the 
last ipiarter of that year were $1,718,44. Mails arriveel ami departeil as f)l- 
Inws : " I'.astern and western, once a day ; I'almyra, se\en mails a week in sum- 
mer and three in winter; I'enheld, si.\ mails a week ; Scottsx'ille, seven mails a 
week in simimer, and three in winter; Oswego, one mail a week ; Hatavia, 
three mails a week; Geneseo, threi.' mails a week." Preparatory to the erec- 
tion of the Arcade, in 182S, the post-office effects were remo\'etl to a buikling 
on the northwest corner cjf Huffalo ,ind Hughes streets, now West Main and 
North h'itzhugh. In the spiing Mr. Reynolds moved the ta\-ern building about 
one hundred and fifty feet north of its original position, and upon the erection 
of the Arcade it was attached to and constituted the rear part of that struct- 
ure. In 1.SJ9 the post-office was re-established in the new buikling, on the 
old location. 

To trace the opening of new r(}Utes and lines of postal communication be- 
tween Rochester cuul the outside world, to recortl the successive changes in the 
motle of con\ey;mce from the saddle-liagged post-horse, picking his way 
through the dangers oi a pi'imiti\-e wilderness ,it the rate of one mile an hour, 
to the fmel)' apj.iointed mail car of the modern railua\-, passing through the 
cmmtiy o\er its smo(.ith track of steel at .1 speeil exceeding sixty miles an hour, 
woukl require the space of \olimies. To chronicle the innovations of time antl 
postal reforms from the uncovereil, wafer-sealed sheet recjuiring twenty-fi\'e 
cents to carr)- it a distance of one hundred miles, to this era of cheap postage, 
free deli\'ery antl instantaneous postal telegraphic connections around the globe, 
is not my purpose. 

The records of sevent_\--twd _\-ears of postal transactions show that political 
preferment eftected man\- changes in the head of the Rochester post-office. 
Abelard Re_\-nolds, the pioneer postmaster, commissioned November 19th, 
18 I 2, held the position sexenteen _\'ears, his son William A. Rexaiolds acting as 
assistant and deputy during the latter ])art of his term. Mr. Re\-nolds's suc- 
cessors, and the dates of their api>ointnient, were as follows: John B. Elwood, 
.Iune29th, 1S29; Henr_\- O'Riell}, Ma_\- J4th, 1838; Samuel G. Andrews, Janu- 
ary 18th, 1842; Henry Campbell, July 1 8th, 1845; Darius Perrin, April 12th, 
1849; Hubbard S. Allis, June jofh, 1853; Nicholas E. Paine, July 6th, 1858; 
Scott W. Updike, Jul>- 26th, 1861, and July 12th. 1865; John W. Stebbins, 



Postal Statistics of Rochester. 95 

Marcli 28th, 1867; Edward M. Smith, January 1 6th, 1S71 ; Daniel T. Hunt, 
March nth, 1875 ; March 3d, 1879, and March 3d, 1883. 

The changes made in the location of the post-offices have been few. In a 
letter written to Postmaster- General Barry, April i8th, 1833, Mr. Reynolds 
inclosed a plan of the Arcade and among other things said : — 

"The first room 'on the west side of the hall, as you enter from Buffalo street, is the 
post-office. It has a small recess in front, which is closed at night, where the citizens re- 
ceive their letters and papers. The whole arrangement is admirably calculated to ac- 
commodate the public, the Arcade hall being sufficiently spacious to contain all who 
will ever congregate on the arrival of the mail." 

The rapid increase in population, however, exceeded even Mr. Reynolds's ex- 
pectations, and he soon after made arrangements for a better accommodation of 
the post-office and the public. The old tavern post-office building was re- 
moved from the rear of the Arcade to the north side of Bugle alley (Exchange 
place), where Corinthian Academy of Music now stands, and in 1848 was 
moved to numbers 11 and 13, Sophia street. There the frame was bricked up 
and in its new form the building has been in use as a private residence to the 
present day. Upon its former site, in the rear of the Arcade, Abelard Rey- 
nolds erected a brick building, forty-six by twenty-two feet. This stood fifteen 
feet north of the Arcade, to which it was connected by a frame building, or cov- 
ered-way and was used solely for postal purposes. It extended to Exchange 
place, and walks along each side afforded free passage through the Arcade to 
Main street. About 1842 this post-office building was torn down, the Arcade 
extended to Exchange place, and the post-office located at the northwest end 
of the hall. In 1859 it was removed to the east side. To meet the require- 
ments of increasing business additional space has been acquired from time to 
time, until the post-office now includes 15, 17, 19 Arcade hall, },j . 39 Arcade 
gallery and i 1 to 23 inclusive. Exchange place, covering an area of floor room 
exceeding 8,000 square feet. 

A comparative statement of postal statistics will illustrate the wonderful 
changes that have occurred during the span of a single life and within the 
memory of many persons now living. The population of Rochester January 
1st, 1813, did not exceed fifty people, all told. The mail, then averaging 
about four pieces, arrived and departed once a week after that date, and the 
receipts of the post-office for the first quarter of the year were $3.42, the 
expense and profit to the government nothing. Until 18 19 all mail matter 
was kept in a desk, and for a period of twenty years following its establish- 
ment the duties of the office were performed by the postmaster and one 
assistant 

January 1st, 1884, the population of Rochester numbered 108,971. Mails 
were received daily by twenty-two railway trains and six stage routes; the 
letter pouches and sacks received averaging 1 19 and those dispatched 379. 

1 No. 4, present Arcade hall. 



96 



II- -I'llK ClIV I IF RoCHESTKR. 



The number of pieces liandlecl b)- carriers clurini; 1883 was 12,891,375. The 
niimber of pieces liandled daily b\- the entire office force axeraged ioo,000, 
and the aggregate fir the year was 3ri,ooo,000. The total transactions of the 
rnone\' order department were 100,695 amounting to $863,751.92. The 
registry department registereil 12,754 letters and 4,034 packages, and deli\ered 
at the office 48,870 letters. The gross simi received by the post-office in 1883 
was $259,840.13; the total expense $57,466.41, leaving a net profit to the 
gcn-ernment of $202,373.72. 

The officials of the (iffice were: Postmaster, Daniel T. Hunt; assistant 
pd^tinaster, W. Seward Whittlesc}'; superintendent (if carriers, ("leorge F. 
l.iider; assistant superintendent of carriers, James T. Sproat; chief clerk, 
(_'al\in Wait; money urder tle[i,irtiiunt, Willis G. Mitchell; registr}' deiiart- 
meiit, I-'rank A. Bryan; st.unp de[iaitment, Jacob G. Maurer; mailing depart- 
ment, William C. Walker; assisted by a force of twent\--fi\-e clerks and thirtv- 
three letter carriers. 



.\'<v,-.— All of the fu 



ling cliajitcrs were prepared liy Mr. (leorge If. Harris. — [Eu. 




TUK riKir riisr-oFiicE or Rochester. 




ROCHESTER 

1814. 



Reasons Ffu< Rochester's Tardy Settlement. 



97 



chaptI':r xyi. 

THE r.IKTU OE RiHlIESTEK. 

Reasons for Its Tanly Settlemenl — I^cvalence .if I )iseascs in this I'arl of the CViuiUry — Dr. 
i.iidlow on Typhoid Pneumonia — Tliu First House on llu- West Side of the River — The War of 
1812 — Attempted Intimidation at Charlotte — Tjie Projected Invasion .Vbandoncd — Erection of the 
Red Mill, the Cotton Factory, etc. — Census of 1S15 — Tlie First N'eHspaper. 

IT is easy to locate in time tlie \-ery day of the discovery of an island, the 
very Imur of laying the corner-stone of a new building, the very minute in 
which the [lick is put into the ground for the beginning of a railway ; but to 
settle upon the time of the initiation of a village is a thing approaching 
the impossible, and the historian who is the most absolute in his statement of 
stich an event is the one to be most flatl\- contradicted by succeeding writers. 
The range of years in one of which the settlement of Rochester (or Rochester- 
\-ille) is to be fixed is not very great, but authorities are not agreed as to what 
constituted the inception of the hamlet or the precise time in which it took 
place. Orsamus Turner, in his History of the Phelps & (iorltaui Purcliasc, 
puts the date at i8i i, for the reason that that was the year in which Colonel 
Rochester first surveyed and sold lots on the One- hundred-acre tract. Others 
place it at 1812, the \'ear which is acceptable to the majorit)-, including Dr. 
Co\'entr_\-, a resident of Gene\'a in early days and more lately of LJtica, who 
adopts it in an address delivered before the Oneitla count)' Medical societ\' in 
1823, and Elisha El}' in the Rochester director)- of 1827, wherein it is spoken 
of as the birth year of the \illage. 

Turner comments upon the reasons for the tardiness in effecting a settle- 
ment at this place. After speaking of what hati been done on the shore of 
the lake west of here, at Oak Orchard and other little hamlets, he says : — 

"Following these pioneer advents, other adventurers were 'few and far between;' they 
were in a few localities in Niagara, along on the Ridge in Orleans, in Clarkson, Ogdeii, 
Bergen, Riga, Chili, Greece, Penfield, Macedon, Walworth, Marion, and along on the 
road from Sodus to Lyons. When little neighborhoods had been fortned in all these 
detached localities, disease came into the openings of the forest about as fast as they 
were made. Often families, and sometimes almost entire neighborhoods, were carried 
into the older and healthier loc:alities, upon ox-sleds and carts, through wood-roads, to 
be nursed and cared for. Through long years this operated not unlike the carrying 
of the dead and wounded from a baltlefield into the presence of those whose aid is 
required to renew and maintain the strife. It is but little less appalling and discouraging. 
The whole region now immediately under consideration was sickly in all the early years, 
and upon that account, and for other reasons, was slow in .settling. All the region around 
the falls of the (ienesee, at the mouth of the river, at King's Landing, was regarded as 
prolific in the seeds of disease — of chills and fever — almost as are the Pontine marshes 
of the Old world and the jiasses of the Isthmus on the route to California. A single 
instance nia\' be stated in this connection. The causes that have been cited are (juite 



History (.>f the City ok Rochester. 



sufticient to account tor the late start of Rocliester; to explain to the readers of the 
present ilay uh\- \alualilc liydraiilic pri\'ileges, in the immeiliate nei^hboriiood of shippiiiL; 
ports of Lake ( )ntano. were so loni; principalU' shrouded li\' the prinie\al forest, after 
settlement had approached and ahuost surroumled the locahty. To these causes the 
reader may adil uhat he has ah'eady observed of the tenilency of things toward the 
main tlioroughfare, the lluffalo road, in early years, and the fact that (piite up to tlie 
period ol the start of Rochester the i iimmercial enterprise and e\pe( tation of a large 
settled portion of the (k-nesee country was turned in the direi tion of the headwaters 
of the .Mlegliany and Sus(|uehanna ii\ers." 

In this Djieniiii; year the bricl,L,'c across the Genesee ri\cr was finislied, and 
lolly alter its completion it was regarded with far more pride and admiration 
than \\ere e\er bestowetl <ni its jircsent successor, the substantial and invisible 
structure o\cr which Main street now takes its wa\-. It was, indeed, no mean 
allair, tor it took two years to binld it, and the expense, amounting to $13,000, 
was borne by the counties of Ontario and Genesee. Before that time the only 
bridge on the ri\er w.is at A\dn, twenty miles south, where the " Huftah) road" 
crossed, and the usu.d means of passage at this point was by fording on the 
level rock\- bottom where Court street britlge now stands. Besides this there 
was a rude ferry at the rapids above, with a large flat-boat drawn by an enil- 
less cable, tor Da\id h'rink made the transit in this manner in the fall of 1811, 
with his wile and si.\ children, oiu- of whom .d'terward ni.irried Alonzo Frost, 
and another Edward l-'rost ; both ladies are now lixing in this city, at the age 
of seventy-eight and eighty years, respecti\ely. The completion of the bridge 
prcibably did much to determine the location of the future cit\-, for pre\ious to 
that the strife had been cjuite acti\e between the village at the mouth of the 
river — named after Charlotte, a daughter of Colonel Troup, the agent of the 
I'ulteney estate — and the little gathering of houses around Frederick Hanford's 
store at the upper knuling, first n.inied King's Landing, then called Fall Town, 
and later known as Hanford's Landing. 

An extract from . /// J:sstu' 011 tlic Gciicscc Com/fry, jniblished by Dr. Lud- 
low in the Xr-u' ]'ork }fciUcal and JViysical Journal for 1823, is of interest as 
showing the sanitary condition, in this early period, of this locality, through 
which he was then continually traveling, and from which he had constant 
reports : — 

"In .March of 1812 there were tVeiiuent cases of pleuritis with great diversity of 
synijitoms. In some cases co|)ioiis bleeding was reijuired. with a strict antiphlogistic 
regimen, while in others an ojiposiie course of treatment was indicated. The weather 
had been variable, with .southeriy winds. In .\|jril and May were noticed for the first 
time a lew sporadic cases o{ piitUDiouia /)///()/;/«, a disease until tlien unknown, and 
which, during the ensuing winter, became the most formidable e[)idemic which had ever 
appeared in this country. In the first cases the local afTection was principally confined 
to the throat, and these were more fatal than those which succeeded them, in which the 
lungs and lirain were principally affected. The summer months were extremely vvarni 
and dry : diarrhcea, dysentery and the usual fevers were prevalent. r.)uring the autumn 
J^nninioiiia typhoides s.^,w.\\ prevailed in different parts of the country, particularly among 



First House on the West Side of the River. 99 

the soldiers at Lewiston, on the Niagara frontier. In January and Februarv, 1S13, the 
weather was very variable, being alternately cold and humid ; the epidemic pneumonia 
now became general and caused great mortality. There were two forms of the disease, 

sthenic and asthenic ; the greater portion, however, were of the latter kind 

The multiplicity of symptoms occasioned a great variety of treatment ; some depleted, 
others stimulated. On its first appearance large bleedings were employed, but with 
temporary relief, in most cases the patient sinking on the third or fourth day. In other 
sections of the country this mode of treatment was more successful. Those who were 

opposed to the lancet trusted to opium, a ])ractice equally fatal The epidemic 

ceased on the return of warm weather. The summer was unusually healthy. In the 
winter of 1814 the destructive disease returned, though it was not so malignant as it 
had ijroveil the last season. Depleting remedies generally produced a favorable ter- 
mination. In the autumn catarrhal complaints were very prevalent. In 1815 the 
fevers were generally inflammatory and easily subdued. In July dysentery prevailed as 
an epidemic, but adpiitted of free depletion. In some cases it was accompanied by ex- 
ternal inflammation and tmnefaction of the face, neck and joints; in some few instances 
the inflannnation of the face terminated in gangrene. The fatality was greatest among 
children." 

The sickness described above was evidently of a nature kindred to those 
diseases mentioned by Turner. Whatever influence they may have had in 
postponing the settlement of the village, they evidently had not much effect in 
checking the growth of Rochester, after it once began, for it increased so rap- 
idly as to show that settlers must have poured in from all quarters The very 
first }'ear displayed an activity which has scared}- been emulated since then, 
when we take into consideration the paucitj- of numbers, the difiliculty of the 
transportation of material from other places and the smallness of capital in\'ested, 
compared with the streams of wealth that Iku'c, in these later years, flowed 
into tiie far western towns when they began to exhibit evidence of prosperity. 
Among the events of that year, after the proprietors of the Allan mill lot had 
siuveyed it into village lots and opened it for sale and settlement, was the erec- 
ti<in of the first house on the west side of the river. This was on the corner 
of State and West Main streets, where the Powers block now stands, and was 
built for Hamlet Scrantom by Henry Skinner, on a lot which the latter had 
purchased from Colonel Rochester. Having been begun early in the year it 
was completed in May, Mr. Scrantom finishing the structure by roofing it with 
slabs from the saw-mill on the other side of the ri\er, which were floated across 
at the rapids, as the bridge was not then open for travel. On the Fourth of 
July the house was first occupied, and what celebration there was of the 
nation's birthday in this place consisted in part of bonfires built in front of the 
log hut. One of the four sons of the occupant of this dwelling was Hamlet D. 
Scrantom, elected mayor of the city in i860, and another was the late Edwin 
Scrantom, who at a later period in life referred to it in a pleasing little poem 
called My Early Home, one stanza of which is as follows: — 



L.ofC 



loo History of the Citv of Rochester. 

" Bark on the misty track of time. 

In memory's t1i< kering light, 
I see the scenes of otlier days 

Like meteors in tlie night. 
Tile garden, witli its low -built fence, 

Witli St, ikes and uitlies to tie it ; 
'I'lie rude log liouse. m\' e.irlv home, 

And one wild ma])le \>y it." 

Mr. Scrantoni is the .iiitln )rity for the statements yivcn imnietliately above, 
as tcikl to the writer scvcr.il ye.irs A-j^n, aiitl siibscqncntl\- published by Mr. 
Scraiitoiii. Not in conflict with those recollections, but as settiny the matter 
in another light ,ind show in- th.it, while the Iol;- hut above alhided to was 
doubtless the first dweiliiiL; Ijuilt on the west side of the river, the first frame 
house erected in that neiL;hborhood w.is put up by other parties, the following 
extracts are given froiii the piiwite di.uy, or "memoirs and reminiscences," as 
he st\-les them, of the late Al)el,irtl Reynolds, who c.mie here from Pittsfield, 
Mass., in April, iSiJ : — 

"On arming at the falls I called on Knos .Stone .md inlrodined m\sclf as being in 
searih of a location in the western \\ilils for m)-self ami little family. Mr. Stone replied 
that he was from Lenox, w hi( li .idjoiiied I'ltlslield ; that Messrs. Rochester, Carroll and 
Fit/hugh had a|i|iointed him as their agent to dispose of the lots in the Hundred-acre 
tract on the other side of the river, that the name was the \ iUage of Rochester, which, 
instead of inhabitants, consisted only of trees. He gave me a warm invitation to settle 
in Rochester and become his neighbor. 1 crossed near where the aciuediict stands. 
He' gave me on the west side a button-wood tree as an object to guide me on the 
|ierilous vojage. at the same time remarking th.it the fall previous a man with his family 
mo\ing to the West, in attempting to cross with his team (his famil)' ha\ ing left t(.) cross 
on the unfinished bridge), was swept o\ er the rapids, and the man, wagon and horses, 
with a load of furniture, were carried over the falls and lost. Having crossed in safety 
1 proceeded to Charlotte and passed the night at a respectable hotel kept by Erastus 
Spalding. The next day I retraced my steps, called on Mr. Stone, examined the ma]) 
of the village of trees, viewed falls, etc. 1 finally concluded to settle at Rochester, 
pro\ ided 1 could be suited m the selec tion of a lot. He said I should have my choice, 
and, taking the map of the \ illage of trees, we < rossed the unfinished bridge on loose 
plank, descending the long ladder at the west end. Then walking up to the four corners 
and glancing at the map. 1 said I would take number i ('Kagle' corner), but he said that 
lot was sold to Henry Skinner. He rei ommended the Cdinton House lot, because it had 
a view of a handsome lawn opposite, in front of the Allan mill. It did not suit me. I told 
him I would take lots 23 and 24 | where the Arcade now .stands ]. but he said they 
were also sold, the former to Captain Stone and the latter to himself, in payment of 
ser\'ices rendered, Ijut that 1 might ha\ e his lot. \Ve recrossed the bridge and called 
on CajJtain Stone, who was told that I wished to settle in Rochester and purchase his 
lot. 'Well,' he said, 'for five dollars I will assign the article.' I paid him the five dol- 
lars and he made the assignment. I now commenced operations. I found a mason by 
the name of Sampson in townshi]) number 7 (now Irondequoit), who agreed to build 
the basement w all on which to erect my two-story frame building, twenty-four by thirty- 
six feet square. I engaged a carpenter by the name of Nehemiah Hopkins to frame 



First Store Erected. 



and raise the building, and on the i6th of August, 1812, said building was raised and 
planked. I then arranged with Hopkins to inclose and finish the house to the extent 
of the joiner's work, while I should return to Pittsfield to remove the family." 

Mr. Rej-nolds tlien went back to Massachusetts and completed his arrange- 
ments for the transfer of his family to their new home, when, stopping in at 
the Pittsfield post-office for the final letters which he might receive before set- 
ting out, two surprises met him — a gratification and a disappointment. He 
was informed of his appointment as postmaster, and received a letter from Mr. 
Stone, telling him that Hopkins had done nothing to the house after he left 
Rochester. This news, of course, deranged his plans for the removal of his 
family. Returning alone, to his western possessions, Mr. Reynolds decided 
that it would be more trouble to complete the large house than it would be to 
erect a smaller one on lot 24, and thus fulfill the purchase contract, b\- which 
he was bound to put up a house within a j-ear. The timber was growing in 
the forest, but determination overcame all obstacles, and b\- the middle of Jan- 
uary, 18 1 3, the new house was framed, raised and finished except the plaster- 
ing, the lime for which he could not obtain at that time. A second return to 
I'ittsfield, a third journey to Rochester, this time with the family, the traveling 
being done in a sleigh, ended with another surprise, though easily overcome. 
He says: "We found our house occupied by Israel Scrantom, but he vacated 
at once and gave up possession, and, comparatively speaking, we considered 
ourselves in comfortable quarters, for it was the best house in the place." In 
this house, on the 2d of December, 18 14, occurred the birth of Mortimer F. 
Reynolds, the first white child born on the west side of the river within the 
precincts of the present city, and in fact the first white child born in Rochester, 
as that name did not apply to the east side until the incorporation of the vil- 
lage. The "large house" was finished within a )-ear after the first one, and 
stood on that spot till 1826, when, as the building of the Arcade then began, 
it was moved to Sophia street, opposite the Central church, and there it still 
remains, inclosed within brick walls. Here was established the post-ofiice, a 
full description of which, from that time to this, has been given in the previous 
chapter. 

In July the first merchant's store, which was built by Silas O. Smith, was 
opened by Ira West, and about that month Isaac W. Stone, in a house which 
he had just built on St. Paul street, near where the Chapman House now 
stands, opened a tavern, the only one in this locality for the next two or three 
years. Moses Atwater and Samuel J. Andrews (the father of Samuel G. An- 
drews) then began to make improvements on the east side of the river, while 
on the west Francis Brown, Matthew Brown, jr., and Thomas Mumford laid 
out village lots, to which they gave, in honor of the first-named of the three, the 
title of Frankfort, an appellation which the district has borne almost up to this 
day, From this place to Lewiston the highway (or what should have been 



History of the City op" Rochester. 



sucli) ran along b_\- tlic Ridge mail, but. as it was then almost impassable, the 
legislature granted, in 1S13. $5,000 for clearing the path and bridging the 
streams between the two [)laces. Three houses were built on the west side 
during that year, and. what was of mure importance to the growth of the vil- 
lage and the development of that iiidusti-y from which so much of its wealth 
was to be subsequently derived, the mill race south of Mast .Main street was 
opened b\' Rochester & (_ o. 

The year 1814 witnessed the first mercantile operations of any importance 
in the little village, but in that time an e\'ent transpired which for \-ears after- 
ward f ii-med a leading theme of conversation among the oliler inhabitants and 
was the subject of at least one poem l.)_\- ,i resident author, the late George II. 
Mumford. though no copies of it h.ix'e been obtainable f)r a long time past. 
"Matlison's war" — to use the name which the opponents of the national ad- 
ministration gave to what is generall\- known as the war of 1.S12 — had been in 
progress for two \'ears, and. although no gunpoxscler had been burnt here for 
an_\- other purpose than t(.) kill the bears and other animals that lurked in the 
surrounding forest and occasionall}' came among the houses, still it had some 
effect in causing the emigration hither to slacken perceptibh'. Man_\- of the 
able-bodied men in the \icinity liatl gone to the Niagara frontier, lea\'ing this 
point .ilmost defenseless, and to make matters worse Sir James Yeo, the officer 
in command of the Hritish fleet on Lake Ontario, had fret]uently cruised off 
the mouth of the Genesee, and had in June, 1813, come to anchor and sent a 
part)' on shore for the purpose of plunder. No resistance was made, as there was 
no military organisation thei'e to ofter it, and the eneni)', who had landed in the 
afternoon, remaiileil over night, keeping sentinels posted, and retired early in 
the morning, taking with them a ipiantity of salt, whisk_\- and pro\'isi(jns from 
the store-house of 1^'rederick Bushnell, fir which they kindU" gave a receipt to 
George I.atta, the clerk. Turner thinks their speedy departure was owing to 
their getting inf irniation that an armed f H'ce was collecting at Ilanford's Land- 
ing, and says that a Imdy of armed men which had gathered there marched 
down, arri\-ing at the Charlotte landing just as the invaders were embarking on 
board their boats. The men t<j whom he refers were probably those under the 
command of Colonel Caleb Hopkins, who was a resident of Pittsford at the 
time, but had been holding for many \-ears the double position of collector of 
the customs and inspector of the same, at the port of Genesee, both commis- 
sions being issued by President Madison. His civic duties did not prevent him 
from engaging in military pursuits, as the following letter will show. It was 
written by General .,\mos Hall, at that time a major-general of militia, and 
commanding a division in this district, and is addressee! to "Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Caleb Hopkins, .Smallwood, Ontario Count}-," — Smallwood being the name 
then borne by the \'illage which is now Pittsford, as well as the township which 
included both it and the village of Bris/hton : — 



The War ok 1812. 103 



"Ri.ooMFiELD, June 16, 1813. 

" I this moment received your letter by Major Norton, advising me of the landing 
of the enemy from their fleet, off the mouth of the Genesee river. Your calling out 
your regiment was perfectly correct. You will please to collect as many men as appear- 
ances will justify, until the enemy's vessels leave the mouth of the river. It cannot be 
expected they will make much stay, but you will be able to judge of their movements 
by to-morrow morning. I shall e.xpect you will gi\e me immediate notice if you think 
more force is wanted. A. Hai.l." 

With this invasion as a foretaste of what mi;;;ht be in store for Rochester, 
it is no wonder that great alarm was felt lest the British admiral might, at some 
day not far distant, land quite a body of troops, and march up the river. The 
alarm was not confined to this particular locality, as may be seen by the follow- 
ing letter, sent on the 8th of January, 18 14, by the "committee of safety and 
relief" at Canandaigua, to the influential inhabitants of New York city, being 
addressed to De Witt Clinton, then ma}-or. Colonel Robert Troup, General 
Clarkson and others : — 

"Gentlemen: Niagara county and that part of Genesee county which lies west of 
Batavia are comijletely depopulated. .411 the settlements, in a section of country forty 
miles square, and which contained more than 12,000 souls, are efifectually broken up. 
'I'hese facts you are undoubtedly acquainted with ; but the distresses they have jjro- 
duced, none but an eye-witness can thoroughly appreciate. Our roads are filled with 
])eople, many of whom have been reduced from a state of competence and good pros- 
pects, to the last degree of want and sorrow. So sudden was the blow by which they 
have been crushed that no provision could be made either to elude or to meet it. The 
fugitives from Niagara county, especially, were dispersed under circumstances of so 
much terror that in some cases mothers find themselves wandering with strange children, 
and children are seen accompanied by such as have no other sympathies with them 
than those of common sufferings. Of the families thus separated, all the members 
can never meet again in this life, for the same violence that has made them beggars has 

deprived some of their heads and others of their branches The inhabitants 

of Canandaigua have made large contributions for their relief, in money, provisions and 
clothing. And we have- been appointed, among other things, to solicit further relief for 
them from our wealthy and liberal-minded fellow-citizens. In pursuance of this 
appointment, may we ask you, gentlemen, to interest yourselves particularly in their 
behalf? We believe that no occasion has ever occurred in our country which presented 
stronger claims upon individual benevolence, and we humbly trust that whoever is will- 
ing to answer these claims will always entitle himself to the precious reward of active 
charity." 

The response to this appeal was generous and prompt, for an indorsement 
dated January 24th appears on the letter, stating that resolutions proposed by 
the recorder (Josiah Ogden Hoffman) were passed unanimously by the corpo- 
ration of New York, granting $3,000 for the relief of the sufferers. In addition 
to this, the legislature on the 8th of February appropriated $50,000 "for the 
relief of the indigent sufferers in the counties of Genesee and Niagara in con- 
sequence of the invasion of the western frontier of the state, including the Tus- 
carora nation of Indians, and the Canadian refugees — the money to be distrib- 
uted by Graham Newell, William Wadsworth and Joseph EUicott." 



I04 History ok tiik City of Rochester. 

Provisions were now made in earnest for repelling the invasion which was 
definiteh- expected at the niouth of the ri\'er, and the precautions were taken 
none too soon. Isaac W. Stone w.is commissioned as captain of the ilragoons, 
til be enlisted for six months as \-iilunteers, under cimimand of General Peter 
B. I'tirter. }ler\'ey 1^1_\- and Abelard Reynolds contracted to furnish the ecjuip- 
nients, the firmer to provide the clothing and the latter the saddlery, all to be 
paid fir when the soldiers should receive their pay from the government for 
their ser\ ices. Enlistments began immediately, but it did not take long to find 
that thirt)'-three men were all that could be raised in the village itself. By active 
recruiting among the surrounding towns se\-enteen men were obtained, and the 
compan\' of fifty men was stationed at Charlotte, Captain Stone being promoted 
to the rank of major, and h'rancis Brown and Elisha Ely elected to captain- 
cies. Before thev started for their destination, word was received that Admiral 
\'eo, with a fleet of tliirteen \-essels, had apjiearetl at Charlotte and dropped 
anchor. Hastih' ecjuipping themsek-es with muskets that had been lodged with 
Ilerve}- V.\y & Co., and leasing behind them one of their nimiber who refused 
to go, and another who was ileputed to remain behind and take oft" the women 
and children in a cart if the enemy ajjproached too near, the\' hurried away. 
Halting for a time near Deep hollow, beside the lower falls, the_\- set to wurk on 
a breastwork already begun, which was called Fort Bender, and upon the bat- 
tery of this they planted a four-pounder cannon, to intimidate, if not to resist 
the enemy, in case they should attempt a landing at that point from small boats, 
or, as Turner sa\-s, "to impede the crossing, by the invaders, of the bridge over 
Deep hiillow." After completing this work of military engineering, which con- 
sisted mainl)- ot fallen trees, the\- started again, long after nightfall, and, after 
marching in the rain and through deep mud, the\' reached Charlotte at two 
o'clock in the morning. Here they found that further measures of defense had 
been ahead)- taken. An cighteeii-peiunder — which, as well as the piece of 
hea\-y ordnance alread\- mentioned, had been sent from Canandaigua on the 
order of General PcM'ter, the commander of the forces in this part of the state — 
had been mounted on the only fortification in the place, a breastwork upon the 
bluft near the old hotel, so located as to command the road leading up the bank 
from the wharf, and composed of two tiers of ship timber, with the space be- 
tween filled in with barn refuse. Other troops were already there, consisting 
of a \(ilunteer company under Captain Rowe, from Gates and Greece, while 
Colonel Atkinson's regiment, made up from other towns in the count}-, were 
either there previously or came up during the day. Nevertheless the Rochester 
contingent was evidentl\- the head and front of the American army at that 
place on the 15th of May. O'Rielly, in his history of Rochester, remarks: 
"Though the equipments and discipline of these troops would not form a brill- 
iant picture for a warlike eye, their \ery awkwardness in those points, coupled, 
as it was, with their sagacity and courage, accomplished more, perhaps, than 



Projected Invasion of Charlotte. 105 



could have been effected by a larger force of regular troops bedizened with the 
trappings of military pomp. The militia thus hastily collected were marched 
and counter-marched, disappearing in the woods at one point and suddenly 
emerging elsewhere, so as to impress the eneni)- with the belief that the force 
collected for the defense was far greater than it actually was." So impatient 
were these men to meet the invading veterans that early in the morning, before 
any demonstrations were made from the fleet toward the shore, a volunteer 
part}-, consisting of Captain Ely, Abelard Reynolds and Jehiel Barnard, went 
out in an old boat that had been used as a lighter, in the midst of a heavy fog. 
The mist suddenly clearing awaj', they found themselves within range of the 
guns of the whole British fleet, so that a gunboat darted out after them and 
they had all they could do to make their escape. The circumstances immedi- 
ately succeeding we will let O'Rielly tell in his own words: — 

"An officer with a flag of truce was sent from the British fleet. .\ militia oflicer 
marched down, with ten of the most soldier-like men, to receive him on Lighthouse 
point. These militiamen carried their guns as nearly upright as miglit be consistent 
with their plan of being ready for action by keeping hold of the triggers ! The British 
oflicer was astonished. He looked unutterable things. ' Sir,' said he, ' do you receive 
a flag of truce under arms, with cocked triggers?' 'E.xcuse me, e.xcuse me, sir; we 
backwoodsmen are not well versed in military tactics,' replied the American officer, who 
promi)dy sought to rectify his error by ordering his men to ' ground arms.' The Briton 
was still more astonished, and, after delivering a brief message, immediately departed 
for his fleet, indicating by his countenance a suspicion that the ignorance of tactics 
which he had witnessed was all feigned for the occasion, so as to deceive the British 
commodore into a snare. Shordy afterward, the same day, another officer came ashore 
with a flag of truce for a further parley, as the British were evidently too sus- 
picious of stratagem to attempt a hostile landing if there was any possibility of com- 
promising for the spoils. Captain Francis Brown was deputed with a guard to receive 
the last flag of truce. The British officer looked suspiciously upon him and upon his 
guard, and, after some conversation, familiarly grasped the pantaloons of Captain 
Brown about the knee, remarking, as he firmly handled it, ' Your clotli is too good to 
be spoiled by such a bungling tailor,' alluding to the width and clumsy aspect of that 
garment. Brown was quickwitted as well as resolute, and replied jocosely that he was 
'jjrevented from dressing fashionably by his haste that morning to receive such dis- 
tinguished visitors ! ' The Briton obviously imagined that Brown was a regular officer 
of the American army, whose regimentals were masked by clumsy overclothes. The 
proposition was then made that if the .\mericans would deliver up the provisions and 
military stores which might be in and around Rochester and Chadotte, Sir James Yeo 
would spare the settlements from destruction. 'Will you comply with the ofl^er ? ' 
' Blood knee-deep first ! ' was the emphatic reply of Francis Brown." 

Turner in describing the events of the day, in his History of the Plulps & 
Gorliain Purchase, follows quite closely the diary or "memoirs" of Mr. Rey- 
nolds. He makes no mention of the melodramatic incident described above, 
but says that the purpose of the flag of truce was to tender the assurance of 
Sir James Yeo that if all the public projjcrty were surrendered, private prop- 
erty should be respected. 



io6 History of the City of Rochester. 

"To favor his mission he presented a paper signed by several citizens of Oswego, 
the purport of which was that as the government had left large (]uantities of stores and 
munitions at that place, without any adequate force to protect them, they had concluded 
not to risk their li\es and propertv in tlie defense. 'The message and the paper were for- 
warded to Captain Stone, who dc( ided at once that tile citi/en sokliers assembled at 
the mouth of the (;ene>ee river ( ould not follow the precedent of their countrymen at 
Oswego. 'Co back and tell tlie (jffic er,' said he, 'that he may say to .Sir James Yeo 
that any public i)roperty tliat may be lierc is in the hands of those who will defend it.' 
Soon after this, a gun-boat, sloop-rigged, of from ninet\' to one hundred tons burden, 
sailed out from the fleet, approached the mouth ot the river and tired a six-pound shot, 
whii h (omplimeiit was returneil from the eighteen-jjounder on tlie .\merican batterv. 
'i'lie gun-lioat then fued fifteen or twentv-six eight-pound shots, but one of them, strik- 
ing the store-house, doing any damage. Soon al'ler this occurrence Peter B. Porter 
arri\ed and assumed command, .\notlier Hag of truce came from the British fleet at 4 
o'clock p. m., bringing a peremptory demand from .Sir James Yeo tliat the public prop- 
erty be delivered up, and the threat that, if his demand was not complied with, he 
would make a landing with his marines and 400 Imlians. 'I'o this General Porter re- 
plied, through his aid, Major N'cjon, that lie unuld endeavor to take care of any force 
that Sir James felt disposed to send on shore, accompanying the reply with an intima- 
tion that a tliird flag of truce, sent up(jn the same errand, could not be res|iected." 

Thus ended the net^otiations and the projected invasion, e.vcept that for a 
few hours alterward several heavy balls were thrown, harmlessly, from the 
fleet, nian\' (jf wliich missiles were picked up and tised afterward for breaking 
stones in the erection of )Hiblic buildings. For the ne.xt two or three days 
troops kept coming into Charlotte, but the number never c-xccedeil 800, a force 
utterly inadecpiate to cojie with tlie bod)' of nien that the ICnglish admiral coidd 
lia\e laiuled had he chosen to do so. Why he retreated without action is a 
matter of conjecture, there being onl)' two plausible stippositions — one, that 
he considered the victory, though certain, to be a barren one, as the amount 
of propert)- here was \er)- small, ami the other that he was reall)- deceived, by- 
some clever maiueiures that were preformed b)' our militiamen, into a serious 
over-estimate of the strength opp(_)sed to him. 

Rochester's warlike experience being thus happily coiicludeti, we may turn 
our attention, as the settlers turned theirs, to the consideration of peaceful pur- 
suits. Immigration soon set in with redoubled spirit, and in 181 5 the prosperity 
ot the hamlet greath' increased. Mail facilities receivetl an unwonted impetus. 
.Saniticl Hildreth, of Pittsford, began running a stage and carrv'ing the mail 
twice a week between Canandaigua and Rochester, a distance of twent)--eight 
miles, ,ind a pri\'ate weekly mail route was established between Rochester and 
Lew iston, dependent tor its suj^port on the income of the post-offices along the 
route. In this vear was erectetl the tirst building here of an\- magnitude — the 
old "red mill," on West Main street, near Atjueduct — -which was put up by 
Hervey VAy and Josiah Bissell, assisted, in the elevation of the roof-timbers, by 
every man and boy in the place; it was destroyed by fire in 1837. The first 
wedding in the settlement was on October 8th, when Delia, daughter of Ham- 



Incidents of i8i6. 107 



let Scrantom, was married to Jehiel Barnard, in a house on the top of a hill on 
Brown street, next to where the school of St. Patrick's parish now stands; Mrs. 
Barnard lived to a very advanced age, and died in this city in 1881. Abelard 
Reynolds opened the first tavern on the west side; the first religious societ\- was 
organised, consisting of sixteen members; the first book store was opened, op- 
posite the Arcade, by Horace L. Sill and George G. Sill; the Genesee Cotton 
Manufacturing company was organised and work was begun on the factory, at 
the foot of Factory street, completed in the following spring, which ran 1,392 
spindles, contained the only cotton machincr)- west of Whitestown and had the 
first bell hung west of the Genesee ri\-er; the stead)- purchase of produce fmm 
the surrounding country began; in December the first census was taken, show- 
ing a population of 33 I. 

The year 18 16 witnessed a variet_\- of stirring incidents, of which the follow- 
ing are worth recording ; Rev. Comfort Williams was installed as pastor of the 
Presbyterian congregation, being the first clergyman settled here; Matthew 
and Francis Brown finished the mill race which still bears their name — eighty- 
four rods in length, thirty feet wide and three feet deep, blasting through rock 
much of the way ; Colonel Rochester, then living in Bloomfield (whither he had 
removed after residing in Dansville), built for his residence a frame structure, 
which afterward became the Break o' Day house, on Exchange street, but he 
did not move into it for two years, as Dr. Levi Ward, who then came here from 
Bergen, occupied it till I Si 8, when Colonel Rochester settled permanentl\- in 
the village which bore his name ; Caleb Lyon began the settlement of Carthage; 
the Buffalo road was surveyed and laid out to Batavia ; the first trees for orna- 
ment appeared, sugar maples set out (ui the west side of Washington street by 
Hervey Ely and John G, Bond ; the first newspaper was established, a weekly, 
called the Gazette, published b_v Augustine G. Dauby and John P. Sheldon, 
afterward b}- Derick and Levi W.' Sibley, and still later b>- hxlwin Scrantom as 
the JHoiiroe Republican, after which it became and is now the weekly edition 
of the Union & Advei-tiscr ; the summer was one of the coldest ever known in 
this part of the country, before or afterward, a hard frost on the i6th of August 
destroying all the growing crops anti making a distressing scarcit)- the next 
winter. 

The late Judge Moses Chapin has left a sketch of the future city in this 
year, which marks the close of its embryonic epoch, and for that reason it ma\^ 
be given entire, except as changes are made in it to conform to the alterations 
that have taken place since 1847, when it was written; — 

"The principal settlement on West Main street was l)et\veen the Powers block and 
the bridge over the Genesee. The buildings were rows of small shops on each side of 
the' street, mostly a story and a half high. Here and there was a building further west 
on that street, and the brush had lately been burned to clear the street along in front of 
where the court-house now stands. A frog-pond occupied a part of the court-house 
yard at the base of a high stone ledge. From the bathing-house on the west side was 



io8 History of the City of Rochester. 

n log cniisewav ovtr n ilcep swain]), in uliirh the forest trees were then standing; be- 
yond Washington street west tliere was an unliroken forest. State street had been 
cleared of trees, but the stuni]iswcre reni.iining. The forest came almost to the west 
line of the street, between .Allen and ihown streets. On the west side of Kxchange 
street a small frame buildini; stood |a-rc lied on a high le<lge of stone, where William 
Alling's stationery' store \\.is .ilu-rw aio Im .ited ; hirther west was a dwelling-house back 
of where the Bank of Monme now stands; then on the south was occasionally a small 
building. On the other side c)f the street were no buildings. -\ \ard for saw-logs 
occu]iiecl the ground of Child's basin. On North Fitzhugh street there was no settle- 
ment north of the [iresent site c)f the liaptist church, and cart tracks then led north to 
adj.iceiU woods. From Sophia street, cin west beyi Hicl Washington, was :ni ash swamp, 
tilled wuh water the mo^t of the \ear. The long, pendent nmss frcjm the boughs of the 
trees ill this swamii ]iresenied a picturescpie appearance. The land south of Troup 
street was a lorest. On the east side of the ii\er was a cluster cjf houses on Main and 
South St. I'aul streets. From (dintoii street east, troni Mortimer north aiicl from Jack- 
son south was inostlv forest. -\ black \\alnut tree of magiiific:ent proportions stood in 
the north part of Dublin, not tar northwest Irom the falls, and attracted many visitors." 



cii.\pti:r XVII. 

Koc iii;sTi;k .\s .\ \ii,i..V(;k. 

Us Inccirpoiaticii in nSiy— llic First \'illa^H- Klcctioii — Tlie First Chuvjb lluill — Tlie Com- 
mcrcc with Cnnacla — ScUbmc-iU uf I arlli.ni^r — Ihc Cix-at I'.ri.lgc,- there — Its Fall, aii.l that i.f Other 
llii.l^es — Surveys Inr the Erie Canal ~ M..nr..e County Erected— RuiMing •>( the Ol.l A.|Ue.hlet — 
■|-heOhl C,,urt-H<.use — John l,)umry .\.lains. 

"ITTK ha\-e seen the trembles tlircuiL;h which our earl_\- settlers passctl — the 
\\ \v;isting disease, the difficulty of comnuinicaticui, the alarm caused by 
the menacing' army of the liritisli. These siirmcuinted, and the further growth 
of the place being reasonably .issiired, it seemed that the collection of buildings, 
of stores, factories and dwelling-hciiises, should be bound together by corporate 
ties. Accordingly the legislature passed an act in Aj)ril, 1817, incorporating 
the village of Rochesterville, thus placing a suffi.v, which was probably ccinsid- 
ered a mark cjf dignity, to the shorter name of Rochester, which the place had 
pre\iousl\- borne. The village belonged, until its incorporation as a city, to 
the towns of Gates and Brighton, and lay in the counties of Genesee and (Jn 
tario. Cn the 5th cjf May the \illage election was held, at which the five trus- 
tees prox'ided for in the charter were chosen, Francis Brown, Daniel Mack, 
William Cobb, Everard I^eck and Jehiel Barnard being the persons for whom 
the votes of the villagers were cast. Of these Francis Brown was chosen pres- 
ident of the board — and theiefore of the village — and Hastings R. Bender was 
elected clerk, Frederick F. Backus being subsequently appointed treasurer. 



Improvements Folliiwinc; Ixcorporation as a Village. 



109 



The assessors for that year were Isaac Colvin, Hastings R. Bender and Daniel 
I). Hatch, with Ralph Lester as collector and constable. Thus fairly launched 
into corporate life, the village took a new start in prosperity, antl with each 
succeeding year advances were made that indicated a determination on the part 
of those then settled here to make the best of their surroundings, and extract 
from nature all the assistance that could be secured to their strong hands and 
firm hearts, while at the same time the continued stream of westward emigra 
tion, which droi)ped many of its components at this point, made the task 
lighter for each, though the aggregate became constantly heavier. In addition 
to those who came to locate permanently, many were attracted hither tempo- 
raril\- by the prospects of advantage in trade. The village had by this time 
become the principal wheat market for the whole valley of the Genesee, so that 
the continued influx of teams coming in with this and other grains made a 
scene of activity and enterprise, heightened by the constant buying, selling and 
bartering at the various stores. Wheat rose to $2.25 per bushel, but the 
millers took all that was offered, and an easy sale was found for the flour. 
Buildings of all kinds increased in number, the most important erected in 1S17 
being the church that was built on Carroll street (now State) for the Presby- 
terian society, the first house for public worship in this neighborhood. In spite 
of all the prosperity, it must not be supposed that Rochesterville was yet out 
of the woods. On the contrary, the forest still inclosed it on every hand, on 
each side of the Genesee, for when Klisha Johnson purchased of Enos Stone, 
in this \'ear, eighty acres of his farm adjoining the river on the east side, the 
back land of the purchase was the primeval wood. Mr. Johnson surveyed the 
whole into a village plat, constructed a dam across the river, and excavated a 
large mill canal from thence to the bridge, four feet deep, sixty feet wide, and 
nearly seventy rods in length, thus opening, at an expense of $12,000, exten- 
sive water privileges, of which William Atkinson, for one, immediately availed 
himself, building on this private canal the "yellow mill," with three run of 
stones. The venerable Schuyler Moses, now living on Chestnut street, worked 
on the erection of this mill. Another important edifice was the old Mansion 
House, built by D. K. Cartter and Abner Hollister, the first three-story build- 
ing erected here. Precautions were taken, in a thorough and systematic man- 
ner, even at this early date, against the destruction of the property of the village 
by fire, and every citizen had to be supplied with fire buckets, besides which 
arrangements were made for hooks, ladders and other apparatus included in 
the paraphernalia oftho.se days. A sketch of the fire department from that time 
to this is given further on. Of course, the lighter accomplishments, as well as 
the more solid branches of industry, must be cultivated, and therefore an instru- 
mental band was formed at this time, the first meeting being held at Reynolds's 
tavern, when arrangements were made to procure instruments from Utica. 
Preston Smith was chosen leader, and the members of the musical organisation 



HlSTnRV (iK IIIK Cll'V dK ROCHESTER. 



who pla_\-ed under him were Josejili Strong,', Bradford King, ILdwin Scrantom, 

K'hiel liarnard, IVikins, 1, I,, Miller, James Caldwell, Jedediah Stafford, 

II. T. MeGer.rge. Nathaniel T. Rochester, Selkreg, M\-n.)n Strong, l':ras- 

tns Cook (who brought the first piano to Rochester), Horace L. Sill, Alfred 
Judson, Alplieus Bingham, Levi W. Siblev anil Isaac Lijomis. 

Not alone on land but on water ditl the new \-illagc make its influence felt, for 
the steamboat Ontario now began to make regular trips from Sackett's Harbor to 
Lewiston, stopping at the port of Genesee, and to make connection with the 
vessel several craft were kejit bus_\- transporting produce and manufactured ar- 
ticles d(.>wn the ri\er, besides which many boats were at frecpient intervals com- 
in.g up to Hanf )rd's Landing from ports below. No statement is obtainable of 
the commerce for 1817, Init in the ne.xt _\ear the exports from the Genesee 
river down the lake to the Canada market, during the season of na\'igation, 
were 26,000 barrels of tloui', 1,653 l)arrels of |3ot and pearl ashes, i.ijj barrels 
of polk, 190 barrels of whisky, 214,000 double butt staves, which made a total 
\'aluation of $380,000. I'hat was not a bad showing for the foreign commerce 
of a little village during its first hill yeai' of corporate existence, ,uid l S i (j showei.l 
a fair increase upon that, fir the exports to Canada then amounted to $400,000. 

The v'ear 1818 was not remarkable for any thrilling events in the vil- 
lage or any striking adx'ance in its mateiial prosperity, but the strictest atten- 
tion was paid to the devising and enf H'cing of orth'nances for the promotion of 
health, the security of propert)' and the conxenience, as well as safetx', of the 
jieople. I\Litthew Brown, jr., Roswell Hart, William P. Sherman, Daniel Mack 
and II. R. l^ender were ap]Kiinte(.l as street patrol, and in their persons the maj- 
esty of the law was did_\' respected. The second \\eekl_\- newspaper was estab- 
lished — the Roc/ustcr rihi^ni/'/i (not Koclustrrvi/lc, for the appendix does not 
seem to ha\e been generall}' used e\en when it was officially a part of the name 
of the ])lace), edited, published aiitl printed by Kverard Peck & Co., the first 
number appearing on the Jth of July in this year. For the manufacture of the 
material used b\- the two journ.ils Gilman and Sibley built a paper-mill on the 
east siile, near Atkinson's tlour mill. In September the second census was 
taken, showing a poj)ukition of 1,049. 1^^'t however little of interest or excite- 
ment took place in the pro.ximity of the two cataracts then known as the Upper 
and Middle falls — the latter of which now bears the name of the former, while 
the continued deportation of the rock from the river bed above and below the 
Court street bridge has destro)-e<.l the precipice of fifteen feet for the "upper" 
fills to flow o\'er — enough w,is going on at the Lower falls to call our attention 
in that direction. The settlement then known as Carthage — an appellati(.in 
b(.)rne by that locality long after it was embraced within the cit}' limits, by which 
it was generally designated till a ver_\- few years ago — was a rival of Rochester, 
or rather it was hoped by those living" in the \-icinity of the lower falls and on 
the east side of the river that that point would be the very center of the future 



The Bridge Between Rochester and Carthage. hi 

city which they felt sure was to grow up somewhere in tlie neighborhood. Ca- 
leb Lyon, who was probabi)- the first settler there, had been on the ground for 
several years, had made a small opening in the forest and had erected a number of 
log cabins, but the few families upon the tract were mostly squatters, and Elisha B. 
Strong, from Windsor, Conn., may be considered the real pioneer — in fact, 
almost the "patroon" of the place. In company with Elisha Beach he pur- 
chased, in 1816, 1 ,000 acres embracing the site of Carthage and made the most de- 
termined efforts to build up a town that should be of enduring vitality. A pub- 
lic house was erected, ke[it by Ebenezer Spear ; stores were opened for business ; 
at least one lawyer, Levi H. Clark, had his office there, and Strong and Al- 
bright built, at the upper step of the fills, a flour mill with four run of stones. 
In spite of all this it was evident that more must be ilone ; one further act was 
necessary — the spanning of the Genesee and the uniting of the Ridge road, 
which was broken by the gorge of the river. For that purpose a stock com- 
pany was formed by Messrs. Strong, Beach and Albright, together with Heman 
Norton, for the erection of a bridge at that point, and at the same time — as the 
onl\' highway leading from the Brighton road to Carthage was the "Merchants' 
road," which had been cut by merchants of Canandaigua several years before — 
Franklin street was laid out. People who have wondered why that thoroughfare 
was put through at so unaccountable an angle with the contiguous streets will be 
satisfied with the explanation that it was done by the modern Carthaginians 
with the hope of diverting the tide of westward emigration from the "Buffalo 
road" and turning it in their direction. The bridge was begun in May, 1818, 
and from the beginning it attracted far more than local attention, though the re- 
marks were not always unmixed with bitterness. For instance, some one pur- 
porting to be a "traveler in the West" wrote at the time to the New York 
Spectator, pronouncing the structure "a monument of folly" and describing not 
only its projectors but the inhabitants of Rochester as a class as "bankrupts and 
adventurers without capital." To this ill-natured scribe replied a resident of 
Carthage, in a long letter to the New York Evening Post, demonstrating the 
utility of the work and vindicating the business integrity of the dwellers by the 
Genesee. As the edifice approached completion it became evident that it was 
to be one of the most admirable of its kind in existence, a writer in the Catskill 
Recorder observing that "it will almost rank with one of the wonders of the 
world." The bridge was finished before the winter was over, and how far the 
laudation quoted above was justified by the facts may be seen by the follow- 
ing, taken from the Rochester Telegraph o{ VehT\.\a.ry i6th, 18 19: — 

'• It is with pleasure that we announce to the public that the Carthage bridge is com- 
jjleted an<i that its strength has been successfully tested by the authority designated in 
its charter of incorporation. It consists of an entire arch thrown across the Genesee 
river, the chord of which is 352 and -f^j feet and the versed sine fifty-four feet. By a 
recent and accurate admeasurement it is found that the summit of the arch is 196 feet 
above the surface of the water. It is 718 feet in length and thirty feet in width, be- 



History of thk City df Rochester. 



sides four large elbow braces plared at the extremities of the areh and projecting fifteen 
feet on each side of it, thereliv [ireNenting a resistance to an\' lateral jiressure or (-aMialt\- 
e(|ual to a width of si\t\' feet. The travel |iasses upon the crown of the arch, which 
consists of nine rilis. two t'eet ami four inches thi( k, i onnected bv liraced le\elers abo\e 
and below and seeureil bv nearh- Soo strong bolts. 'The feet of the arch rest upon solid 
ro( k about sixty leet below the surfu e of the upper bank, and the whole structure is 
braced and bound together in a manner so compact as to disarm e\'en cavil of its doubts. 
'I'iie an h contains m(jre than 200 tons and can sustain an\' weight that ordinary travel 
ma\ bring uiion it. T.oaded teams of more than thirteen tons passed over it together a 
few days since and produced very little perceptible tremor, (rreat credit is due to the 
contractors, Messrs. Brainard.and Chapman, for their ])ersevering and unremitted efforts 
in accomplishing this stu])endous work. It was erected upon a frame called the sup- 
jiorter or false bridge. The Clenesee n\er flows utider tile bridge with an im])etuous 
current and is compressed to the width of about 120 feet. This width was crossed bv 
commencing a frame on each side near the margin and causing the weight behmd to 
sustain the bents progressively bending o\er the water, which meeting at the to|i formed 
a (iothic arch over the stream, the \ertex of whi( h was about twcnt\- feet below the 
jiresent floor of the bridge. Though now |iurposelv disconnected from the bridge, the 
Gothic arch still stands underneath the Roman and is esteemed b\- architects, in point 
of mechanical ingenuity, as great a curiosity as the bridge itself The bridge contains 
69,513 feet of timlier, running measure, in addition to 2o,So6 teet of timber contained 
in the false bridge or sujiporter. .\ll this has been effected by the labor of .somewhat 
less (upon an average) than twenty-two workmen, within the short space of nine months. 
Were this fact told in F.urope it wmild onl\- excite the smile of mcredulitv. The bridge 
at Schffahausen in Switzerland, which for almost half a century was regarded as the 
pride of the eastern hemisphere, was built, we are informed, in a little less than three 
years, and was the longest arch in F2urope. It was but twelve feet longer than the 
bridge at Carthage (admitting that it derived no support from a pier in the center), was 
only eighteen feet wide and of ordinary and convenient height. It was destroyed dur- 
ing the French revolution, and no entire arch is known at present in the old world to 
exceed 240 feet span. The most lofty single arch in Europe is in England, over the 
river Wear, at Sunderland, which falls short of the bridge at Carthage 116 feet in the 
length of the span and ninety-six feet in the height of the arch. The bridge at Car- 
thage may therefore be pronounced unri\aled in its combined dimensions, strength and 
beauty, by any structure of the kind in Europe or America. The scenery around it is 
picturescjue and sublime ; within \iew from it are three waterfalls of the Genesee, one 
of which has 105 feet jjerpendicular descent. The stupendous banks, the mills and ma- 
chinery, the forest yielding to the industry of a rising village, and the navigable waters 
not 100 rods below it are calculated to fill the mind of a generous beholder with sur- 
jirise and satisfaction. Particularly is this the case when the utilitv of the bridge is re- 
garded in connection with its extent. It presents the nearest route from Canandaigua 
to Lewiston, it connects the jjonits at the great Ridge road, it opens to the counties of 
(ienesee and Niagara a direct communication with the water privileges at the lower 
falls and the head of navigation on the river, and renders the village of Carthage ac- 
cessible and convenient, as a thoroughfare from the east, the west and the north." 

The bridge was guaranteed, by' the contractors, to stand for a year and a day, 
and it is somewhat singular that a great proportion of those inhabitants of the 
city who have had any idea at all about the matter have always supposed that 



Events of 1S19— The Erie Canal. 113 



it lasted for exactly that time, the tradition being so firmly established that 
more than one history has repeated the statement. It stood for more than one 
year and three months, giving way on the 22d of May, 1820, at a moment 
when there was no weight upon it, the great mass of timber not being suffi- 
ciently braced to prevent the springing upward of tlic arch. As it sank into 
the flood below, the hopes of Carthage sank with it. Efforts were made to re- 
pair the loss, but they only served to retard the decay of the settlement ; imme- 
diately after its destruction another bridge was built upon piers, about a hundred 
rods south of the former and on a lower level ; a few years subsequently another 
was erected which stood till 1S35. In 1856 the cit\- erected, at a cost of $25,- 
000, a second suspension bridge on the site of the first, which was constructed 
on a novel principle and one that seemed injudicious to most persons other than 
the architect. At either end of the bridge stood two columns, each one a combi- 
nation of four hollow cylinders or tubes of cast iron, screwed together by flanges 
and bound and braced with wrought iron rods. These columns, about ninety 
feet in height, rose from the rocky terrace below the high bank and served as 
towers to support the wire cables that were anchored beyond them. It had 
stood for about seven months when one night in April, 1857, '^ very heavy, wet 
snow fell, to the depth of four inches, and when the sun rose there was no 
bridge there. No one saw it fall, and no one, so far as is known, heard the 
sound, except the watchman at the paper-mills below. 

The year of 18 19 came and went without many changes in the appearance 
of the village, other than those caused by the erection of new mills, as will be 
detailed in another place in this volume. In addition to the completion of the 
Carthage bridge the river was again spanned within the \-illage limits, a toll 
bridge being thrown across by Andrews, Atwater and Mumford, about midwa)- 
between the falls and the present site of Andrews street bridge , it was prob- 
ably not \er_\- strongly constructed, as it stood but a few years and there was 
no occasion to rebuild it. The title of the village corporation was changed by 
act of the legislature, the name of Rochesterville, which had always been dis- 
tasteful to the people, giving place to the original appellation of Rochester. 
This is what it ought to ha\'e been called all the time, not only on account of 
Colonel Rochester, the part owner of the land on which the village stood, but 
as bearing, in its natural features, a resemblance more or less marked, and cer- 
tainly not wholly fanciful, to the town of the same name in England. On the 
28th of September the state engineers made a survey of a route for the canal 
through the village. The question of the course to be taken by the Erie canal 
was one that agitated the inhabitants of the little place, as will be seen b\- the 
following extract from the Rochester Telegraph of November 2d, 1819: — 

'•We learn from Mr. White, one of the engineers who have been employed in explor- 
ing the route for the canal, that the commissioners, at their late meeting in (Jtica, de- 
cided in favor of the northern route, from Montezuma to the Genesee river, which it will 
intersect at this village. The course it will take west of the river is not yet determined. 



114 History of the City of Rochester. 

It is expected that contracts will be made this season, for working some part of the 
canal in tliis section of the < ountrw 'The result uf the first e\|ieriment which was made 
to navigate the canal l)et\\een Rome and Utica will aff )rd its friends and ad\iieates the 
highest gratification." 

A letter in the same number of the newspaper, from a correspondent at 
Utica, L;i\es an account of "the first trial of the great canal," in a trip made 
trom that place to Rome by (Governor Clinton, the canal commissioners ami a 
number of gentlemen, the letter closing with the ardent hope on the part of 
the writer that the season then in progress woulil "witness the transportation 
of salt from Salina to L'tica by the canal, a distance of more than fd't_\' miles." 
An account ol the inception ot this great work, its jjrogress, its completion and 
its enlargement, as well as the means taken to direct its course through this 
cit\-, will be found in another place. Village lots had b\- this time greatly in- 
creased in value, but the ]jrices at which they were held in l8ly have a strange 
look at this day. A store lot fronting on State street (then Carroll street), 
wheie ]iart of the Powers block now st<tnds, was oHered for $i,ooo, and the 
Hoody farm, embracing one hundred acres, now (xirtl)- covered by some of the 
finest resiliences and grounds on I'^ast a\eniie, was offered at ten dollars an 
acre. At ab<}ut the same time the lot on West Maui street between Exchange 
and i\quei.luct streets, aiul running back to where the caUid nou" is, was sold 
for$i,i;5. 

In !S:;o the \-illage had grown to be a place of 1,502 inhabitants, according 
to the United States census taken in that year; the first court of record was 
held here, Hon. Roger Skinner presiiling at a sessi(jn of the United States dis- 
trict court; St. Lid^e's (I{piscoi).d) chinch was built, being the second house for 
public worshi[) erected here; the price of produce fell greatly in this year, corn 
being from twenty to tw enty-fi\-e cents per bushel anil udieat thirty- seven and 
a half cents, so that (lour was sold at fVom $2.25 to $2.50 per barrel. 

Tlie legislature did in l'"ehruary, 1821, what it ought to have done before — 
it passed a law creating the county of Monroe out of portions of Genesee and 
()ntario counties, which had hitherto been ilivided by the river. Jesse Haw- 
ley, iMtch Chipman and Samuel M. Hojjkins were the members of assembly 
from (icnesee count)', and there is no record that the_\' were hostile to a meas- 
ure th.it was plainl)- demanded by justice to a thriving and increasing popula- 
tion, with a large village astride of a river and situated in two counties, but 
John C. Spencer, who was then one of the seven members from Ontario coun- 
ty, and who afterward became so eminent as a jurist, set himself in \iolent 
opposition to the scheme. It was not the last time that a resilient of Canan- 
daigua e.xerted himself to prevent legisLition fi\orabIe and just to Rochester, 
but then, as si.\t>- \-ears later, the effort was unsuccessful and the bill passed, 
aided in its adoption b>' the strenuous arguments of Daniel D. Barnard, Ash- 
ley Sampson and others, who went down to Alban_\- to facilitate its passage. 
Morris S. Miller, Robert S. Rose and NathcUi Williams, the commissioners ap- 



First Deed Recorded. 



"5 



pointed for the purpose, located the new county building on a lot given for 
that object by Messrs. Rochester, Fitzhugh and Carroll, and on the 4th of S^-p- 
tember the corner-stone of the court-house was laid 

The first deed of land sold in the county after its erection was placed on 
record on the 6th of April in this \-car, bearing date of the 19th of March pre- 
vious. The conveyance was of a piece of ground in the town of Brighton 
(for the village was in the two to'vns of Brighton and Gates), on what is now 
the northwest corner of North St. Paul and Mortimer streets. The grantors 
were Elisha Johnson and Betsey his wife ; the grantees, Andrew V. T. Leav- 
itt and Charles J. Hill ; the witnesses, Lucinda House and Charles Harwood. 
The property was purchased in 1850 from Messrs. Leavitt and Hill by George 
G. Clarkson, who continued till a few )-ears ago to li\-e in the house which had 
been built there b}- Mr. Leavitt, when the demand for ground for manufactur- 
ing purposes caused him to sell it ; the old dwelling-house was then torn down 
and the Archer building erected in its place. In this \-ear (182 i) a female charit}- 
school was opened for the gratuitous instruction of poor children. In August 
the erection of the old aqueduct was begun. William Britton, who had been 
a keeper in Auburn state prison, was the contractor for the work, and, as it was 
a state affair, he was authorised by a special act of the legislature to employ a 
hundred convicts on the work. He seems, howe\-er, to have taken only thirty 
of those gentlemen at first, a number quite sufficient for the purpose, as it 
turned out, for they all made their escape, one after another, and sought else- 
where for more congenial fields of labor and a wider range of enjoyment. 
The force employed to guard them had probably been insuflicient, and what 
few custodians there were had evidently not practised shooting to any great 
extent, or perhaps they were Communists before their time, and sympathised 
with the fugitives; at an}- rate, it is certain that of all the shots fired at the 
escaping prisoners, not one took effect. 

Building went on apace in 1822. The third house fir public w(.irship was 
built in the \'illage by the society of Friends, and the fourth was begun b)' the 
Methodists, a brick chapel, on South St. Paul street, where the Opera House 
now stands. The county court-house was completed, and, though many of 
the readers of this volume will remember well its appearance, many others will 
not be able to go back so far as that, while both classes will be interested in 
the following description of the old building, taken from the directory of 

1827: — 

"The natural declivity of the ground is reduced to two platforms — the first on the 
level of Buffalo street, forming a neat yard in front of the building, which recedes sev- 
enty-five feet from the line of the street, the other raised about six feet above the former 
and divided from it by the building itself and two wing walls of uniform appearance, 
presenting, toward Buffalo street, the aspect of an elevated terrace, but on a level 
with the streets immediately adjoining. This last, together with the yard of the Presby- 
terian church, now comprehended within the same inclosure, tbrms a small square, laid 



ii6 ■ HisTiiRV OF THE City of Rociifster. 



out in grass plats and graxcl walks, and needs only the further attention ot" the citizens, 
in ])lanting it uith shade trees and shruMiery. to render it a verv |)leasant and \alual)le 
accommodation as a |uilili(- walk. This is now known In' the name of Court si|uare. 
The courtdiouse liuililini; is fift\-four feet long, forty-four wide and forty high It 
presents two fronts — the one facing Court square, showing two stories and a base, the 
other toward Buffalo street, two stories and a full basement. Each front is finished with 
a projecting; portico, thirty feet long and ten feet wide, supported Ijv four fluted Ionic 
columns, surmounted li\' a regular entablature anil balustrade, which returns and con- 
tinues along the whole fmnt. From the center of the building arises an octagonal belfry, 
covered by a cupola. The basement affords convenient offices for county and village 
purposes. Tlie court-room is in the second story, extenduig the entire length and 
breadth of the buildnm. and is a remarkafily well lighted and air\- apartment." 

Tile basement relerrcd to was not always used for ofTicc- room alone, for 
durini; the hitter pinrtion of the existence (jf the structure the cells of the police 
station were located in the mirthwcst corner. The county jail, erected about 
this time, contained two tiers of cells, di\'idecl by ;i hall throut;h the center, 
incloseil in a secure manner. It stood in the rear of a handsome antl commo- 
dious brick house on what was then Hugdies street (now the north part of 
Fitzhui;!!), nil the site afterw.u'd occupied by the Unitarian church, cUld now 
by the (iermaii ICvangelical church of St. Paul. y\fter being usetl for its 
intended purjiose for about ten \-e.u-s, it was, after the erection of the jail on the 
island, occupied for a lon;_; time as a recruiting station b_\- officers of the United 
States army. Business w.is brisk in this \-ear, e\en in the winter, and it is 
recordcil that on the 5th of I^'ebru.ary 7,000 bushels of wheat were taken at 
the mills in Rochestei' and Carthat^^e. In the autumn the canal was extended 
as far as this place, and on the 2yth of October the first canal boat left the vil- 
lage for Little Falls, laden with flour. In Sejjtember the fourth census was 
taken, slmwing that the population had nearly doubled in two years, the num- 
ber recorded as p)erni.uient being 2,700, besides 430 laborers on the public 
works. Thurlovv Weed came here in November and obtained cmph.iyment on 
the Tcliy:raph. 

In 1 823 a fifth house of public worship was built, St. Patrick's (Roman 
Catholic I church, on Pkitt street, where its successor, the cathedr,d, now stands. 
It was constructed of stone, .and was forty-two feet long and thirt_\- eight wide. 
The great e\'ent of the year was the completion of the canal aqueduct across 
the Genesee river, which was signalised by a public celebration, consisting of 
an address by Ashley Sampson, and the passage of boats through the new 
water- wa\', escorted b\' the militar_\- companies, Masonic societies and citizens 
generally. The work C(.)st $83,000, and although far inferior to the existing 
structiu'e, both in expense and in workmanship, it \\,is considered at the time a 
"stupendous fabric," as it was denominatel by the civil engineer who superin- 
tended its construction Its west end was on the same spot as that of the pres- 
ent aqueduct, while its eastern terminus was a few rods north of where this one 
turns southward. The walls were composed of red_ sandstone, with pilasters 



Canal Aqueduct Fi.xisHED IN 1823. 117 

and coping of gray limestone, and man)- of the blocks, particularly in the piers, 
were of great size. These were trenailed to the rock, in which excavations 
were made, by large iron bolts, and were so cramped and cemented as to form 
a mass which was supposed to possess the consistency and firmness of a single 
piece. The aqueduct was 804 feet long, and was built on eleven arches, one 
of t\\ent)--si.x feet chord, nine of fift\- feet each, and one of thirt\" feet, the re- 
maining distance being of masonr)- put up on the land. The piers were thirt)'- 
six feet long, ten feet wide, and four and a half high, with eleven feet for the 
rise of the arch. Many of the stones of which it was composed were used in 
building the high wall which runs along the bank of the canal north of Court 
street, and others went into the construction of private dwellings in the city. 
In the latter part of the }-car, meetings were held to devise means for aiding 
,the Greeks in their struggle against the Turks. Ralls were given, money was 
subscribed to the extent of $1,500 throughout the county, and a fat ox was 
slain and sold by the pound, the proceeds being donated to the Greek fund. 

John Ouincy Adams, both during his presidential term and long afterward, 
frequently alluded to the fact that his first nomination for the executive office 
came from Rochester. The Telegraph had, in an early number during 1823, 
urged in its editorial columns, probably by the pen of Mr. Weed, who was then 
associate editor, the claims of the distinguished statesman, and was the first 
paper in the country, so far as is known, which placed his name at the head as 
the candidate for the presidency. Shortly afterward a public meeting was held 
here, at which Mr. Adams was nominated, which was the first action of the 
kind taken an\-where, and was as authoritative as any nomination could be, for 
national conventions were then unknown. The legislature of New York chose 
at that time the presidential electors, and Mr. Weed, though not a member of 
either house, went down to Albany and presented the claims of Mr. Adams as 
set forth here and elsewhere, for the movement had by that time become gen- 
eral throughout the state. It was owing in great part to Mr. Weed's influence 
that the friends of Henry Clay were induced to join with those of John Ouincy 
Adams in a union electoral ticket, to defeat William H. Crawford and General 
Jackson, which scheme was successful, and of the electors thus chosen thirty 
voted for Adams, five for Crawford and one for Jackson. 



ii8 Ilis'i'dRY oi' Till': Crr.v of Rociiestek. 



The 


I-'ii-st 


I'.ank in K. 


Tlu- .\1>. 


limi. 


.n ,.r Willir 


ion anil 


I'un 


i-liin.-nl <,r 


Tartv F. 


MIIK-. 


.1 — liillrrn 


Mlllll.K-. 


\Vh 


ich :' — IV) 


of Sam : 


I'alcl 


1— ilic Ml 



CHAPTER XYIII, 

TIIF CROW ill dl' IHF NILLACE. 

lestcr — 'I'Ik- Fii'sl I'resliytt.-nan (;lnuxli — EaFayelte\ Visit to Rodu-stc-r — 
.Mi)ii;an — Tile E\ritc-nicnt in Ri iclic^trr ami Elsewlit-rf — Trial. Confess- 
e (Irii^inal AliiUiclois — Oilier liial- in Hiffeiriil ( uunlies — Anti-Masonie 
. of Feelins; Kngen.lereil — The lii.ily I'ouml al Oak Oivhanl — Morgan or 
|,s Xiaiher— Tlu- I'ir-t Villa-e 1 )n ee'tm y — Tlie Fate i.f (.-atliM — The Reap 
11. n Rihle— The First Cholera Year — St. Patrick's Day in 1833. 

THE reciiril <>( 1SJ4 may bc^in with tlie cstablishiiiciU of the ]5ank nf Roch- 
ester, which was iiiCDrjjnratcd by act of the legishiture ; the Btiflalo street 
bridLje, beLjiiinint; to decay, was rebuilt by the county at an expense of $6, OOO, 
Samuel Works beini; the commissiniier and l^lisha Johnson the contractor ; the 
Episcopal society iilo\ed their old edifice to the rear atul erected .St. Luke's 
chiircJi, which is still st.iniJiiiL; and bids fair to last through another generation ; 
the I'irst J'resb_\"terian society ha\-iiig disposed of their old building to another 
congregation, erected a new church — the sixth in the x'illage — on h'itzhugh 
street, back of the couit-house, the church aiul its session-rnnm, which was 
separate from it, occup_\'ing the present site of the cits' hall. It fronted north 
and was eiglity-si.x tect long, by si.xt_\'-fotir wide aiitl thirty high, with a tower 
projecting three feet from the face "f the buikling and running uj) se\ent}'-one 
feet from the base, surnmunteil by an nctagntial spire of se\'enty-niiie feet, so 
that the whole height of the steciile was one lumdred and fifty feet. The \'es- 
tibule was entered Irom three iloors, from the middle one of which the stair- 
case rose, leading to the g, tileries. Unlike the arrangement in most churches, 
the pulpit was at the tVoiit of the auditorium, and all the pews were so arranged 
as to fice it directly. It was built of stone, covered with cement in imitation 
of whitish free-stone, ami the cost of the whole building, with the lot on which 
it stood, was about $16,000. .\ few ye.irs ;ifter its erection, while Rev. Dr. 
Einney was conducting a revival there, the plastering began to fall on the heads 
of the crowded congregation, and in consequence of the alarm then occasioned 
the walls were strengthened 011 the outside b\' buttresses rising between the 
windows and aht^ive the eax'es. 

In 1825 the qtiestion was agitated whether the commutiitv should apply for 
a charter as a city, since the powers granted to the village trustees b}' the act 
of incorporation were inadequate; after corisiderable discussion, the people con- 
cluded not to make the application but to rest content with an amendment, 
which was obtained, increasing the ])owers of the board of trustees. The growth 
of the place during the spring and early summer of this _\-ear was surprisingly 
large, for the \'illage census, taken in I-'ebruary, showed the population to be 
4,274, while the state census taken on the istof August, ga\'e the number as 
5,273, an increase of a thousaiul less one. On the 7th of June LaFayette vis- 



Visit of LaFayette. 119 



ited the cit)', coming on a canal boat from the west, though the canal was not 
completed till four months later. A deputation of eighteen leading citizens had 
gone to Lockport the day before, to meet him and bring him hither, and, as 
the morning advanced, the flotilla came in sight, six boats leading, then a craft 
bearing the illustrious guest, then six other vessels completing the procession. 
Not only did all the village turn out to do honor to the idolised Frenchman, 
who had done so much for the independence of this country, but an equal num- 
ber of persons came in from the surrounding towns to participate in the ova- 
tion. From a stage erected over the center arch of the aqueduct, William B. 
Rochester made an address of welcome, to which the general gave a reply, of 
which the following words are a portion : — 

"Sir, when, about ten months ago, I had tlie hai)j)ines,s to revisit the .\merit'an shore 
it was in the bay of New York, and within the limits of her vast and flourishing empo 
rium of commerce, that I made a landing. On this western frontier of the state, where 
I am received in so affectionate and gratifying a manner, I enjoy a sight of works and 
improvements equally rapid and wonderful, chief among which is the grand canal, an 
admirable work of science and patriotism whereby nature has been made to adorn and 
serve, as seen in the striking spectacle which is at this moment presented to our view." 

During the firing of a salute LaFayette landed, and, in company with Col- 
onel Rochester, rode through the streets to Colonel Hoard's, where he received 
the veterans of the Revolution. Frorn thence he was taken to the Mansion 
House, where a dinner was served, with some two hundred guests, and at four 
o'clock in the afternoon he set out for Canandaigua, where he passed the night. 
In this year the old Museum building, on E.xchange street, was built ; Josiah 
Bissell purchased what was called the Cornhill tract, a district now lying in the 
third and eighth wards, which has almost to this day borne the name of Corn- 
hill. The appellation of the tract came from the fact that it was then a farm, 
the greater part of which was a cornfield. 

In 1826 the seventh house for public worship was erected, a meeting-house 
built by the Dissenting Methodists; a bridge was built at what is now Court 
street, the. money being raised by subscription, and the work done by a com- 
pany of land proprietors, who cut the street through to the Pittsford road (now 
East avenue), on the east side of the ri\-er, and at the same time built the 
Rochester House, on the west side, on the southwest corner of Exchange 
street and the canal, hoping to draw the travel in that direction ; Luther Tucker 
& Co. established the Rochester Daily Advertiser (with Henry O'Rielly as ed- 
itor), the first daily paper between Albany and the Pacific ocean ; the village 
census showed a population of 7,669. 

This year is rendered memorable by the abduction, from the jail at Canan- 
daigua, of William Morgan, a former resident of Rochester, who had been 
engaged in preparing for publication a book purporting to reveal the secrets of 
Freemasonry. When it was understood that Morgan was intending to pub- 
lish these things, every effort was made to suppress them ; menaces, threats 



History of the City of Rochester. 



and bribes were resorted to in vain ; an attempt was made to burn the printing- 
office in which the pages were being put in t)-pe, and finally Morgan was sub- 
jected to a number of harassing arrests, which his intemperate habits and 
general character made easy, for he was nut nf high standing in the communi- 
t)'. He was repeatedl)- put in jail for small debts, and at last arrested on a 
charge of pett\' larceii)', being accuseil of borrowing a shirt from a ta\'ern- 
keeper at Canandaigua and not returning it. He was taken from his home in 
Bataxia to the former \illage, where the charge was promptly dismissed, but he 
was immediatel}- re arrested on a debt of two dollars, which he admitted, and 
was thrown into prison, on the lith of September. The ne.xt night several 
men came to the pris<in and paid the debt, with the costs, and, Morgan, as he 
Icit his place of confinement, was seized, thrown into a carriage and driven ofi". 
He was ne\'er seen in jiublic again. His wife became alarmed at the prolonged 
absence of her husband, and the e.xxitement extended to her neighbors, from 
them to the rest of the \illage, and speedil}' spread through the state, gather- 
ing intensity through the ne.xt three >-ears, during which the trials in fi\e dif- 
ferent counties of those charged with the abduction were going on — special 
sessions of the courts being sometimes ordered for the jnirpose — and finall}' 
entering into the arena of politics, where it broke up the parties then existing, 
divided the politicians into friends and opponents of the order, and created a 
distinctly Anti-Masonic political part)', which for years influenced the elections 
in this state, and put a presidential ticket into the field in 1832. Rochester 
was the center of excitement, and the Monroe county Morgan committee, with 
Herve\- El)-, Thurlow Weed, Frederick F. Backus and Frederick \Vhittlese_\- as 
the most active members, was earnestly engaged in bringing to light all the 
facts that could be obtained with regard to the dark afiair. 

The first indictments found were those against the four persons supposed to 
have been engaged in taking Morgan from the Canandaigua jail and putting 
him into the carriage in which he was driven awa)-. Three of the accused — 
Chesebro, Sawyer and Lawson — pleaded guilty, to the surprise of the court 
and the spectators, as it had been supposed, from the eminence of their coun- 
sel, consisting of John C. Spencer, Mark H. Sibley, W. Hubbell and H. F. 
Penfield, that a determined defense would be made. The fourth defendant, 
Sheldon, was tried and convicted, but it was generally admitted afterward that 
his case was one of mistaken identity and that it was some one else who stood 
b}- the door and was supposed to be Sheldon by Mrs. Hall, the wife of the 
jailer, who let out the prisoner and his captors and who witnessed the struggles 
of Morgan as he was being forced into the coach. Chesebro and Sawyer 
pleaded in mitigation of their ofiense that they supposed that the object in 
removing Morgan was to get him away from the control of Miller, who had 
been influencing him to publish his disclosures ; that they supposed, until the 
last moment, that Morgan had consented to go away freely and that they did 



The Abduction of Morgan. 



not know what had become of him, all of which was probabh- true. Sawyer 
was sentenced to one month's imprisonment in the county jail, Sheldon to three 
months' and Chesebro to one year's, while Lawson, who had hypocritically 
paid Morgan's debt and beguiled him to his doom, was sentenced for two 
years. The admissions made by some of the witnesses on the trial of Sheldon, 
as well as the persistent inquiries of the Morgan committee, resulted in tracing, 
stage by stage, the route that was taken by the carriage containing Morgan 
from Canandaigua through this city down to Hanford's Landing and thence 
west to Lewiston, where, as was alleged, he was taken across the Niagara river 
to Canada. Upon these data indictments were found against a great number 
of persons, some of prominence, others insignificant, and the results of the 
different trials were as diverse as possible, the verdict of "guilty" being ren- 
dered in some cases, of "not guilt}"" in others, while in the majority of in- 
stances, perhaps, the jury disagreed. The testimony was of course conflicting, 
but it seemed to be fairl\- established that the prisoner was taken to Canada 
and an eMort made to induce the Masons there to take care of him, perhaps, 
as was said b\- many, to send him to some distant point of the British domin- 
ions. Before most of the trials took place Gov. De Witt Clinton, who was him- 
self a Mason and the highest authority in the order in the United States, 
became so well satisfied, from private information which he had obtained, of 
Morgan's transportation to Canada that he wTote officially to the earl of Dal- 
housie, the governor of Lower Canada, and said, after giving a description of 
Morgan : — 

" During the la.st year he put a manuscript into the hands of a printer in Batavia. pur- 
porting to be a promulgation of the secrets of P'reemasonry. This was passed over 
by the great body of that fraternity without notice and with silent contempt, but a few 
desperate fanatics engaged in a plan of carying him off, and on the 12th of September 
last they took him from Canandaigua by force, as it is understood, and conveyed him to 
the Niagara river, from whence it is supposed that he was taken to her Britannic majesty's 
dominions. Some of the offenders have been apprehended and punished, but no intelli- 
gence has been obtained respecting Morgan since his abduction. I have therefore to 
appeal to your justice and humanity on this occasion, and to request your excellency to 
cause inquiry to be made respecting him, and. if he is forcibly detained, to direct his lib- 
eration and to communicate to me the results. It is conjectured that he is confined in 
some fort or prison under false pretenses." 

Lord Dalhousie was unable to give any information with regard to the 
matter. 

The narrative from the point of Morgan's passage across the river into 
Canada grows more uncertain. The evidence is circumstantial, but that which 
is practically unimpeached goes to show that he was brought back — pre- 
sumably because the people on the other side would have nothing to do with 
him — and was confined for a few days in an old magazine in Fort Niagara, at 
Lewiston. What was done with him after that is not historical, but the story 
which is more nearly substantiated than any other is that he was taken out of 



History of the City of Rochester. 



the fort, put into a boat, rowed out in the Niagara river to some point near 
where its waters widen into Lake Ontario, and drowned. No direct testimon\- 
til that eftect was obtaineel at any of the tri.ds, the witnesses who were sup- 
posed to kn(.)w something of tlie ni.itter eitlier refusing to answer on tiie ground 
that b_\- so doing they might criniin.ite iheniseh'es or else testif\'ing to complete 
ignorance as to the ending of the tragedy. The evidence outside the court- 
room is indirect, consisting of reports of confessions and of narrati\'es made 
from hearsay, and onl\' in th.it it is cumulati\e does it ofier better claims to 
credibility than the vague ruuiois from time to time that the missing man had 
been seen in remote parts of the earth. The secret was v\ell kept, and was 
undoubtedly told to but few outside of those engaged in the work. Th.it the 
\,ist body of Masons both here and elsewhere were not onl_\' guiltless of ail)' 
complicity in the crime at an\- of its stages but were, then and ever after, in 
profound ignorance ot its consumm.ition. no one at this da)- can doubt for a 
moment. Not so in that unhappy time. The righteous indignation of the 
peo[)le o\'er the commission of the deeil extended to a grountlless hatred of 
the whole order, the members of which were subjected to persecutions of 
\arious kinds, were generally ill tre,ited .uid in some instances — as on the 
occasion of a jjrocession at Hata\'ia, Morgan's old home — narrowly escaped 
death from the blind fury of the mob. 

The constant trials in courts of justice for nearly three years were enough 
to keep ali\e the ill teeling that was engendered, but other events occured to fan 
the flames of passion and intolerance. I-'or ten years from the incorporation of 
the \illage Dr. F. F. Backus h,ul been annnall)' elected treasurer of Rochester, 
but after the abduction of ^forgan he had come out as an opponent of Masonr\'. 
As the \illage election in the summer of 1827 approached he was again 
placed in nomination, fjut, though <is usu,d no one was named in ojjposition to 
him, it was found on counting the ballots that he was defeated b)- Dr. John H. 
hdwood, a man e(|uall_\- respected, belonging to the same political party and not 
a Mason, but who, ne\'ertheless, since he knew nothing about his own candi- 
dature till after he was elected, was probably chosen only as a means of retri- 
bution. The natural residt followed. Farly in September a Monroe county 
con\ention of Anti-Masons was called, to nominate candidates for members of 
Assembl)-. Timotln* Childs, an eloquent advocate of the village, was nominated 
as the member from Rochester and was elected by a majority of 1,700, being 
chosen in the next year as member of Congress, in which capacit)- he served for 
four years as an Anti-Mason. 

Between the time of Mr. Childs's nomination and his election an incident oc- 
curred in the Morgan histor_\- which in the myster\- in which it was clouded 
from that day to this exceeded even the uncertaint)- of the principal act in the 
drama. On the 7th of October, 1827, a corpse was discovered on the beach in 
the town of Carleton, Orleans county, at a point where Oak Orchard creek 



Supposed Findinc, of Morgan's Body. 123 



empties into Lake Ontario. From certain marks on tlie body it was supposed 
to be that of the man whose name was in every mouth, and several members of 
the Morgan committee went up to Oak Orchard and had the remains exhumed. 
A second inquest was held, as a former one had given a verdict of non-identifi- 
cation, and several reputable witnesses were examined, who, before seeing 
the remains, testified to certain physical peculiarities of Morgan, such as a 
broken tooth in one jaw and a missing tooth in another, which marks were 
found to be the same in the body discovered on the shore. Mrs. Morgan, who 
was present, positively identified the corpse as that of her husband, though she 
declared that she had never before seen the clothes in \\hich it was found, and 
the coroner's jury of twenty-three members returned a unanimous verdict that 
it was "the body of William Morgan and that he came to his dea.th by suffoca- 
tion by drowning." The committee of investigation gave to the public a re- 
port to the same effect, signed b\- all the members — Samuel Works. Hervey 
Ely, Frederick F. Backus, Frederick Whittlesey and Thurlow Weed — and the 
remains were buried a second time. 

But public opinion was not quite satisfied, and the feeling of uneasiness was 
increased by the news that in September, 1827, a Canadian named Timothy 
Munroe had been drowned in the Niagara river. His widow and son were sent 
for and brought to this city, whence they went, together with prominent Masons, 
to Oak Orchard creek. Again were the remains taken up and a third examin- 
ation was held, the result being only a further complication of the mystery. 
Mrs. Munroe described minutely and accurately all the outer garments of her 
husband, with the rents in them and the repairs that she had made, and her de- 
scription corresponded exactly with the appearance of the clothes found, which 
had not been shown to her. She and her son identified the corpse as that of Mun- 
roe, but their previous description of him did not by any means tally with the 
presentment of the bod}-, as to length or as to the color of the hair and whisk- 
ers. Which of the two it was, or whether it was neither, has never been set- 
tled. The bod\- was for a third time laid to rest, but the Morgan excitement 
knew no repose. The Daily Advertiser of the day after these events contained 
a paragraph sax'ing that Mr. W'ced had declared that, whatever might be 
proven to the contrar}-, the corpse found at Oak Orchard was "a good enough 
Morgan till after election." This phrase, which long ago attained the im- 
portance of a familiar quotation, was repudiated at the time by Mr. Weed, 
though unsuccessfully, but his explanation, as given in his autobiography, pub- 
lished last year, ought to extinguish the wrong credit given to him. Fben- 
ezer Griffin, one of the counsel of those charged with the abduction, said to 
him: "After we have proven that the body found at Oak Orchard is that of 
Timothy Munroe, what will you do for a Morgan? " To which Mr. Weed re- 
plied : "That is a good enough Morgan for us until you bring back the one you 
ha\e carried off" 

9 



124 History of the City of Rochester. 

Throii!.;h the followinrj year the fever of partisanship continued. Great 
numbers of cleryynien ami others renounced the order, while others gave up 
all acti\e participation in its cmmcils but were still known as "adhering 
Masons." h'inally, in 1SJ9, as the hostility ti > the societ}- in this locality in- 
creased rather than diniinish( d in bitterness, the part of wisdom was taken and 
all the Masonic institutimis in Rochestei' and the surrounding countr)' ceased 
to e.xist, being abolished 1)_\- surrendering their charters to the grand lodge. 
Man}' of our prominent citizens who were instrumental in the adoption of this 
conciliatory course uniteti publicly in assigning their reasons, which were after- 
ward L-mlxiilicd in an address that was circulated through the newspa]5ers and 
in pamphlet firm. After remaining thirmant fir more than a d<izen )'ears in 
this locality the institution of Masonry ag.iin spr.uig to life in 1S43, when the 
angr_\' iiassinns of its oppniKiits h.id passed awa}', and soon acquired a stronger 
hold in the community than it had ever before possessed. 

The first director)- of the village, frdui which man\- of the minor items 
pre\'i()usly rehearsed ha\-e been taken, antl which since its [(ublication has 
formeil the basis of all histories of Rochester, was [published in 1S27, and the 
record for that year may gi\-e place to a glance at its pages. It begins with 
the names of the inh.ibitants, divided intu two lists — first, the hduscholders, 
separated into wards under the initial letter of the surname, and then the 
boarders, segregatetl in the same manner, with their occupations and the names 
of those with whom they bo.u'ded. Then comes a description of the county 
of Monroe and its en\irons, followed b_\- that of the \'illage of Rochester, ter- 
minating with its record of events. After that we have a list of the regula- 
tions adopteil by the tiaistees, the first of which reads: " Householders must 
clean and keep clean the sidewalks and streets oj^posite their premises, except 
in specified cases; fine fir neglect, $5." This was e\identl_\' not specific 
enough, for the second regulation after it sa\-s that " the_\- must sweep and 
clean the sidewalks opposite their dwellings, every Saturda\-, from the first day 
of A])ril till the first tla\- of No\'ember ; fine (nv each neglect, $1." The 
directions tor the prevention and extinguishment of fires are very minute, and 
those calculated to preserve the public health almost ec[ually so. The real or 
supposed interests of moralit\- were carefiill)' looked after, for no nine-pin alle\' 
was to be kept, under .1 [lenalty of $5 i)er da)-, theatrical representations 
were restrained b)- ordinance and the keeping of billiard tables for gaming was 
prtihibited, while tavern-keepers and grocers were forbidden to keep them at 
all, perhaps because the)- were considered peculiarl)- addicted to hazard. Then 
are given the officers of the corporation, then the religious societies, then the 
benevolent, then the literar)- and other institutions, the newspapers, the post- 
office and the bank. The population is alkuled to as being "composed chiefly 
of emigrants from New- England and the other states of the Union, together with 
a considerable number from England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany, and a few 



Sam Patch — His' Fatal Leap. 125 

iiati\-es of Norwa\- and Switzcrlantl." A list of the principal occupaticms pursued 
by them shows that three hundred and four were carpenters, one hundred and 
twent\--four shoemakers, twent\'-five ph)'sicians, twent>--eight lawyers, seven 
clergymen, thirt_\--one printers, etc. The trade in lumber is spoken of as very 
considerable, and the commerce on the canal is mentioned, with the statement 
that "passengers are charged one and a half cents a mile, exclusive of board, 
which is about fifty cents a day." The public edifices are described, including 
the market, which was then building on the northeast corner of Main and Front 
streets, and which fell into the river a few years later. The little book con- 
cludes with this sentence: "We look forward to this place at some distant 
day as a flourishing city, flourishing not merely in wealth and power but in 
knowledge and virtue, an honor and a blessing to sister cities around, and the 
home of a great people, enlightened and happy." 

The year 1828 was signalised by no important incidents, but the fate of a 
young artist excited the deepest sympathy for a long time after his death, 
wliich occurred on Sunday, September 2 1 St. The Mechanics' Institute had 
commissioned the celebrated painter George Catlin to execute a portrait of 
De Witt Clinton, which when finished was brought to Rochester b\' Julius Cat- 
lin, a younger brother of the artist. Young Catlin, who was also a painter, 
set out one fine day to make sketches of the lower falls. Descending to the 
water's edge he endeavored to reach a sand-bar near the center of the river, 
probably to get a better view of the scene. When about half way across the 
channel he was seized with cramps and ere assistance could arrive he had per- 
ished. An elegant gold watch and chain, seen in his possession a short time 
before he entered the water, were missing, and the suspicion arose that he had 
been foully dealt with by a man who was fishing at the time near by, but this 
gave way upon investigation. The funeral of the unfortunate Catlin was held 
at the Episcopal church in this city on Tuesday, September 23d, and a sermon 
was preached by Rev. Mr. Gear, after which the body was followed to the 
grave by a large number of persons and interred with appropriate ceremonies. 

No event particular!)- conducive to the growth or welfare of the village marks 
the year 1829, but it is made forever memorable in local histor_\' by the last 
and fatal leap of Sam Patch. Sam was a person whose celebrity was not con- 
fined to this neighborhood, though his home was here, at least as much as any- 
where else, for he hat! acquired a reputation, some time before his final plunge 
into the water, by making an aquatic descent at Paterson, N. J., and by jumjv 
ing into Niagara river from a rock projecting from the bank more than half 
the height of the cataract. He had a habit, more prominent when he was in 
his usual condition of inebriety than when he was perfectly sober, of saying 
that "some things can be done as well as others," and it was the reduction of 
this platitude to an absurdity that cost him his life. On the 8th of November 
he leaped over the precipice close to the Genesee falls, a distance of ninety-six 



126 History of the City of Rochester. 



feet, accompanied in his iilunc^e h\- a tame hear. Both beings came to the sur 
face soDii after striking the water, as much satisfied with the entertainment as 
were tlu cmwd of spectators. Not content with lliis success, Sam announceil 
that he would exceed that performance, ami so on the 13th of the same month 
he ascendeti a scaffolding twent\- feet higlier than the brink of the falls, where 
he harangued in maudlin fishion the immense throng that swarmed on earth 
and roof and brancli. As he proceetled, he became conscious of his weakness, 
and to re\i\e his fiiling courage lie took another draught of liquor. The effect 
was the reverse of what he hoped for; his nerves became unstrung, but he was 
not the man to retreat, e\-en with death staring him in the face; in desperation 
he rushetl firward and took the terrific plunge, falling rather than leaping, and 
striking the water, not with his feet but upon his side, and with a force, as was 
estimated at the time, of more than 4,000 pounds. He diti not rise to view, 
and no trace of the rash adventurer was found throughout the winter. Rumors 
were afloat that he liad lieen seen, but they were baseless and were dispro\'ed 
in the following s[)ring, when his mangled body, with the limlis broken, was 
found at the mouth of the ri\er, and was buiied in the little cemeter)- at Char- 
lotte. 

It was in this \-ear that our village narrowly escaped the attainment of celeb- 
rit\- on account of its connection with another mountebank, of brighter intellect 
than [)oor Sam Patch, and of infinitely greater capacity for mischief, who was 
then about to introduce to the woi'ld a new religion, tlestined to carry in its 
train a long line of miseries that would ha\-e aiijialled even the stolid heart of its 
founder, could he ha\-e foreseen them, and probably deterred him from his 
course. The stor\- is told b_\- Thurlow Weed, in his autobiography, in these 
words : — 

■' A stout, rounii. smoolh-faced young man, between tuenty-fivc- and tliirty, with the 
air and manners of a person uilhout oc ciqiation. came into the Rochester 7rl,\'raii/i 
ol'tice ant! said lie wanted a book printed, and nddeil that he had been directed in a 
vision to a place in the woods near Palmyra, where he resided, and tliat he found a 
•golden Bible,' from whi( li he was directed to co]))- tiie book that he wanted published. 
He then iilaced what he called a 'tablet' in his hat, from which he read a chapter of 
the 'hook of Mormon,' a ehaiiter which seemed so senseless that I thought the man 
either crazed or a very shallow impostor, and therefore declined to become a publisher, 
thus depriving m\self of whatever notoriety might have been achieveti by having my 
name im])rinted upon the title page of the first Mormon Bible. It is scarcely necessary 
to add that this individual was Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon creed. On 
the day but one t"ollowing he came again, accompanied by Martin Harris, a substantial 
farmer residing near Palmyra, who had adopted the Mormon faith and who offered to 
become security tor the e'x])euse of printing. But I again declined, and he subsetjuently 
Ibund a publisher in V,. B. Grandin, of Palmyra, in 1830." 

In 1S30 St. Paul's church was finished and consecrated, the builder being 
Klisha Johnson, whose authority as president of the board of trustees at the time 
enabled him to procure a change of the name of the street on which the edifice 



The Cholera Epide.nhc in 1832. 127 

stood, from River to St. Paul. The last wolf seen wild in the count)- was killed 
in February, near Irondequoit ba\-, after being hunted for fi\-e days by nearly 
a hundred persons from Rochester and adjacent villages; he was five and a 
half feet long, and had destroyed many sheep before he was tracked; up to some 
twent_\--five )'ears ago his stuffed skin stood before a hat store opposite the Ar- 
cade. In this \-ear Dr. Joel Parker, then pastor of the Third Presbyterian 
church, preached a discourse for the benefit of the Female Charitable society, 
at which was sung an ode composed for the occasion b)' Judge Harvey Hum- 
phrey, the first verse of which is as follows : — 

"All hail to thee, Charity ! daughter of heaven ! 

Best, sweetest of mercies to lost mortals given ! 

Oh. dark were our journey, through life's weary day, 

Without thy bright smile to illumine our way." 
The next year seems to have been marked by few events of local im- 
portance. Col. Nathaniel Rochester died on the 31st of May; a sketch of his 
life will be found in another place. The first cargo of wheat from Ohio to 
Rochester was brought by the old Hudson and Erie line, to Hervey Ely. The 
Monroe County Horticultural society was organised on the 8th of October, 
with James K. Guernsey as president, Orrin E. Gibbs as treasurer, and Hestor 
L. Stevens as recording secretary ; a fine exhibition of flowers was made in the 
Arcade. 

No charge of lack of interest can be made against the record of 1832, but 
the predominant interest is of a sad and gloomy character, for it was the first 
year of the cholera in this locality. Toward the close of the spring the dreaded 
scourge had appeared in New York city and Montreal, and in anticipation of 
its arrival in this village a public meeting was held here to devise measures to 
prevent its coming, if possible, or, at the worst, to mitigate its destructiveness. 
Dr. Ward, Dr. Coleman, Dr. Reid, Everard Peck and Ashbel W. Riley (who 
became a major-general in the militia service a few year later, since which time 
he has been universally known by his title) were appointed a board of health, 
and Dr. Coleman was sent to Montreal to learn as to the best methods of pre- 
vention and of treatment; the village was districted and every precaution 
taken, but all in vain. The first case was that of a stranger, whose name was 
never learned. He had just arrived here and was stopping at a little tavern on 
South St. Paul street, below Court, kept by J. Polly. When his case was re- 
ported Mr. Riley attended him and did all that could be done for him, but he 
died the same day and was interred in the old burying-ground on Monroe 
avenue, where the bodies of all the victims of the disease in that year were 
laid. From that time on, all through the blazing months of July and August, 
the pestilence stalked through the .little town, and wherever it went Mr. Riley 
went with it, without hesitation, without fear, without rest, except what was 
absolutely necessary. One hundred and eighteen died during the summer, 
and eighty of that number he placed in their coffins with his own hand, almost 



128 HiSTORV OF THE CiTY OF ROCHESTER. 

invariabl)- unaided and alimc. His n<iblc work was not confined to that season, 
for althou_<;li the friL^htful contai,'ioii p.issed lis by for the next \'ear, it came 
back in 1834. The f.iithful guardian ipf the [uibhc liealth, then in New Vi)rk, 
heard that the epidemic hatl ap]3eared here, a man named Van Kleeck ha\-iny 
died at the mouth of the ri\er. Tiie officer hastened back to his post and was 
immediate!}- appointed sui)erintenilent of the cholera; nurses were placed 
under his command and an i>ld codper-shup on Brown street was fitted up as a 
hospital, where those smitten with the disease were taken unless the)- had 
friends to take care of them at home, but, in spite of all, fift_\'-four died and 
their remains were buried in the cemeter)' on West avenue. 

St. Patrick's da_\' fell nn Sunda_\- in 1833, and so its obser\'ance was post- 
pimed till the next ila_\-. March i8th, when the celebr.itiun consisted principally 
of a public dinner at the Franklin House, then kept by Jcunes Tone. Henry 
O'Rielly presided, with Gen. Hestor L. Stevens, Isaac R. Ehvood, W, A. Rab- 
beson and John O'Donoughue officiating as vice-iM'esidents at the different 
tables. Long speeches were made b\' Mr. O'Rielly and Judge P. G. Buchan. 
In the first month of this x'ear a charity school was established b\- the society 
of St. Luke's church lor the free ei.lucation of the poor children of the cit\-, 
which was undoubtedl)' not denominational in its work, for the directory of 
1834 states that upward of 400 persons under the age of fifteen had received 
instruction in it during the previous )'ear. The teacher was G. P. Waldo, and 
the school was established during the rectorate of the Rev. Dr. Whitehousc, 
afterward bishop of Illinois. With the mention of this noble though inf<mt 
charity the record of Rochester as a village comes fittingly to a close. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

IsOCIlKSTKR .\S A (ITV. 

Its Incorporation in 1834 — Org.misation of the Ciovernment ami Inauguration of Mayor Child — 
He Conscientiously Resigns the Office — The River .Steamboat — The Flood of 1835 — The Navy 
Island Raid — The First Murder in the County — The First Foundry — .\nti-Slavery Movements — 
Bringing the Hones of Patriot Soldiers to Mount Hope — The Printers' p'estival — .Mexican War 
Volunteers — Woman's Rights' Convention. 

TO the repeated applications of the villagers of Rochester the legislature 
finally yielded, passing an act in the earl)- part of 1834 for the incorpora- 
tion of the city. The charter was a long one, di\'ided into eleven titles, con- 
taining in all 276 sections. These provided minutely for the government of 
the new city and for the maintenance of the public welfare in almost every 
concei\-able manner. The limits of the village were much e.xtended, though 



Incorporation of Rochester as a City. 129 

principally toward the north in a narrow strip which embraced the lower falls 
and the old steamboat landing near there, taking in a portion of the McCracken 
tract on the west side of the river and the Carthage tract on the east, and the 
whole area of the new city was 4,000 acres. On the 2d of June the common 
council and supervisors were elected, of whom only one is now living, Gen. A. 
W. Riley, who was the first alderman from the fourth ward. A week later the 
council elected Jonathan Child maj-or of the city, Vincent Mathews attorney 
and counsel, Samuel Works superintendent, John C. Nash clerk, E. F. Mar- 
shall treasurer, and William H. W^ard chief engineer. On the lOth of June 
Mayor Child was inaugurated, and the following extract from his address then 
delivered will show the potenc}- and promise of the little municipality fifty 
years ago : — 

'•The rapid progress which our place has made, from a wilderness to an incorporated 
city, authorises each of our citizens proudly to reflect upon the agency he has had in 
bringing about this great and interesting change. Rochester has had little aid in its 
permanent improvement from foreign capital. It has been settled and built for the most 
part by mechanics and merchants, whose capital was economy, industry and persever- 
ance. It is their labor and skill which have converted a wilderness into a city ; and to 
them surely this must be a day of pride and joy. They have founded and reared a city 
before they have passed the meridian of life. In other countries and times the city of 
Rochester would have been the result of the labor and accumulations of successive gen- 
erations ; but the men who felled the forest that grew on the spot where we are assem- 
bled are sitting at the council-board of our city. Well, then, may we indulge an honest 
pride as we look back upon our past history, and let the review elevate our hopes and an- 
imate our exertions. Together we have struggled through the hardships of an infant settle- 
ment and the embarrassments of straitened circumstances, and together let us rejoice 
and be happy in the glorious reward that has crowned our labors. In the intercourse of 
social life, and on all occasions involving the interests of our young city, let us forget our 
politics and our party, and seek only the public good. The fortunes of us all are em- 
barked in a common bottom, and it cannot be too much to e.\])ect a union of counsels 
and exertions to secure their safety." 

Apart from the organisation of the city government a step forward was 
taken in this city in 1834, which it was thought at the time would be the be- 
ginning of greater things in the same direction. As an improvement upon the 
flat-boats which before that time were poled up the river, above the dam, a 
steamboat was built and put into operation, to run from here to Geneseo, an 
event which was talked about through the whole country and which seemed to 
the villagers of Dansville, Geneseo and Mt. Morris to be the opening up to them 
of the outside world. She was called the Genesee, was a stern-wheeler, flat-bot- 
tom and capable of carrying more than three hundred passengers, besides towing 
other boats, of which there were twenty or thirty in use, for which purpose she 
was in great part designed. Her captain was J. W. Phillips, who, during the 
war of 18 1 2, had brought flour down from Geneseo and Wheatland and carried 
it b)- teams to Albany. The landing was made at the Rapids, and carryalls 



I30 History of the City of Rochester. 

were stationed there to bring the passengers down to the center of the cit\'. 
After the (jrucsct- liad made tlie voyage for two seasons the enterprise was 
abandoned, and the \essel was rnn over tiie dam and broken up. 

Mayor Child showed that he was true to liis convictions of right. During 
all of his term of office he had been unalterabl_\" opposed U> the granting of any 
licenses for the sale of artlent spirits, confident that their public use was a seri- 
ous detriment to the welfare of the cit_\'. The common council of the first \'ear, 
although opposed in licensing in general, differed with him as to the strict ap- 
plicatinn of the jirinciple and had pei'mitetl four gr(jcers to sell the intoxicat- 
ing fluid, believing that a gradual reform would be more satisfactor)- to the cit- 
izens than an absulute denial of all applications. The new board, however, 
which came in in June, 1S35, were far more lax than their predecessors and at 
once granted so man}' licenses that Mr. Child, rather than sign the permits, re- 
signed on the 23d of that month the office of mayor, from which he would have 
otherwise have retired on the first of the ne.xt January, as the nia)'or and com- 
mon council were not, after the beginning, to enter upon their duties at the 
same period. The resignation was accepted and the recorder, Isaac Hills, was 
authorised to sign all tavern and grocery licenses till a new mayor was chosen, 
which election took place on the 2d of July and General Jacob Gould entered 
upon the duties of the office. A great flood occurred in this year, which, though 
not so disastrous as that of thirty years later, was worse than anything that had 
taken place before its ou n time ; up the river vast damage was done to hay and 
Corn; ,it this point l^uffalo street was overflowed as. far west as the Arcade 
and much injur_\- was done to goods in cellars ; at the lower falls the new bridge 
was swe|)t awa}' ; careful measurements made by Hervey Ely showed that the 
quantity of water which then passed was as much as 2,164,000 cubic feet in a 
minute. 1 he Rochester Academv of Sacred Music w<is organised in (Jctober ; 
the names of the original officers are not known, but in 1837 Addison Gardiner 
was president, James M. Fish secretary and Edward R. Walker professor, with 
F. F. Backus, L. B Swan and Moses Long as music committee ; its object was 
"the cultivation of sacred music generally, but more particularly of the music 
in churches and for charitable purposes." 

In 1836 the first Andrews street bridge was built; the first balloon ascen- 
sion was made, by a Frenchman named Lauriatt, from a vacant lot where the 
W'averley House and Congress Hall now stand ; hydrogen gas was used, made 
from acids ; the most remarkable part of the show was the falling of the roof of 
a blacksmith shop at a corner of the inclosure, with several men on it, one of 
whom, named Frisbie, fell on an ax that was screwed in a vise with the 
handle up and forced it comiiletely through the fleshy part of his thigh, be- 
tween the great muscle and the bone ; the man being thus impaled. Dr. W. W. 
Reid, one of the best surgeons of his time, had to saw through the a.x-handle in 
order to extract it ; Frisbie was so little affected b\- the performance tliat he 



The Patriot War. 



was at his work a short time after, and thirty years later was a strong and 
hearty old man. This must have been a very quiet year among our fathers — 
though pro-slaver\^ riots were common enough in other cities — for General 
Gould, who had been elected to succeed himself, made these remarks in the 
course of his address on giving up the mayoralty on the last day of Decem- 
ber: — 

" Our city has also been remarkably distingui.shed for peace and good order, and hap- 
])ily delivered from the fire that devours the property and the pestilence that destroys 
the lives of our citizens. During the period of my office, nearly two years, I wish it to be 
remembered as a most extraordinary and to me most gratifying fact, that, with a popula- 
tion averaging 16,000, I have never been called upon to interfere, nor has there ever 
been occasion to do so, for the suppression of riot, mob, tumult, or even an ordinary 
case of assault. This fact speaks a most gratifying eulogy for our civil and religious in- 
stitutions, and tor the intelligence and morality in the community in which we live." 

Several events made 1837 a memorable year to the people of this locality. 
The great financial crisis, followed by depression and widespread bankruptcy 
among the merchants, was severely felt here by all classes, the poorer ones be- 
ing the most affected by it, and it was mainly for the purpose of giving employ- 
ment to the great number of laborers who would otherwise have been out of 
work that Buffalo street west of King street was then cut down to its present 
level. On the other side of the lake a ferment of dissatisfaction had during the 
whole summer pervaded the province of Ontario (then Canada West), and a- 
newspaper edited by William Lyon Mackenzie, a restless demagogue, had so 
stirred up the minds of the Canadians that in the autumn something like an 
armed rebellion broke out. A feeling of sympath}' for the insurgents, who were 
rioters rather than patriots, spread throtighout this part of the state, and a party 
of men, who had nothing else to do, imder a man named Van Rensselaer, 
took possession of Na\-y island, in the Niagara ri\-er, and issued proclamations 
urging all persons to join them in aid of the insurrection. The fever increased 
and people flocked to the island from all quarters ; carried awa)' by the excite- 
ment and actuated by a sentmient that seems inexplicable, large sums of 
money were advanced by an active committee in this city, to forward men and 
means by wagons and post-coaches, and so well were their appeals responded 
to' in e\cry school district of the county that wagon loads of all conceivable 
kind of things came pouring in and were stored in one wing of the market, 
arms and accoutrements in all stages of dilapidation, provisions of every variety 
and blankets and coverlets enough to envelop the whole island. 

While this was going on, the news came one Saturday evening that the 
British troops had come across the river to the American side, set the steamer 
Caroline on fire, cut her adrift and sent her over the falls with sixty persons on 
board. This was enough to arouse the whole cit)- ; the people gathered about 
the Eagle Hotel, and the mayor had to read the bulletin again and again ; the 
ofiicers of the militia met, and the soldiers were on the point of being called 



132 History of the Citv ok Rochester. 

out. Sunda)- intervened witliout further news, and on the following Monda\' 
it was Icarnetl that the story of the steamboat w.is true, e.xcept that \)nrt whieh 
related to the loss >,( life, foi' there was nobody (in board of her when she de- 
scended the tails. More recruits rushed to the island, gun-houses were rifled 
of their contents here aiul elsewhere, and a real war seemed about to be precip- 
itated between the two couiitiies liy the ])opular madness. Before the patience 
of the Canadian government g.ive out, however, our own interferetl ; General 
Scott was ordered to the frontier; with a few troops he cleared off the isl.uid ; 
the authorities on the other side sentenced about a dozen persons to transpor- 
tation to Botan_\- Bay (nv life, though it afterwai'd pardemed those of the con\icts 
wIki were American citizens, .md so the Na\_\- island raid came to an end. 
Mackenzie, the leader of the rebellion, escaped to New York, an<.l fmall)', in Jan- 
uar\-, lf^39, came uj) here, where he started a weekl_\- pa|ier, called the (hizcttc, 
intending to make furthei' ti'ouble fir the CcUiadian goxernment ; in June of 
that )-ear he was tried at Caiiand-iigua fir violation of the neutralit)' laws, was 
C(.in\icted and sentenced to imprisonment in our jail fir eighteen months ; within 
a \-ear he was jiardoiled anil disapi)eare(.l. 

An affair of more purely local intei'est, though prodiicti\'e of an excite- 
ment almost equall}- gre.it, and an interest more lasting, was the murtier of 
William l.\'m.in by (.)cta\ius liarron, on the night of the 23d of Octobei'. Ly- 
man was a grain bu\er employed by Joseph Strong, the proprietor" of the City 
mills, and he started homeward f h' the last time with nearly $6,000 in his pos- 
session. H<nr<in, a \iiung I'"renchman, only eighteen \'ears old, intluced two 
other men, named Bennett .uul h'luett, to fillow L\-man with him, and when 
their victim had reached an open lot between North St. Paul and Clintrm 
streets, near his home at the corner of what is now Clinton pi, ice, they shot 
him through the back of the head, killing him outright, and after taking $500 
from his person, though the\- missed $5,000, which was in his iKit, the\- went 
to a saloon to di\'ide the money, and it was mainl_\- on the testimony of some 
girls who were emplo_\ei.l in a millinery shop, back of the bar room, that ]5ar- 
ron was convicted. The body of Lyman w.is fnuid by Judge Hmiiphre)- the 
ne.vt morning, and the horror of the whole comnumit)- over the first murder 
in Monroe d.iunty continued without abatement until the peipetrator had paid 
the penalty of his crime. He was ti'ied on the 2Sth of the following May, 
being defended b_\- a lawyer namei.l Bennett — residing at Lima, though he 
was at the same time jiresident of the Uansville bank — while the prosecution 
was conducted by \Villiam S. Bishop, the district attorney, assisted by Mark 
H. Sibley, of Canandaigua ; li.irron was convicted one week later, and was 
hanged on the 25th of June, 1S3S. His accomplices obtained a change of 
venue, and were tried at l^ataxia, w hei'e, by some legal technicality, the_\- escaped 
the punishment of their awful deed. Darius Perrin, who was the sheriff at the 
time, [lerformed the execution of Barron, but declined the usual fee of $500, 



"I: 









'ss5!=;S*ft s k: t * I 




The First Murders i\ Monroe County. 133 

and the supervisors showed their appreciation of his delicacy of feeling by 
throwing out of liis bill of expenses an item of $1.50 for the flax rope used on 
the occasion, which was made at the old rope-walk on Buffalo street, near St. 
Mary's hospital. 

The curse of Cain having come upon the infant city, the guilt of murder 
seemed indissolubly connected with the place by a repetition of the crime in 
1838, even before the first assassin was tried. On the evening of May 4th 
Austin Squires shot dead his wife as she was removing some garments from a 
clothes-line in the rear of their residence, on the corner of Lancaster street 
and Monroe avenue; the deed was done in a fit of jealousy, and while the 
perpetrator was in a condition of into.xication, besides which he was a man of 
eccentric mind, and man\^ considered him lacking in full moral, responsibility, 
but the plea of insanit}- had not then been brought to its ])resent state of 
artistic development, so he was tried in (Jctober, and hanged on the 29th of 
November, at the age of thirt_\--five. 

It is pleasing to turn from the necessary record of these horrors to the de- 
tails of peaceful avocations, prominent among them being the transformation 
of the old Gilbert warehouse, a doorless and windowless skeleton with a 
haunted reputation, which stood at the upper end of the canal bridge on South 
St. Paul street, at the junction of the feeder with the Erie canal; William H. 
Cheney rented it from Dr. Elwood, who was then its owner, put in an engine 
and boiler, and started a furnace and foundry, casting the first cooking- stove 
made in this part of the country, after an old "saddle-bags" pattern gotten up 
in Philadelphia ; he stayed there for eight years, when he moved his furnace to 
St. Paul street, just below Court. Henry O'Rielh- (the spelling being changed 
from its original form, in conformity to his wish) published his Sketches of 
Rochester, with Incidental A'otices of Western New York, a valuable work, 
requiring a good deal of research, and one whose merit has been generally 
recognised from that time to this. The book was published by subscription, 
and the interest which was at that time felt in the preservation of the records 
of the settlement in permanent form, may be judged from the fact that many 
citizens subscribed for a large number of copies, thirty being taken b\- A. M. 
Schermerhorn. the same number by Jonathan Child, by Fletcher M. Haight 
and by John Allen & Co., while thirteen others took twenty-five each, and so 
on, 660 copies being taken by thirty-five individuals or firms. The Rochester 
Anti-slavery society was formed on the 4th of January, the following officers 
being elected : Lindley M. Moore, president ; George A. Avery, Silas Cornell, 
Russell Green, O. N. Bush, David Scoville, vice-presidents; Oren Sage, treas- 
urer; S. D. Porter, corresponding secretary; E. F. Marshall, recording secre- 
tary. A state convention was held here, in the court-house, a week later, but 
it came to nothing. 

In 1839 tlie Liberty party was formed, the corner-stone of the organisation 



134 History of the City of Rochester, 



beiiiL; l.iiil in this cit_\-. Myron IIhIIcn', in June, started the Rochester Fireman, 
in which he iirLjed tile [mhcy nf inilependent poh'tical action on the part of 
those opposed to shu'ery. ( )n the 28th of .September the Monroe count)- con- 
vention fir nnniiuati'ins was the first to be held — in answer to the recom- 
mendation ol tile national anti-sla\'ery CMU'ention in the previous July, refer- 
ring tlie cjuestion of independent [xilitical nominations to the judgment of the 
Abolitionists in the diH'ereiit localities — and it adopted an address and a series 
of resolutions, jjrepared by Mr. Holley, who added to the great reputation 
which he hail gained fir his ser\'ices in connection with the Erie canal, the 
honor of being, more than any other one person, the founder of the Liberty party. 
From this coinention sprang that of the state, held at Arcade, Wyoming coun- 
t}', in the succeetling Januarw and tVoni that the n.itional convention, held at 
Albaii}- in the f illowing Ai:)ril, which nominatetl James G. ])irne\- fir the pres- 
idency. In this ye.ir the new Methodist and the Fifth Presb}-terian churches 
were dedicatetl, and the new Rochester artillery was organised. 

I'^or I .S40 the f illowing will li.u'e to answer : The semi-centennial celebra- 
tion hekl Monda)', March 1 6th, commemorating the settlement of Western 
New \'ork, e.xcited much interest tln'oughoiit the cit\'. The l^i'ick church was 
crowded to excess, hundi-eds being unable to obtain seats. A procession made 
up of the (.lifierent military organisations of the cit\' marched through the prin- 
cijial streets to the Brick church, where the f illowing programme was ren- 
dered : l'ra}-er b_\' Rev. Tryon lulwartls, an ode written for the occasion by 
ID. W. Chapman and read b_\' Graham Chapin, a discourse by Myron Hoiie)-, 
with reference to the settlement and liistor)- of Western New York, followed 
by an ode composed for the celebr.ition by W. II. C. Ilosmer and read by My- 
ron Ilolle)-. 

.\n imposing ceremony caused the \-ear 1841 to be memorable for a long 
time .after it had passed away. In August, I 779, General Sullivan started on 
his campaign to chastise the Indians in Western New V'(jrk, who had committed 
wanton devastation ,ind murdereil peaceful settlers throughout a wide circuit 
of country. In the eleventh chajiter of this work is given a description of the 
surprise, by the red men and the tories, of a detachment of his troops under 
Lieutenant Hoyd, with the execution, in Indian fashion, of that officer and a 
private named Parker, at a ilistance from the scene of the general massacre. 
Sullivan's ami)' came up soon afterward and the boilies of the victims were 
buried where the)' lay, those of Bo_\-d and Parker where the village of Cuyler- 
ville, Livingston coimt_\-, now stands, and the others a icw miles oft", near Grove- 
land. Si'xt\'-two V'ears later the bones were e.xhumed, those of Boyd and 
Parker were placed in an urn, those of the others in a "sarcophagus," and both 
receptacles were deli\'ered to a committee from this city, which went up the 
Genesee Valle_\' canal in a flotilla of boats, accompanied by the Williams hght 
infantr)', the Union Gra\'s, the Cit)' Cadets, the German Grenadiers and the 



Remains of Boyd and Parker Removed. 135 

Rochester artillen-, as well as by the mayor and other city officials. The next 
day, August 21st, the>' returned, and the procession, augmented by the fire de- 
partment of the city, moved at once to Mount Hope. Just as the line entered 
the grounds it was joined by Governor Seward and his stafif, who had come 
from Batavia on a special train, b_\- the fastest time e\'er made up to that point, 
a fact that was chronicled in newspapers throughout the country. The two 
receptacles containing the precious relics were united in one structure and 
placed on an elevation which had been deeded for that purpose, and a short 
address was delivered by Rev. Elisha Tucker of this city, dedicating the spot 
under the name of -Revolutionary hill — though the title subsequently gave 
place to that of Patriot hill. Vice-Chancellor Whittlesey then introduced the 
governor, who made an address befitting the occasion. 

On the /th of January, 1842, Jesse Hawley died at Cambria, Niagara cocmt}-, 
and was buried at Lockport, which had been his [permanent residence since 
1836; he was the original projector of the overland route of the Erie canal 
and was one of the most prominent citizens of Rochester during its existence 
as a village, holding many offices, among others that of collector of the port of 
Genesee, to which he was appointed by President Monroe in 1S17 and held it 
until Jackson's election in 1828. The fourth of July was grandly celebrated, 
all the military, civic, literar\' and benevolent societies turning out and going to 
Washington square, where Chancellor Whittlesey delivered an address and 
temperance pledges were circulated, receiving many signatures. During the 
summer the Auburn & Rochester railroad had a prolonged quarrel with the 
National Hotel, a temperance house, in the course of which the agent of the 
road tore down the sign of the hotel ; an indignation meeting of the citizens 
was held, nearly 2,000 attending. A duel was fought on Pinnacle hill, between 
two young men whose names are not given in the newspapers of that time; 
no one was hurt, and it was thought that the seconds, in loading the pistols, 
forgot to put in the balls. The new aqueduct was finished at a cost of $600,- 
000. 

Ireland's wrongs seem to have agitated the minds of many of our citizens 
during the summer of 1843, many meetings being held to advocate the repeal 
of the union with luigland and the restoration of Ireland's nationality, the 
largest of them being on the loth of July, in Monroe hall, when addresses were 
made by the chairman. General Hestor L. Stevens, George Dawson, Dr. Thel- 
ler and others. John Ouincy Adams visited Rochester on the 27th of July; 
was received with great honor by a committee, three of whom had been pre- 
viously appointed to go to Buffalo to meet him; grand torchlight procession in 
the evening in his honor, and an address by the venerable statesman from a 
platform erected in the court-house square. 

Up to the time of the November election in 1844, the whole state was 
agitated by the presidential canvass, and Rochester was in no wise behind the 



136 History of the City of Rochester. 

other cities in the enthusiasm dispku'ed. On the I 2th of April the friends of 
Henr_\' Cla_\- celebrated tlie birthday of their favorite b\- a larye gathering at 
Irx'ing hall, at which Gnvernor Seward was expected to be present, but he sent, 
instead, a two-column letter; l^lisha B. Strong presided and an oration was de- 
livered b>- iJr. D. F. Bacon, of New York. .August 24th Levi W. Sibley died; 
he was one of the pioneers, having come here in 1818 with his brother Derick; 
they were printers, antl after working for some _\-cars on the Tclcgrapli they 
purchased the Gazette in 1S21, and published it foLir vears. The census taken 
in March showed a population of 23,553, '"i increase of 3,358 in three years. 
Three hundred and ten new buildings were erected during the year, about 
equall)' di\'ided between the two sides of the river. 

Temperance, the canal and sla\-ery seem to have troubled the minds of our 
people a good deal during 1845; Washingtonian gatherings were held to pro- 
mote total abstinence, and a grain con\'ention, attended by delegates from all 
the western part of the state, took place here January 29th and 30th, to pro- 
test against the competition of the Welland canal in diverting traffic from the 
direct line of the Krie; James Seymour presided, man_\- speeches were made 
and resolutions were adopted calling upon the legislature to equalise the tolls, 
so as to make western forwarelers pa\- the same whichever wa_\- the produce 
went. On Februar_\- 5th, Ca\\ and 7th the Western New York /\nti-slavery 
society held a convention, Isaac Post presiding. The mayoralt)- election in 
March was quite exciting; Rufus Keeler, the Locofoco candidate, and John 
Allen, the Whig, were within two votes of each other, and the common coun- 
cil, acting as a board of canvassers, were tied on the question of allowing three 
imperfect votes to John Allen, which would have elected him; Mr. Allen, 
having, as mayor, the casting vote in the council, magnanimousl>' decided 
against himself, and Mr. Keeler was declared elected; he declined to accept 
the office, and Mr. Allen, w ho b)- that means would have held o\-er, sent in his 
resignation and the common council appointed William Pitkin ma\-or. On the 
19th of Ma)' an anti-gambling meeting of prominent citizens was held, at 
which J. H. Green, "the reformed gambler," made an address; two da\'s later 
a societ)' was formed, with P'rederick Whittlesey as president, Messrs. Champ- 
ion, Kempshall, Buniphre\-, Smith, Bloss, Wheeler and Bart(jn as vice-presi- 
dents; L 1'". Mack as corresponding secretary, and J. H. Babcock as treasurer; 
under the auspices of the society Mr. Green delivered a lecture at the court- 
house five da)-s afterward. On the 1st of October Edwin Scrantom, one of 
the best known auctioneers of the day, sold off a large quantity of central real 
estate, in several small parcels, to the highest bidders; twelve lots on the east 
side of Front street brought $4,815; thirteen on the west side, $6,660; three 
on Mumford street sold for $1,275; nine on Mill street realised $1,740; five 
on a back street then running between Front and the river bank went for 
$1,490; the Selye house and lot, on the corner of Mill and Fish (now Center) 



Franklin's Birthday. — Famine in Ireland. 137 

streets reached $3,600, and other property was knocked down for $8,645 — '" 
all $28,225, to eleven purchasers. On the 22d of October a state temperance 
convention was held here, presided over by Chancellor Whittlesey. The widow 
of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester died on the 9th of December, leavin<j fifty- 
eight direct descendants. 

Benjamin Franklin's birthda\' was celebrated on the 1 6th of January, 1846, 
in grand st)-le by the printers of Western New York ; it was the first festival 
of the craft of this cit\- and was held at the Champion Hotel, which was the 
old Morton House refitted, rechristened and opened as a temperance house, 
on the corner of Buffalo and Fitzhugh streets. Derick Sibley presided at the 
principal table, and a newspaper of the next day, in an account of the pro- 
ceedings, which takes up more than eight columns, says that "one hundred and 
seven, including Adams's brass band, sat down to one of the most sumptuous 
repasts ever furnished to printers' palates;" all those living here who were then 
or ever had been connected with the press as editors ot" publishers were pres- 
ent ; many of them made speeches, and letters were read from several journal- 
ists in other parts of the state. On the 8th of February Rev. Ashbel Baldwin, 
then the oldest ordained Episcopal minister in the United States, died at his 
residence in this city, aged near!}- eighty-nine. The first exhibition of the 
Genesee Valley Horticultural society was held June 12th, at the Blossom House. 
The Mexican war having broken out in the spring of that year, a meeting of 
citizens was held on the 27th of Ma}', General Gould presiding, to sustain Pres- 
ident Polk's administration ; a "committee of safety" was appointed, which in 
turn appointed John Allen, Horace Gay and H. B. Ely a committee to take 
measures for the enrollment of volunteers ; the response was more tardy than 
had been anticipated, and by the time a company of thirty-three was raised, 
under Captain H. B. Ely, word came that the quota of the state was full and 
no more troops were needed, so the enlistments were revoked and the men 
stayed at home. 

The next year, 1847, saw greater activity and excitement in the matter. 
General Taylor's brilliant achievements having stirred the warlike feelings of 
the young men of the North, so that when more troops were called for there 
was less difficulty in getting enlistments in this city. In the early part of the 
year Caleb Wilder, as captain, organised a company, forty members of which, 
under charge of Lieutenant Edward McGarry, left here in April for Fort Ham- 
ilton, where they remained until joined by the complement of the company, 
when, on the 9th of June, they proceded to the mouth of the Rio Grande, 
where they remained about sixteen months, doing active and efficient service as 
a part of the army of occupation. This was the great year of famine in Ireland 
— as it was foreseen it would be, in consequence of the failure of the potato 
crop the year before — and of course meetings were held here, to send relief 
to the starving people, the largest, perhaps, being at the court-house on Feb- 



1 58 History of the City of Rochester. 



rum-}' 8th ; Dr. James Webster presided ; $2,6^ was raised at once ; Dr. Lee, 
General Gmild and Rev. Mr. Holland were appointed a committee to send cir- 
culars to the neighbiirini; towns. In this )-ear an amendment to the charter 
was adopted b\" the common council, anti subsequentl}' passed b\' the legisla- 
ture, whereby all cit>' officers were to be after that year elected by the people, 
except the clerk of the board, the superintendent of Mount Hope cemetery and 
the messenger of the ciiuncil. On the 30th of September the Society of the 
Pioneers was organised, at a dinner held at the Blossom House, with I'Lnos 
Stone as president. Judge Sampson. Ralph Parker and Oliver Culver, as vice- 
presidents ; si\t_\--two were [iresent at this first festival, or sent letters joining 
the organisation, which at the outset was to comprise tnily those who were here 
before 1816; of that ()riL;uial number, not one is now living, the last to pass 
awa\- being Charles J. Hill, who dietl last _\'ear ; the limit of time was then ex- 
tended so as to admit all who resided in Western New York prior to I 820; the 
number of members then rajjidly increasetl, so that in i860 there were ninety 
men and f^rty women connected with the societ)'. In Jul_\- a new railroad 
bridge was built across the river by the Auburn & Rochester railroad, to take 
the place of the okl one laid down se\en years before. In this year coal was 
first burned as fuel, as will be more fully told in another chapter. The mor- 
tality for this )'ear was 747, a death rate ot more than two and a half percent. 
In P'ebruary, 1S48, much excitement was caused by the disappearance of 
Porter P. Pierce, a \'oung woolen manufacturer; a meeting was held at which 
sixty-eight prominent citizens, with Dr. Webster at the head, were appointed a 
vigilance committee to unravel the mystery; other meetings were held, and 
rewards offered; the bod\' was afterw,u'(_l found in the river with marks of vio- 
lence ; the murderer was nevei' discovered. On the 2d of August there was a 
woman's rights con\'ention at the Unitarian church, the building being filled to 
overflowing; Am_\- Post called the meeting to order; Abigail Bush was presi- 
dent, with other women to fill the remaining offices; proceedings were opened 
with prayer b}- Rev. Mr. Wicher, of the Free Will Bajnist church; Miss Burtis, 
a Quaker school-teacher, acted as reader, as the secretaries could not be heard. 
Frederick Douglass, William C. Nell and William C. Bios-; spoke in favor of 
the emancipation of women from all artificial disabilities; Mile Codding and 
three other men spoke against this, contending that "woman's sphere was 
home," to which Lucretia Mott replied vigorously, followed by Mrs. Stanton 
and others ; letters were read from Gerrit Smith and William Lloyd Garrison, 
cordially approving all the objects of the meeting; there were three sessions, 
each well attended. On /Vugust 23d a citizens' meeting was held for the relief 
of Alban\-, nearly a cpiarter of that city being burned, with a loss of more than 
a million of dollars ; a draft for $1,000 was remitted by the ma)-or, Joseph 
F'ield. The gas work's having been completed in this year, the illuminating 
fluid was supplied on the 13th of December, the first consumer being C. A. 
Jones, who resided on F'ranklin street. 



Incidexts of 1850. 139 

Cholera visited the place again in I S49, in spite of the fact that the utmost 
precautions had been taken in the early part of the )-ear to cleanse the filthiest 
places, and put the city in a sanitar\' condition ; about one hundred and sixty 
deaths resulted from the disease. In Ma\- the trial of Dr. Ilardenbrook, for 
the murder of Thomas Nott, took place, the motive alleged being the desire to 
marr\' Mrs. Nott ; strong testimony was offered to show that death occurred 
from poison administered by the doctor, who had professionally treated the 
deceased ; the jury, after being out five hours, rendered a verdict of acquittal. 
Fanny Kemble read here, May 9th and loth, "Othello" and the "Tempest." 
Corinthian hall was opened during the summer, having been begun in the 
spring of the previous year ; Bugle alley was changed in name to Exchange 
place, and the title of Mill street was given to the whole line of-that thorough- 
fare, whose southern end had hitherto been known as Work street. As navi- 
gation was nearing its close, the City mills, which were overloaded, fell with a 
crash, in consequence of the great strain upon the floors; eleven thousand 
bushels of wheat were precipitated into the raceway and the flumes, which be- 
came dammed up and the water burst through, carrying the grain into the 
river; an almost total loss. 

On the 13th of Alarch, 1850, General Ebenezer S. Beach died; he came 
here in 1820, and almost from the first was engaged in the milling business, in 
which he was, so dxr as known, more extensively interested than any other 
person in the United States. John T. Talman, another of the early settlers, 
died February 12th. Hamlet Scrantom, who was the first white resident of 
Rochester, on the west side of the river, died in this year, in the house on 
State street (subsequently occupied by Martin Briggs, his son-in-law) where 
the family had resided since 18 16. The corner-stone of the court-house was 
laid on the 20th of June, with imposing ceremonies, all the military and the 
city officials turning out and moving through the principal streets ; the prayer 
was by Rev. Dr. Hall, the address by Judge Chapln, and the stone was laid by 
Mayor Richardson and the chairman of the board of supervisors ; in the box 
under it were placed copies of all the newspapers of the day, city directories, 
daguerreotypes of officials, statistics of various kinds, and man\' other objects 
of interest. A mournful occasion caused the passage of a similar procession, 
augmented b}- the fire department and the secret societies, on the 13th of 
July, in token of the national loss sustained b\' the death of the president. 
General Taylor, on the 9th ; at Washington square a eulogy was delivered by 
Rev. Mr. Hickok, of the Bethel church ; most of the buildings in the city were 
draped, and the railroad trains that passed through were covered with the em- 
blems of mourning ; General L. B. Swan was marshal of the day on both of 
these observances. In September Powers's "Greek Slave" was exhibited here 
for several days. Lectures were given during the early part of the year by- 
Horace Greeley, President Hopkins, of Williams college ; Richard H. Dana, 



140 History of the City of Rochester. 

John B. G()u,l;1i, Senator John P. Hale, Hishop Hopkins, of V^-rmont, and Rev. 
Dr. Lord, of Buftalo. The L'ni\ersit_\- of Rochester and the theological sem- 
inar)' were established here in .uitunin. The census taken during the summer 
shoueil a popukition of 36,561, an increase of I 1,296 in fi\e _\-ears. This fin- 
ishes the first half of the nineteenth centui')', though not the first half century 
of the existence of Rochester, which hatl, howexer, even at this time, taken 
her place as one of the most [prosperous, and in some respects one of the most 
important, cities in the state. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE CITY'S I'ROC.RESS Ti 1 THE \V.\R IIMI',. 

ViMt of EilliiKMX- and hi> r.,l.iiK.-t. an.l ..f Daniel Wcl.Mer — Smgins^ cf Jenny Eind — Civic Ee- 
lival in 1N51 — Iluililin.^ llie New C.iurl-l Inu^e — I'lie .Meridian .if Roeliester —The .Moelv Funeral 
..f llenrv I 'lay — Tile Cholera in I.S52 — the Ira St. .at Mur.ler — The •• Irrepres^ilile Cnnfliel " — 
De Lave•^ Knpe-Walking — Heath „( E.v-.Mayorv .Mien an.l Child. 

PRI'lSIDIiNT PTLLMORK concei\ed the idea that some of the unpopu- 
larit\' which he had incurred at the Xorth, and especiall}' in his own state, 
by signing the fugitive slave bill, would be removed b_\' making a tour with his 
cabinet and explaining matters as he went along, so he set out with three of 
the secretaries and was gener.dly well receixed; he reached here i.m the 20th 
of May, 185 I, and was greeted by a fine turnout of tl'ie militar)- and other 
organisations; much disap[)ointment was felt over the absence of Daniel Web- 
ster, then secretary of state, who had lagged behind the party for some time, 
not getting to Buffalo till two days after the others had left; salutes were fired 
and the visitors were escorted to Washington square, where the mayor made 
a long address to the president, \sho responded, followed by Attorne)'-General 
Crittenden and ex-Go\'. Graham, secretary of the navy; in the afternoon the 
party dined at the P^agle Hotel, where more speeches were made. Mr. Web 
ster reached here three da\'s later, but was not honored b)' an official recep- 
ti(.in, which he had probablv' expected and which he would certainU' have 
received a few x'ears beRire ; the ne.xt morning he spoke, from the south end 
of the Arcade galler\', to a large crowd, but the circumstances under which 
his speech was deli\'ered were not such as to enhance his great reputation. 
Jenn)' Lind sang here Jul\' 22d and 24th ; the desire to hear her was so great 
that e\'er)' nook and corner in the adjacent streets was occupied, and as the 
heat of the e\'enings caused the wintlows of Corinthian hall to be kept -wide 
open it was estimated that the notes of her voice reached as many outside of 



The New Court-House. 141 



the building as listened to it within. For her second night the tickets, to keep 
them out of the hands of speculators, were sold at auction, and they all 
brought a premium, which aggregated $2,501.41; this amount she sent the 
next day to the mayor, N. E. Paine, to be distributed as follows : To the Fe- 
male Charitable society $800, to the Rochester orphan asylum $500, Catholic 
orphan asylums $300, Home for the Friendless $300, German Lutheran 
church $200, Cartmen's Benevolent association $200, Firemen's Benevolent 
association $201.41. The annual fair of the State Agricultural society was 
held here in September, with greater /(-/<•?/ than in any year since then; the 
address was delivered b_\' Stephen A. Douglas ; and the crowd in attendance 
was by far the largest ever seen up to that time in Western New York; one 
evening during the progress of the fair a civic festival was held in Corinthian 
hall, which was attended by Gov. Hunt and his military staff, ex-President 
Tyler, ex-Gow Marcy, ex Gov. Morton of Massachusetts, Gen. Wool, John 
A. King, Horace Greeley, many judges of the Supreme court and other nota- 
bilities. Chancellor Whittlesey, one of the most distinguished citizens of 
Rochester, died September 19th; resolutions of respect were passed by the 
university, the courts and many other bodies. Enos Stone, generally con- 
sidered the first settler upon the east side of the ri\er, where the city now 
stands (as is fully described in the first portion of this work), died on the 23d 
of October. Matthew- Brown, who came here in 1817, died December 28th. 
The new court-house was finished in December at a cost of $61,93 1.95 (though 
additions a few years later increased the amount by something over $i 0,000), 
of which the city paid $33,465.98 and the county $28,465.97; Gideon Cobb, 
who took the old court-house at $500, did the mason work, and Henry T. 
Rogers was the carpenter; the original appropriation was for $25,000, by the 
supervisors, for a county building alone, but the common council afterward 
joined with them to erect a court-house, with rooms for both city and county 
officers; the plans for this included wooden columns to support the roof of 
the portico, and it was mainly by the exertions of Gen. Swan that the massive 
stone pillars which do more than any other part of the structure to give dig- 
nity to its appearance were raised, instead of the miserable posts which would 
have become mutilated long ago by time and mischief It will be of interest 
to our readers to know — what has perhaps never been printed before — the 
exact meridian of the city of Rochester, which may be given in this connec- 
tion because the figure of Justice, which surmounts the upper dome, was taken 
as one of the points of triangulation by the officers of the coast survey in 
1876; the image is in latitude 43° 9' 22.44", longitude ^^° 36' 50.97". 

On the 6th of February, 1852, a Portuguese family, named Antonio, left on 
the cars for Alban\- — an innocent proceeding, in itself, but it gave to those who 
had been their neighbors on Lyell street an opportunity to dig in the cellar of 
the late residence of the family and to find buried there the body of Ignacio 



14- Histlirv of tiik City of Rochester. 

Pinto, who liad li\'ed with the others and had been missed since the previous 
Nmeniber ; one deatlly wound was in tlie breast, another on the liead ; an offi- 
cer was sent after the family and bronL;ht them back ; Maurice Antonio was 
tried for tlie murder in April — an interpreter bein;^ used as medium all through 
the trial — and was hanged on the 3d of June. Sail)- Holley, the daughter of 
Myr(}n Holley, tlelix'ered an adtlress nn anti-slavery on the l6th of February. 
Ralph Waldo I'Imerson, Leonartl Bacon, Hoi'ace Mann, T. D'Arc\- McGee, 
Horatio Seymour and Donald (}. Mitchell were among the lecturers of the 
winter. Horace Gay, formerly district attorne)-, master in chancery, member 
of Assembl}', etc., tlicd June 9th, at Haltimore, ha\ing been taken sick while (in 
the way to attend, as a delegate, the Democratic national convention in that 
cit\'. Henry Cla\' ha\'ing died on the 9th of June, one week after General 
Scott obtained the \Miig nomination as c.mdidate for the presidenc}-, this city, 
in common with all others in the countrw was deeply moved b_\- the general 
feeling of sorrow; resolutions of regret were passed by the council and all the 
literar}- organisations ; an immense throng gathered at the depot as the remains 
passed through here on the 6th of July, on the way to Kentuck)' ; forni.il obse- 
(juies were held here July 13th. with a eulogx- at the First Methotlist church by 
Re\-. Mr. Hickok, of the P>ethel ; this was not all, for on the 23d of the .same 
month there was a nuick funeral procession — "under the direction of the \'oung 
men of Rochester," as the newspapers had it — with more imposing pageantry 
than had ever been seen here before, sur|iassing that displayed after the death 
of Taylor, of John Ouincy Adams or c:)f Harrison ; all conceivable associations 
and companies turned out, to precede or follow the funeral car to Washington 
square, where an oration was delivered by Charles G. Lee; the court-house 
was hung in black from basement to cupola, draped flags were hung across 
the streets at interwals, and all the bells tolled as the procession moved. 

Rut, before the summer was o\er, the streets were filled with mourners on 
account ot the actual presence of the tlesti'o_\'er, antl the mimic demonstrations of 
woe .ga\'e place to the manifestations of a far more personal grief, perplexity and 
dread. The cholera returned, and its ravages here, as in Buffalo and elsewhere, 
were more frightful than in any previous year. Its coming had been foreseen, as 
former!}' ; the boai'd of health began its wm-k of purification early in the spring, 
though the unusual fall of rain through April and May retarded their work, and 
on the first appearance of the disease a building on High street (now Caledonia 
avenue) was turned into a hospital and given in charge of Dr. Richard Gundry ; 
into this sixty-eight patients were taken, of whom twenty-four died. There 
were, during the summer, nearly seven hundred cases, the deaths numbering at 
least 420, and possibh" 473 (the discrepancy being due, in part, to confusion in 
untlertakers' reports), so that a little o\er one per cent, of the population was 
carried ofi' b\- the scourge. The first case was that of John Hart, an Irish 
laborer on Factor}- street, which occurred June 6th ; the last, which took place 



OCCURRENXES OF I 85 3 AND I 854. 1 43 

early in November, was tliat of a prisoner in the jail, eight)--three years old, 
who, when another inmate died of the cholera, became panic-stricken, was 
seized \\ith the disease and soon fell a victim. Moses B. Seward, Dr. J. J. Treat 
and Dr. William Bell died of the epidemic in August, Dr. D. C. Phelps in Sep- 
tember. The mayor, Hamlin Stilwell, exerted himself effectively at first, but 
his health soon ga\-e wa_\- and he was oblii^ed to retire temporarily from active 
labor, when his duties fell upon Alderman William F. Holmes, who fortunately 
was a member of the board of health at the time, and to whose memory praise 
is due for the fidelity, courage and devotion which he showed in doing what 
could be done to prevent the establishment of the epidemic and in relieving the 
miseries of those who suffered from it. A committee of the board, consisting 
of Dr. E. W. Armstrong, D. M. Dewey and Hiram Banker, drew up a long and 
complete report of the cholera for this year, from which is taken the informa- 
tion given above. Clay's great rival, Daniel Webster, having died October 
25th, the city hall bell was tolled here during his funeral at Marshfield on the 
29th ; memorial services were held in Corinthian hall November 23d, an ora- 
tion being delivered by Jerome Fuller of Brockport. 

As the city was full of the newly developed theories of Spiritualism, with 
their attendant manifestations. Dr. Alclhaine, of- the First church, preached a 
sermon on "the arts of divination," on the 20th of March, 1853. In the 
same month Francis Gretter, a cand\' peddler, stabbed and killed instantly 
Paul Satterbee, of the same age with himself (about thirteen years); man- 
slaughter third degree ; House of Refuge till becoming of age. In May the 
seamstresses (or "sempstresses" as they were then called) formed a protective 
union for mutual support and to aid in securing fair compensation ; se\eral 
meetings were held by them in Corinthian hall. Silas Ball, one of the old 
pioneers, died May 8th. In May the association for juvenile reform was or- 
ganised, with William Pitkin as president, Hervey Ely vice-president, J. B. 
Robertson treasurer and S. D. Porter secretar\' ; its object was, especially, the 
care of truant children. Highway robberies during this month were common 
enough to alarm the people of Rochester and make most of them go home 
early at night. On June igth died John Smith, vague as to name, but with his 
individuality established by his having come here in 1814 and kept the first 
meat stall in the place, at the west end of the bridge, his shop being called — 
presumably in derision — "the fly market." A long-staying comet affrighted 
many timid people during August. The corner-stone of Plymouth church was 
laid on the 8th of September, Rev. Dr. O. E. Daggett delivering the principal 
address; that of St. Mary's (Catholic) was laid on the i8th, the services being 
conducted by Bishop Timon of Buffalo. Harry Pratt, one of the most re- 
spected of our private citizens, died at the end of the year. 

Lyceum oratory found good development during the early part of 1854, 
Henry Giles, Wendell Phillips, Agassiz, Bayard Taylor, Oliver Wendell Homes, 



144 HiSTdKV OF THE City of Rochester. 

Tlicodore Parker and Horace Greeley being among the lecturers of the season. 
The \elerans (if the war of iSi2 held a mass meeting in the common council 
chamber on the 3d of Jaiuiar_\- and appointed ICbenezer Griffin, Jonathan Child 
antl S. L. Wellman to petition Congress for appropriate relief Everartl Peck, 
v\-ho came hei'e in 1 8 16, dietl on the 9th of February. In March forty-five ^5"^ 
clergymen of this city, headed by Dr. Dewe)' and Dr. Anderson, signed a pe- 
tition to Congress, remonstrating against the attempt to organise Kansas and 
Nebraska as slave territories ; similai' renmnstrances were signed by great num- 
bers of the citizens, and all the petitiwn-, were presented to Congress by our 
member. Dr. Da\-is Carpenter, of ISn ickpurt. On the 3d of May the ground 
of St. M.iry's church, on St. Paul street, was sold at auction f)r $4,600, the old 
church fir $160. This was a bad year fir the miller.s — first, b\- reason of the 
short crop nf grain, and consequent high prices, and, second, on account o{ 
the lack cif water, the drought being so great that the Phceni.x and the Red mill 
were idle during the whole season, antl the others ran to about half of their ca- 
pacity ; the shipments nf flour were less than in any pre\ious _\-ear since 1844. 
On the 14th of November Fanma Moore, aged thirty-seven, disappeared ; anx- 
iet)' was soon felt by her friends, and then by the public ; meetings were held 
by the citizens and a reward of $I,000 was offered by the sheriff; the body 
was found in the upper race nn the 19th of the following March ; coroner's jury 
rendered a verdict of "death b\- drowning, whether b\- her own \'oluntar_\- act 
or otherwise is entirel)- unknown t<i the jury." 

Woman's rights asserted themselves in 1855, a C(.iunt_\- convention of those 
in fi\dr of them being held at Corinthian hall on the 15th of January, with 
Mrs. Lucy Clapp, (if Perinton, presi(-ling ; Miss Anthony read a long address 
in the afternoon, and Mrs. Rose, of New York, spoke one in the evening. 
Science ])redominated in the Athen.x-um course during the month, si.x lectures 
on chemistry being deli\-ered b_\- Prof Silliman, of Yale college. On the 26th 
the Union Gra\'s, under command of Ca]5tain Lee, were called out b\' the 
sheriff to quell a riot of laborers on the canal, engaged in a strike ; several 
arrests, but no (ine seri(.iusl\- hurt. The night between the 6th and the 7th of 
February was considered the coldest ever known in this localit}' since civilisa- 
tion existed here; the mercury fell to twent}--six below at four in the morn- 
ing. One hundred and twenty-five guns were fired and bonfires lighted on 
the evening of the 6th, on account of the reelection of William H. Seward to 
the United States senate. On the iith of May Martin Eastwood was con- 
victed of the murder of Edwdrd Brereton and sentenced to death, but he 
secured a new trial, and got off with a long imprisonment. The short-lived 
political part)', calling itself the "iAmerican," but more commonly known as 
the " Know- Nothing," attained its greatest strength in this year, at least, in 
Rochester, w^here it placed Charles J. Hayden in the major's chair at the 
spring election. The pro-slavery outrages in Kansas and Missouri excited the 



Diary of Events of 1856 and 1857. 145 

utmost indignation in Rochester, and a large meeting in expression thereof was 
held at the city hall on the ist of June, with Prof J. H. Raymond and others 
as speakers. On the 15th of Jul}- the Junior Pioneer association was organ- 
ised, its condition of admission being that the applicant should have resided 
here before 1825, the limit being subsequently extended to 1S30. The first 
president was Ezra M. Parsons, of Gates ; the treasurer, George W. Fisher ; 
the corresponding secretary, L. Ward Smith ; Jarvis M. Hatch was first on the 
executive committee, and William A. Re_\-nolds at the head of that on histor- 
ical collections. The first object given to the society was a cane, with the fol- 
lowing inscription: "A fragment of the boat Young Lion of the West, pre- 
sented to the Junior Pioneer association by H. H. Knapp, October, 1855."! 
About 1863 this organisation was merged in the older pioneer society, and 
the consolidated body continued for a few years, when it quietly passed away, 
George G. Coopen being its last president. Many of the very early settlers 
died during this \'ear, among them Mrs. Levi Ward, Mrs. Joseph Sibley, Mrs. 
Samuel J. Andrews, Eli Stillson and Elbert W. Scrantom. A number of 
lectures by celebrated speakers were delivered before the Ladies' Anti-Sla\'ery 
society in the course of the winter. 

During the early part of 1856 snow fell in immense quantities, impeding 
the passage of trains in January and Februar\-, and on the 1 ith of March the 
blockade was so complete as to cause a great accumulation of passengers at 
the hotels in the city, besides those who were confined in the cars by being 
snowed in. Ellihu Burritt, the "learned blacksmith," lectured before the Typo- 
graphical L^nion on the l6th of Januar\-. Rev. Dr. Finne}-, the re\ivalist, 
preached here during the month ; there was much religious excitement, great 
numbers attended the meetings, and -many joined the church. On Ma)- 21st 
high mass was celebrated in St. Patrick's church (the interior being hung with 
black) for the repose of the soul of Bishop Bernard O'Reilly, formerly the be- 
loved pastor of that parish, who was on the ill-fated Pacific when she sank in 
mid-ocean. An indignation meeting, on the 30th of May, over Brooks's cow- 
ardly assault on Senator Sumner, filled the city hall more densely than in any 
former instance ; the mayor, Samuel G. Andrews, presided, and all living ex- 
mayors were vice-presidents ; Dr. Anderson delivered the longest speech of 
the occasion. July 30th the first carriage crossed the suspension bridge at 
Carthage. Rev. John Donnelly was killed by the cars on the Central railroad 
bridge, August 9th. Great interest was aroused by the Fremont campaign ; 
Gov. Seward spoke in Corinthian hall on the third day before election. Chas. 
M. Lee, one of the best-known lawyers of the city, died on the 25th of No- 
vember. 

There was, in 1857, almost a repetition of the snowfall of the previous 

1 A similar cane, made from another piece of the same old vessel, our first canal boat, is now in the 
possession of Henry L. Fish, having been presented to him by George G. Cooper in 1882. 



146 History of the City of Rochester. 

year; a train whicli left here on the 19th of January was twenty-seven hours 
in workiiii^r through to Alban\'. There was enougli of a flood in Febriiai'v, on 
the 8th, tci carry away most of the oUl buildings on the north side nf Main 
street bridge b\' undermining the old piers, and finally to sweep awa_\' the 
greater part of the ancient bridge itself The new one was about half built at 
the time. The Garris(.")ni<ui Abolitionists had a convention at Corinthian hall 
on the loth of Februar\- ; Messrs. Garrisnn, May, Remond and others in 
attendance, with Miss Anthon)-, Mrs. Post, Miss l^urtis ,uid nthers of this city. 
I'^phraim Moore died on the I Jth (jf April ; he came here in 18 17, was one of 
the trustees of the x'illagc, and lield \-arious positions <if trust and responsibility. 
The passage b)' the legislature of the bill for extending the Genesee Valley 
canal, was thought to be tlie forerunner of so \-,ist an influx of wealth from the 
iron, coal and timber lands in Penns)-|\-ania that the cit_\- was illuminated on 
the 13th iif .April, and a large meeting of felicitation was helil in the city hall; 
our citizens ha\e not yet grown I'ich out ot it. Lake ax'enue was improx-etl in 
this year by widening the sidewalks to the extent of twent)' feet, and planting 
a double row of maple trees near the curb ; it was due to the efilbrts of Alder- 
man Lewis Selye in the common council, and to his personal liberality. This 
was quite a year for bridges. Main street bridge, constructed of cut stone, was 
finished at a cost of over $60,000, after a prolonged wrangle in the common 
council, over the efforts to take the mattei' out of the hands of the commission- 
ers appointed by the legislature to build it The suspension bridge at Carthage 
fell in April, as described in a pre\'ious chapter. Andrews street bridge was 
rebuilt of iron, at a cost of $i2,ooo; in tUe course of its construction, on the 
19th of December, Nathan Newhafer, one of the workmen, stepped on a loose 
plank, tell into the water and was swept over the falls. Court street bridge 
was comjjleted in the f illowing \'ear, at an expense about the same as that of 
the ,'\ntlrews street crossing A Methodist anti-slavery convention was held 
at St. John's church in this city on the 1 6th of December. On the 19th of 
that month Ira Stout decoyed his brother-in-law, Charles W. Littles, an attor- 
ney, to h'alls field, and murdered him, with the assistance of Mrs. Littles, 
Stout's sister, throwing his bod)' over the precipice ; in doing so, both the 
murtlerers fell, rolled a part of the wa)' down, and nearly met their own death ; 
Stout's arm was broken, and both he and his sister were covered with burdock 
burrs ; these things were what led to their detection ; Stout was tried the next 
)-ear, convicted, and executed on the 22d of October; Sarah Littles was tried 
later and sent to Sing Sing for seven years. 

The record for 185S may begin with the mention of a sermon preached at 
I'lymouth church on the 1 2th of January, bv Rew Dr. Chester Dewey, it 
being the fiftieth anni\'ersar)- of his ordination as a minister. On the 25th 
Charles A. Jones died after a lingering illness, a victim of the m\-sterious 
"National Hotel disease," which prostrated so manv of the guests at the ban- 



Events of 1858-1859. 147 



quct given at W ashington at the time of President Buchanan's inauguration on 
the 4tli of Marcli, in the previous year. On the 27th of Februar)- the funeral 
of two young men — T. Hart Strong and Henry H. Rochester, who had per- 
ished just a «eek before, at the burning t>f the Pacific Hotel, in St. Louis — 
took place at St. Luke's; the church was tiensel)- packed, and emotions of sad- 
ness and solemnity were manifested bj- all present. Another death — that of 
William H. Perkins, who was killed on the I2th of May in a railway accident 
near Utica — produced a more general feeling of sorrow than can be appre- 
ciated at this da\-, when we have not }'et outgrown the calmness with 
which the civil war taught us to regard the most frightful casualties. The lay- 
ing of the first Atlantic cable was celebrated on the evening of August 17th 
by a brilliant illumination, fireworks, bell-ringing, procession of the military 
and fire companies, etc. ; the conflagration at a later hour is mentioned in an- 
other chapter. Though the date is not generally associated with the address, 
as in the case of Webster's "seventh of March speech," yet the place is indis- 
solubly connected with the oration, delivered at Corinthian hall on the 25th 
of October, b\- William H. Seward, in which, speaking of the struggle between 
the upholders of the systems of free and slave labor, he declared it to be "an 
irrepressible conflict between opposing and enduring forces." The phrase was 
instantly accepted all over the Lhiited States, and was familiarly used till long 
after one of those forces had ceased to endure and the great statesman who 
uttered the sentence had passed away. Dr. F. F. Backus, one of the earliest 
of the settlers of Rochester, whose public services are alluded to in other por- 
tions of this work, died in the latter part of the year. 

The Jews of this city held a large meeting on the 20th of January, 1859, 
to express the indignation which they felt, in common with all their race 
throughout the world, over the abduction of the Mortara child from his parents 
by the Inquisition of Rome. John Allen, the ma\-(ir of the city in 1844, died 
in New York on the 1st of Ajiril; he was held in the highest respect not only 
for his executive abilities but for his rare integrity, so that he was often called 
"honest John Allen;" his remains, after being brought from New York, lay in 
state in the mayor's room at the court-house; his funeral was attended by all 
the military organisations, the fire companies, the Masonic associations and 
other bodies; the procession was under the charge of ex- Mayor Hills, and the 
.bearfers were ex-Mayors Child, Gould, Kempshall, Hill, Field, Richardson, 
Strong and Hayden. A matter in the middle of August was more than a 
nine-days' wonder and aroused an inordinate degree of public interest. Stimu- 
lated by Blondin's feats in crossing Niagara, another funambulist, named De 
Lave, undertook to do a similar' thing here, and after due advertising and 
judicious procrastination he made the passage on the i6th, (mt a tight-rope, 
stretched seven hundred feet obliquely over the falls, so that in walking across, 
from east to west, he made the ascent in front of and directly over the princi- 



14^ History of thk City of Rochester. 

pal sheet of water; a delij^htetl croutl of not far from 20,000 people witnessed 
the perfoi'iiiance, which he lepeated two or three times in the course of the 
next ten tiays, so that it L;ot to be an old stor_\'. The first locomotive explo- 
sion in this city took place on the iJth of September, when the boiler of the 
entwine Oiitdrio, of the New York ("eiitral road, was blown to pieces, just west 
of the de|)ot; the engineer was so badly hurt that one leg had to be amputated, 
and the fireman was severely scalded, but both recoveretl and were employed 
on the road for many years. Ai^ricultural fairs of the state association had 
l)een held from year to year, here and elsewhere, but b_\' I S6o it was f umd that 
the disjjlay was too larye aiul the interests were too divergent to allow of jus- 
tice being done to each exhibitor, so a com-ention was held on the 15th of 
March fir the pur[iose of firming the Western New York -Vgricultural, Horti- 
cultural and IMechanic.il association. Rew Dr. Joseph Penney died on the 22d ; 
he w.is the pastor of the I'irst l'i-esb_\'tei"ian church fir man)- year.s and subse- 
quentl\- president of 1 lamilton college. On the 1st of May the new building 
of the Home for the l-'riendless was opened, with appropriate ceremonies. The 
first parade of the Genesee river fleet took place on the I ith of that month. 
On the 17th the general assembly of the Old School I'resbyterian church began 
its session at the First church in this city; Dr. Hreckenridge, of Kentucky, 
being detained by illness, Di'. Scott, of C.ilifornia, opened the session with a 
sermon; Dr. Yeoinans, of I'ennsyK ania, was elected moderator; the assenibh' 
dissolved on the 30tli, after a session of undisturbed harmony, contrary to pre- 
vious expectation. Political excitement raged high in this year, both sides en- 
tering earnestly into the strLiggle th.it was felt to be decisive; a great Demo- 
cratic demonstr.ition was made on the i 8th of September, when Stephen A. 
Douglas spoke to an immense crowd at Washington square; still greater en- 
thusiasm was dispkued by the Republicans, who got up the organisation tif the 
Wide- Awakes, which paraded the streets night after night during the campaign, 
the largest manifestation being on October 1 8th, when Senators Wade and 
Doolittle spoke here. Jonathan Child died on the 26th of October; he came 
herein 1 820 and after holding various offices under the village go\'ernment 
he became in 1834 the first nKiyor of the cit\', in the administration of which 
office he has been surpassed by none of his successors; at his funeral, on the 
30th, citizens of all classes displayed the respect in which he was held. As the 
ending of this year marks the termination of the era of peace, it ma_\- bring this 
chapter to a close. 



The War of the Rebellion. 149 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE WAR TLME A.\U ]!K\'oND. 

Tireaking out of tlie Rehellion — The fall for Volunteers — Enthusiastic Response from Monroe 
County — Formation of the (.)ld Thirteenth and other Regiments — Support of the Government during 
the War and Rejoicing over tlie Return of Peace — The Mock Funeral of Abraham Lincoln — The 
Oil Fever and the Western Union Excitement — The Flood of 1865 — Performances of the Fenians — 
".Swinging around the Circle" — Seth Green's Fish-Culture. 

IN accordance with the proclamation of President Buchanan, and the recom- 
mendation of Governor Morgan, the 4th of January, 1861, was observed, 
here as elsewhere, as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer, services being 
held in most of the city churches, of all denominations, and at .the university. 
With the shadow of the impending war hovering before all minds, the people 
were in no mood to discriminate justly, and an Abolition convention at Cor- 
inthian hall, on the iith, was broken up by a mob, some of whom were nat- 
urally of the baser sort, while with (jthers the dread of a dissolution of the 
Union extinguished their regard for the right of freedom of speech. In the 
early morning of February i8th thousands of citizens turned out to welcome 
the president elect as he passed through here on the way to Washington, though 
but a small portion of them could see him and still fewer could hear the speech 
which he made from the rear of the train. The crash came in April ; Mr. Lin- 
coln's call for volunteers, on the 15th, stirred every heart; the common council 
immediately appropriated $10,000 to defray urgent expenses; on the iSth a 
meeting was held at the city hall to pledge support to the Union cause ; a sub- 
scription of over $40,000 was raised in a few days for the benefit of families of 
volunteers ; in a week more a regiment of men had enlisted here, under the di- 
rection of Prof Isaac F. Ouinby ; early in May they left for Elmira ; on the 29th 
nine of the companies were organised, with one from Livingston county, as the 
Thirteenth New York volunteers; they passed through Baltimore, under com- 
mand of Colonel Ouinby, on the 30th, being the first volunteer regiment (to- 
gether with the Twelfth New York) to reach that city after the attack on the Sixth 
Massachusetts on the 19th of April. In the autumn the PLighth cavalry was 
recruited here, and on the afternoon of Thanksgiving da\', November 28th, it 
left for Elmira. The record of these regiments, with that of others and parts 
of others raised here, will be found in another chapter of this work. Among 
the deaths of the year were those of Dr. Levi Ward, who came to the Genesee 
country in 1807, settling at Bergen; in 181 1 was one of the commissioners to 
settle the accounts of the builders of the first bridge across the Genesee at this 
point and came here to live in 1817 ; Selah Mathews, one of the eminent law- 
yers of his time ; General Lansing B. Swan, who had been prominently con- 
nected with the militia for many years, had organised the "Grays" in 1835 ^"d 
had, in connection with Gen. Burroughs, codified the military laws ; of Orlando 



History of tiik City of Rochester. 



HastiiiL(s, of I^benezcr Griftin, the last incumbent uf the office of cit)' recorder; 
of Joshua C(inke\- ani.l I if Cahin llnsdn, jr.; tlie hist-named, who was formerly 
ilistriet-attoiiicy, d\'inL; in prison at Richmimd, VirL;inia, where he had been 
hekl in cunhnement since bein;^ captiiied, to!_;cther w ith Alfred I{1_\-, mir mem- 
ber <if Con-ress, at the battle of Hull Run, .m the 2 I st of July. 

The war fex'ei', which had soniewliat abated during the winter, increasetl as 
the summer of I <S6j came on and another cdl was made for troops In Jul\' 
Camp h'itzjohn Porter was established near the Rapids, on the west side of 
the ii\er, as Camp Hillhouse, on the east side, could no longer be retained. 
The new ciuarters were inteiukxl for the use of the infanti)' regiments which it 
was seen must be raised to fill the ([iiol.i of the county, and under the im[)etus 
gi\'en b\' war meetings which were ludd .ilniost nightly in dift'erent parts of the 
cit\- the recruits poured in fist, ('len. John Willi. ims doing his best to organise 
and prepare them for duty. In the hitter pint of August the dr\- goods mer- 
chants and other st(.irekeepei-s closed their establishments e\'er_\' afternoon at 
three o'clock, to help on the work; on the 19th the One Himdred and haghth, 
more thcUi a thousand strong, under conini.md of Col. Pcdmer, left for hdmira, 
and the C)ne Hundred and ]'"oitieth started just one month later. Of e\'ents 
connected with the war may be mentionetl the recejition ot Congressman Ely 
on the 4th of January, on his return from capti\ity in Richmond, and Parson 
Hrownlow's address to a crowded audience in Corinthian hall, on August 1 Jth, 
when he told how Tenne>see was fiauilulently and forcibl)' talcen out of the Un- 
ion. ( )n the 28th of July the bells were tolled ,ind flags hung at half mast, for 
the funeial of e.x-President \'an liuien. who IkkI died on the 24th. In Sep- 
tember the state fair was held here ; Clarissa street bridge was completed and 
ojjcned for tra\el on the 25tli, at a cost of about $15,000. Of the deaths in the 
city during the year were those of Mrs. Hamlet Scrantom, in P'ebruai)' — who 
came here in 1812 and lixed in the first house built on the west side of tile river 
— and of Hervey VAy. in No\-ember ; he came here in 18 1 3, and his promi- 
nence ma\- be known b\- the fre(]uency with which his name appears in the early 
chapters of this w nrk. 

Joy aiul exultation opened the year I 863, for its beginning marked the en- 
franchisement of most of the colored race on this continent, and a jubilant 
emancipation celebration was held at Corinthian hall on the 4tli of Jauuar\'. 
On the 1 1 til of February the P^agie Hotel was clcised, after ha\ing been kept 
open f)r fort}' \'ears. April was distingaiished b\' a religious revival in nian_\'-of 
the churches. St. i\rar\-'s hospital corner-stone was laid on the 28th of June. 
The first street car ran on the 9th of July. Our streets witnessed during this 
\-ear many a niilitar_\' funeral of one after another of those who fell in battle or 
died from wounds or e.\j)osure ; of those the most impressi\e was that, on the I 5 th 
of Jul)-, of Patrick H. O'Rourke, colonel of the One Hundred and Fortieth, who 
was killed at Gett\-sburg on the 2d. The hideous draft riots in New York called 



Events of 1864. 151 



out the citizen soldiery to suppress them, and the Fifty-fourth left here to aid in 
the work on the i6th of July. Three weeks later the conscription took place here, 
beginning on the 5th of August and continuing for three days, during which 
1,096 names were drawn from the wheel to fill the quota, from the city alone; 
the drawing was done by Robert H. Fenn, a highh- respected citizen who was 
totally blind. The 6th of August was observed as a day of thanksgiving for 
the national \'ictory at Gett\-sburg. No one who was in Rochester from the 
14th to the 2 2d of December can forget the grand bazaar that was held in 
Corinthian hall during that week, for the benefit of the soldiers ; it was well at- 
tended throughout, day and evening, and the receipts were over $15,000. 
The necrological record for the year embraces the names of Rev. Dr. John T. 
Coit, pastor of St. Peter's church ; Isaac R. Elwood, the last clerk and attorney 
of the villlage, city clerk in 1838, clerk of the state Senate from 1842 to 1848, and 
secretary of the Western Union for many years , William C. Bloss, eminent as 
an Abolitionist and general reformer, member of Assembh^ in 1845, 4^ and '47 ; 
Willliam S. Bishop, formerly district attorney and member of the state Senate ; 
Samuel G. Andrews, who came here in 1815, was mayor in 1840 and 1856, 
county clerk, clerk of the state Senate and representative in Congress ; Rev. Dr. 
Calvin Pease, pastor of the First Presb\'terian church ; Silas O. Smith and his 
son, L. Ward Smith. 

The progress and effects of the war were plainh- visible by reason of the 
increasing number of pension agencies, which multiplied rapidly in the early 
part of 1864, and by the offering of high bounties to fill out the quota under 
the last call for 300,000 men, which had been increased to 500,000 long before 
the contingent demanded was obtained ; the county gave $300 to each recruit, 
the city gave an additional sum, each ward something further, and besides 
those was the immense amount frequently paid by individuals for substitutes. 
This brought into prominence the breed of "scalpers," the go-betweens or mid- 
dle-men, who took money from all parties, and cheated most of them ; as a natu- 
ral consequence of the swindling, "bounty-jumping" became disgracefully com- 
mon. Still, the dreadful conscription, which was again enforced elsewhere 
during the summer, was avoided in the city, and people were satisfied. The 
funeral of Major Jerry Sullivan, of the First Veteran cavalry, who was killed 
in a skirmish in Virginia, at the age of twent\--four, on the loth of March, 
took place on the 19th, the remains, after lying in state in the city hall, being 
borne to the Pinnacle cemetery by the Alert hose company and the "old Thir- 
teenth " (of the latter of which he was one of the original officers), the Union 
Blues acting as escort, and other military bodies joining in the procession. On 
the 27th of July the Fifty-fourth left for Elmira, under command of Captain 
Sellinger, to serve in guarding the rebel prisoners in camp there. The City 
hospital was opened and dedicated on the 28th of January ; the Brackett House 
was built during the summer. Rev. James Nichols, formerly a school teacher 



152 History ok the City ov Rochester. 

and then a cliaplain in the arm_\- ; Anson House, one of the old pioneers ; Jason 
Baker, formerly countY treasurer ; Captain Daniel Lixmiis — one of the most 
prominent builders of earl}" days, who built the old jail in 1822 and the present 
jail (in cunneetion with Richard Gorsline) about sixteen years later — and Col- 
onel Eliphaz Trimmer, member of Assembly in 1S57 and 1863, died during the 
\'ear. 

As though the war tlid not ofler enough excitement, there were about this 
time two jihases of speculation that aniDunteil almost to popular frenz\' — the 
petroleum iuYestments and the Western L'nion telegraph stock-bu\-ing. As to 
the former fif these, it is difficult to name any one _\-ear as that most closely 
connected with the ruiimus enterprises that were engaged in, but [lerhaps 1864 
will dc) as well as an\- other. Two years before that the oil fields of Penns_\'I- 
\'ania had gi\en unmistakable indications of the vast treasure that Ia\- beneath 
the surface of the grountl, -ind when the Noble well began tn pour f uth a steady 
stream of some two thousand barrels a day, the excitement, which w.is at first 
local, spread beyond the limits of that state, and especially through the western 
part of New York. ()ther flawing wells quickly followed, and then capital 
began to flow down fmrn Rochester to meet the gushing tide of oil, and to 
increase the production b_v boring in every sjiot where the peculiar appearance 
of the earth afforded the slightest ground for hope. Petroleum Center, a little 
place on ( )il creek, was built up almost entirely by Rochester money; the 
McCollum farm, and other large tracts of land, were purchased — those bought 
first being obtained fir low prices, but those taken later on being sold for im- 
mense sums — mail)- went down there from here to w i.)rk in an honest, industri- 
ous manner, attracted b_\- the high wages that were [laitl for da_\- labor, anil in 
one wa_\' or another a large pn.iportion of the families of this city were inter- 
ested in the development of the slipper)- fluid. A few fortunes were made, 
but a great many more were lost, and e\'en the wealth that was gained gener- 
al! v sta_\-ed with its possessoi' but .1 short time. 

The other bubble was that of the Wester?! Union telegraph stock. The 
headquarters of the compan}' were then in this citv, and on that account the 
foolish enthusiasm over its prosperity was almost confined to Rochester. In 
the early part of 1 863 the stock began to advance, and was soon so far above 
par that the capital was increased, in March of that year, one hundred per 
cent., in spite of which the appreciation continued at such a rate that in Au- 
gust even the doubled stock was sold at a premium, and the ad\'ance was not 
checked by the further watering of the stock, to the extent of one-third addi- 
tional, in December. I*',.\alted dividends declared out of questionable profits 
were accepted by man_\-, without close scrutiny of the concern, but most people 
were indift'erent to e\'en those shadowy reasons, and the majority of those who 
had an\- mone\' left from their operations in oil were eager to buy Western 
Union at an_\' figure, providing it was higher than that of the previous day. 



The Flood of 1865. 153 



The end was slow in coming, but it arrived at last. In April, 1864, the highest 
point was reached ; toward the end of that month the doubled stock actually 
sold at $230 per share; a few thousand shares at that price were quietly put 
on the market, which broke under the weight, and the stock fell. Shortly after 
the turn another doubling of stock took place, on the iith of Maj-, with the 
hope of stemming the downward current ; the desired effect was produced by 
that or some other means, for the new certificates sold at par, or in that neigh- 
borhood, for the rest of the \-ear. What was called the "Western Union ex- 
tension" stock, issued for the purpose of carrying the line across Behring strait 
into Asia, was also a favorite and costly source of amusement at this time, until 
the proved permanency of the Atlantic cable obliterated it. 

Since 1865 that has always been known in this localit\- as "the year of the 
flood." After very cold weather and a hea\'y fall of snow a thaw came on 
suddenl)' in the middle of March; on the i6th some alarm was felt here, as 
there was quite a freshet up the valle)'; on the afternoon of Friday, the 17th, 
the accumulation of water began to appear here, the Genesee Valley canal was 
soon overflowed, then the Erie was unable to hold what was poured into it 
from the feeder, then the ri\er itself stretched be\'ond its channel and when 
darkness came on (and sta\'ed, for the flow of gas stopped as the works were 
submerged) the central part of the city was under water; all night long and 
through Saturday morning it kept rising, boats being used in the streets where 
the current was not too rapid to allow of navigation, to rescue people in danger 
and to supply the hungry with food; late in the afternoon the water began to 
slowly subside, but it was not till Sunday afternoon that the streets were entirely 
clear ; the gas supply did not recommence for several days, as many of the 
mains and other pipes were broken ; through travel on the railroad did not begin 
till long after that, for both the New York Central bridge and the Erie bridge 
up the river were swept away at an early stage of the proceedings, even rail- 
road communication was suspended for two days, as no trains could get into 
the old depot on the west side, while eastward the track was torn up by floods 
between here and Syracuse; the direct damage done to property could not be 
exactly calculated, but it was doubtless over a million dollars; with all the 
catastrophe and all the peril not a single life was lost. After it was over, the 
city commissioned Daniel Marsh, the engineer, to examine into the causes of 
the deluge ; he reported that it was due entirely to the encroachments on the 
river bed between the aqueduct and the upper falls, which made the channel 
too narrow for the outflow of water from a territory of twelve hundred square 
miles. About the same time the legislature named a commission of three, 
Levi A. Ward being the chairman, to investigate the causes and propose 
measures to prevent the recurrence of the calamity. Gen. I. F. Ouinby, who 
was selected as the engineer of the commission, made a thorough examination 
of the river between this city and Geneseo, and found that the openings in the 



154 History of the City of Rochester. 

embankment of the Erie railroad over the flats from Avon westward were in- 
sufificient to pass the immense volume of water that came down the ri\er, the 
consequence of \\hich was the formation ot a lar^e lake extendiuLi hom the 
embankment southward as far as ( jeneseo. The water finall_\- rose hi;^di enough 
to o\erflow the eml_),mkment and sweep away, in a space of four hours, 
twehe hmidred linear feet of the same, <ind thus this \ ast reser\'oir was pre- 
cipitated upon us; which e.\[)l.iins tlie sudden rise ol the water in this city. 
Those o|)eninL;:^ in the embankment li.n-e been ;.4i'e.itly enlarged since then, so 
that, although .i freshet and something of an overflow in the city m.iy occur 
in any ye.u', >i (.lisaster like that of 1865 cannot well take pi, ice again, at least 
from the s.ime cause. 

Gen. Lee surrendered on the 9th of April; the news reached here at nine 
o'clcick in the e\ening; an houi' later the fire alarm bell r.uig out the glad tid- 
ings that the war was entled at last ; the streets were instanti)' fillcel with i:>eople, 
the mayor read the tlisp.Uches aloutl from the ste[)s of the Towers bank and an 
iTii])romptu celebration on a grand sc.ile took ))lace, with fireworks, bonfires, 
salutes b\' the Grays, speeches and smging of patriotic songs b\- thousands of 
inharmonious and h,ipp_\' \'oices. Within a week rejoicing was changed to 
gloom; I'resident Lincoln was murdeietl on the 14th anti theie was mourning 
throughout the land; on the 19th, the da_\- of the funeral at Washington, all 
business places here were closed, ser\ices were hekl ;it noon in all the churches, at 
two o'clock the procession, unparalleled in numbers and \-ariety, with a funeral 
car, bearing a cenot;iph, in the midst, walked thiough the streets from the 
court-house sipiare, retuining to the ^ame; the oration was (lelivered b\' Ros- 
well Hart. i\Ir. Lincoln's I'emains jnissed through the cit\' at three o'clock on 
the morning of the Jjth; the milit.^ry turned out in full force and the 
gathering numbered, peril. ips, as many thousands as hatl witnessed the ai'rival 
here, more th,m four _\'eai's before, of the man who afterward so well fulfilled 
the nation's hopes th.it rested on him then. A grand tlenionstration of the 
I'Ynian br(itherhood took place, at the court-house, on the I 2th of .August: 
Judge Chumasero and othei's spoke. During the year the city lost, b_\' death, 
Thomas Kempshall, who had been a member of the first common council, 
mayor in 1837 and membei" of Congress in 1839; Moses Chapin, who came 
here in I 8 I 6, was one of the trustees of the \'illage and the first judge of Mon- 
roe count)-, and John C Niish, formerly cit)- clerk, county clerk and ma_\-or, 
successively. 

Considerable excitement was occasioned b)' the munler, on the 8th of 
March, 1866, of Jonathan T. Chtoii, a hackman, li\ing on Uni(jn street, whose 
bod}- was found in his stable, with his skull smashed in ; one man was arrested, 
but he prosed an alibi; no jutlicial trace of the murderer was ever found. 
During the last week in ALiy the general synod of the Reformed Presbx'terian 
church was held here ; the moderator was Rev. R. J. Dodds, a returned mis- 



Events of 1867. • 155 

sionary from S)'ria. In the early part of Jtinc the I''cnians in tliis cit\- \\ere 
greatly exercised over tlie iiuasinn of Canada b}- some warlike nn-mliers i.f the 
brotherhood and the battle with the "Uueen's Own; " several went hum here, 
and those who did not go s\-nipathise(l with those who tlid. In the pi'iformance 
of that presidential feat known as "swinging around the circle," Andrew John- 
son, accompanied by Secretaries Sewaril and Welles, Generals (irant and 
Custer, Admiral Farragut and nther notables, reached here on September 1st, 
and gave an open-air reception from the balcniiy nf Congress Hall to a large 
crowd which was animatetl by curiosity rather than enthusiasm. There was a 
little misunderstanding in the Kei)ublican congressiniial cnnveiitinn this )ear, 
the result being that, while Roswell Hart receixed a renomination from one 
portion, Lewis Sehx- was made the canilidate of the othei' side ; the Democrats 
adopted the latter gentleman and he was elected. 

A slight attempt at a flood was made in the middle of h'ebruar)-, 1867, when 
the ice gorged at the piers of the Erie railroad bridge, throwing the water into 
the Genesee Valley canal, which o\-erflowed into some of the low-lying streets 
in the third and eighth wards ; the next ddv the cellars and basements of the 
factories on Brown's race were filletl ; there was a gooti deal of damage and 
more alarm, lest there shcnild be another calaniit_\- like that of two years be- 
fore. A board of trade was establisheil here on the 9th of March, with George 
J. Whitnc)- as president, Gilnian H. Perkins as \'ice-president, Charles H. Hill 
as secretar)' and K. N. Huell as treasurer; after li\-ing a sleeps- life for a few- 
months, it slowl}- expired. The "Black Crook" ran here, at the Metroi^olitai-i 
opera house, for thirty-six nights in the earl\- part of the year. Rist(.)ri played 
in "Queen Elizabeth" on the l6th of April ; e\-ery inch of room in Corinthian 
hall was filled, at a high price. On the lOth of May some boys found in the 
river at Charlotte the body of Louis Vox, a celebrated billiard player, who h.ul 
been missing since the 4th of the prexious December; he had undoubtedly 
committed suicide in aberration of mintl, mainly induced by chagrin os-er the 
loss of the champion cue of the L'nited States in a contest with Joseph Deery 
at Washington hall more than a \-ear before his disappearance. In the middle 
of Ma)- the Epi.scopal board of missions met here, presided over by Bishop Lee, 
of Iowa ; also, the general assembly- of the New- School Presbyterian church, 
Rev. Dr. Nelson, of St. Louis, moderator. Weston, the pedestrian, passed 
through here at mitlnight of Novenibcr 12th, i>n his walk from Portland to 
Chicago. Jacob Goukl tlied November r8th ; he was one of the \-illage trus- 
tees, and second mayor of the cit_\-, ap[)ointed major-general of artillery b_\- Go\-. 
Clinton, collector of customs inuler Jackson and \"an Hureii, United States 
marshal under Polk. Dr. M. M. Mathews, a niuch respected and beloxed ph\-- 
sician, died November 23d. Dr. Chester Dew-e\- died December 15th; he was 
widely known as a .scholar and an educator for more than half a century; a 
sketch of his life and serxices will be found in another part of this \-olume. 



iS6 



History of the City of Rochkster. 



Witli tlie exception of deligiitful readinj^s from liis own works, b\' Charles 
Dickens, on the loaml nth of March, nothing; occurred in i SOS to interest 
the people of Rochestei- till Joseph Messner killed his wife, in a fit of passion, 
on the 13th of April, in the town of I'enfield ; he was tried here the next year 
and sentenced to be executed on the 4th of June, 1869; just bef)re that time 
came Gov. Hoftman Ljranted a rt„'prieve fir two weeks, then a writ of error was 
L^rantetl, and, after art^ument at the (general term, Messner was aijain sentenced 
t(j be h.uiLjed on the 1 uth of December; on the \ ery day before that date a 
sta\' was Ljnmted b}' JudL;e Grovei' ; after more than a year's dela\- the case 
was ar;_;ued before the court ot appeals, a new trial was ordered, which took 
place in the f illowin^ June, ,ind he was .iL;ain sentenced to meet his death on 
the Uth of AuLJust, 1S71 ; this time the jud,t;ment was carried into effect. 
While an eULjine on the (jenesee Valle)' road was standing still, a little south 
of the dep<it, on l'".xchange street, on the evening of September 14th, the boiler 
explotled ; the engineer, the brakeman, and a little girl standing by wei'e 
instantU" killed; two other little girls were so badU- injuretl th.it the\' died a 
few hours Liter. More than the usual luimber of buildings were erected this 
\ ear, no less than 503 — ot which si_\cn were of stone — being completed; 
their total \alue, b_\- careful estimate of each one, was $1,456,100. John V. 
Richardson, who, .ifter lieing profess<ir of Latin .it M.idison university, came 
here in 1S50 and occupied the same chair in our uni\ersit\'. died in this \ear ; 
,ilso, M.irtin S. Xewton, foinierh- district-attorne\- 

Practical operations in fish-hatching were begun in 1869 under the direc- 
tion of Seth ("iieen, who h,ul begun h\e years before to e.xjK-riment privately- 
ill .that way, .ind luul succeeded, b_\- using the least possible tpiantity of water 
proporti<in,il to the milt used, in quadrupling the n.itur.il protluct of the fish; 
in 1867, his iliscox cries being maile known, he had given a jjublic exhibition 
of his methods at Holyoke, ^Massachusetts, on the t_'onnecticiit riwr; in I 868 
he ami Horatio Sevniour ,ind Robert H. Roosevelt had been .ipp'iinted fish 
commissioners of Xuv\ \'ork state, and In this time the charge of the whole 
matter was given into his h.mds, his dwn hatchery at I'aledoni.i being pur- 
chased by the state for that purjxisi.'. Hy the filling of ,1 floor in the (jerman 
school of Saints Peter and Paul, on l",ast M.iple street, while the room was 
jjacked with children ,ind .idults U>v the l^piphany festival, on the evening of 
Januarv 6th, eight were killed outright and ne.irly fifty badly iniured ; the 
most frightful accitlent that ever happened in this city; the cause was .1 tlefect 
in the building", b_v which a brick pier supporting iriJii columns below the floor 
gavewav'; no jjerson \v,is censured by the coroner's jiirv. St. P.itrick's cathe- 
ilral was opened with gorgeous ceremonies on the 17th of March, b_v Hishop 
McOuaid, assisted b_v Hish.ip Ryan, of Buffalo, ami <ill the jiriests of this dio- 
cese, some fil'ty in number. The Odd l^'ellows celebrated their semi-centennial 
on the 26th of April. The swing bridge across the canal at E.xchange street 



Events of iHjo. 157 

was built in the early part of this year, replacing the ancient structure with ,ui 
ascent b\- steps at both sides, which, to most of the old inhabitants, setniud ,1 
necessar)- [iart of the Erie canal. The Powers block, which had been bei^un 
in the previous year (save that the northernmost store had been built a few- 
years before), was finished before the end of this — so far, that is, as the State 
street part and the stone part on West Main street are concerned ; the expense 
somewhat exceeded the original estimate of $300,000. The death recortl of 
the }-ear includes the names of Colonel John H. Thompson, widel}- known as 
an earnest worker in the Sunda\--school cause, and for eighteen _\-ears the ox'ei'- 
seer of the ])oor ; of William Pitkin, who came here in 1814, was ma)-or of the 
cit_\- in 1845-46, ayd held numerous positions of responsibility and trust in 
educational and financial institutinns ; of Re\ , Dr. Samuel Lucke), an eminent 
Methodist clergj-man, editor of the CVi/'/s/ni// Advocate and other tlenomina- 
tional journals, and appointed regent of the uni\ersit\' of the state of New 
York in 1847, and of Frederick Starr, a zealous champion of the temperance 
cause, connected with many religious movements, and a member (.)f Assembl}- 
in 1839. 

There were enough of the \eterans of the war nf i ,S ij left in 1870 tn hold 
a meeting at the court-lmuse nn the 13th nf Januar\- ; John Seeley, of Roch- 
ester, occupied the chair, but most of those in attendance were from the tow lis 
of the county, \ery few from the city. A great can.il con\ention was held at 
Corinthian hall on the 19th, to promote the abolition of the contract system 
in repairing the canals; Henr\' L. Fish called the convention to order, and 
Nathaniel Sands, of New York, was niade president : letters were read from 
most of the state officers; many addresses were made, the longest b}- ex-Go\'- 
ernor Se\-mour. A successor oi- outgrowth of this con\'ention was held at the 
same place on the 15th of Jul\-, to ath'ocate the extension of the principles 
involved; ex-Governor Seymour was again present, and among the others 
were Governor Fairchild, of Wisconsin; Go\-ernor Merrill, <if Iowa, and Peter 
Cooper, of New York ; long speeches by those named, and b)- others. The 
state sportsmen's convention was hekl here tluring the week beginning Ma\- 
23d; the contest for prizes took place at the fair grouiuls; large attendance 
and much enjo)-ment. The Fenians, in that same week, undertook to get up 
a shooting-matcii of their own, and to repeat the performances of four years 
before ; several car-loads of men passed through, amid increasing excitement 
on the part of the resident members of the brotherhood; one company left 
here on the 24th, under command of Captain (or "General") O'Neil, and other 
squads stood ready to depart, when their ardor was completely dampened by 
the arrest of O'Neil by the United States marshal, and his lodgment in jail be- 
fore he could or would get across the border ; thus ended the last attempt at an 
invasion of Canada. 

The state arsenal, fronting on Washington stpiare, was built in the latter 



ISS 



History (ik tuf. City hf Ruchester. 



part iif this _\-car; in Xi)\ciiibcr the Powers block was extended on West Main 
street to I'indcll alle\-. AUtl w.is tlieii reijarded ,is complete, tlionL,di there was 
at that tiiiK no tower, .ind but a sin<^li.' nianstird stor\ , which was upon the 
stone Corner p,ut onl\ The obse(|uies of Colonel (ieorLje Ry.ui. of the ( )ne 
Hundred and lo.rtieth, who was killed >it Laurel Hill on the Sth of M,i\-, 1864, 
were held on the 19th of juiK' in this yeai' ; the funer.il services wei'e at St. 
Patrick's cathedral, and .1 Ioul; |)rocession of xeterails, with many other orean- 
isatious, followed the remains to the cemetei')'. Anioiie the tleaths of old citi- 
zens duriuL; the \e,ir wire those of Mbenezei' Kl_\-, aL;ed ninety-three, who, 
.ifter beiuL; connectL'd with ,1 bank at Cmand.UL^u.i from 1S14 to !.S20, came 
here in the latter \-e,ir ,ind opened ,1 brokei's office, which he kept h'om that time 
till a few d.iys before he died; <if S W D Abiore, ma\ or of the cit\- in 1S59 
and iS66, who was universally known ,is 'Sijuire Moore, from his Iku'Iul; lu-kl 
the office of police justice for nine years : of H.unlin Stilwi'll. who w .as cngaLjed 
in the c.m.il packet business in (.-.irly ye.irs. w .as m.iyor in 1852, and held other 
municipal offices; of l',Ltrick (i. ImicIlui, who was cleik of the mayor's court 
in lS^5, ,md county jud^e from 1 S47 to 1S51, and of Mi-s. M.n-y Ann Scran- 
tom, the wife of Kdwin Scrantom, who came here with lur fither, .As.i Sibley, 
in iSiS. taught school the next yi'.u'. ne.u' the Ra|)ids, when she was fifteen 
years old, ,md .ifterw. u'd set type for her biotheis, iJerick and Levi W. Sible\-, 
when they |)ublished the Ga::tth\ 



CiIAPTh;R XXII. 
■r( I 11 It. lit III; 111 i;ik |■|lllA^ . 

The H.mar.l K1..I— Hie Small. I'ux an.l llllifi 1 li^ca-L- — Ihe New ( ily Hall- Mounl II. .|u- 
Rcc.nls Knuii.l III Caiiaila— I..I111 (lark's Miiidei nf li ,v..r — The Centennial Celebialion of lii^^, 

— The kailinail Su ike ..f 1S77— llie M,.rk luii.ral ..I" I'reM.lenl (iarfield — The t'unninyham Su-ike 

— The Telri;ia|.luTs' Sliikc — I'nm i|,al I mpi nv,■nu•lll^ in llie Cily in 1883, wilh their Cost — Other 
Stall sties. 



IN 1871 there was ,t surfeit of crimes of .ill sorts and of accidents of almost 
e\er)- description, but of the homicides committeil none were aLljudged b\ 
court and jmy sufficiently fla^dtious to rise (or sink) to the grade of murder in 
the first degree, while of the cisualties none were so peculiar in their nature as 
t<.i deserYe mention. Little ch.tnge, and still less ])rogress, is discernible in the 
city's records during that time. On the loih of April the Germans held a 
grand peace jubilee o\-cr the closing of the Franco-Prussian war anci the estab- 
lishment of the (jerman emi;)ire. A serious break in the PLrie canal at the "Ox- 
bow," near Fairport, on the 28th of April, called into rec|uisition hundreiis of 



Mournful Tra(;edv. 159 

laborers for several days ; they i^ot up a strike on the 4th of May and were so 
demonstrative that the Fifty-fnurth had to be sent up there; several were 
arrested, work was resumed lUul the break closed on the ijth. Death was busy 
throughout the year, and carried nft' more than one prominent citizen ; of those 
\\ho tleparted, the foUowintij are but .i small proportion : H. N. Curtis, an ex- 
tensive owner of business blocks; Dr. Horatio N. Fenn, who came here as 
earl)- as 1817, and who, after practising medicine a few \-ears, gave up general 
practice and devoted himself exclusively to dentistry, being the first in Western 
New York to do so, as far as is known ; Preston Smith, who was one of the 
very earliest pioneers of Rochester, coming here in icSi^, being sent out by 
Josiah Bissell, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to build a store here for him and 
Elisha El}-, and Ii\-ing here constantl_\- from 1S15 till his death, in a quiet, un- 
obtrusive way ; Re\'. Dr. Barker, who had been the ])<istor of Sf. M,u-\-'s (Cath- 
olic) church for man\- \-ears ; Rev. Dr. .Albert G. Hall, for thirt\--two years the 
pastor of the Thirtl Presb\-terian church and a theologian of high standing in 
the denomination; Aristarchus Champion, one of the richest men in this part 
of the state and one of the (cw whose great wealth was etjualed b)- his benev- 
olence ; George H. Mumford, eminent as a law\-er, a financier and a promoter 
of one of the worthiest charities, and Dr. Philander G. Tobe}-, the oldest phy- 
sician in practice in the city at the time of his death. 

A mournful tragedy marked the opening of the year 1872. A \-oung 
negro named Howard had committed an aggravated assault on one of the last 
days of the old year, for which, after being captured some miles out of town 
by ofificers in pursuit of him, he had been thrown into jail, to await his trial in 
its regular course; in the morning of January 3d, as he was brought to town, 
the people in the streets were so threatening in their attitude that the Fifty- 
fourth was ordered out to guard the jail and prexent an_\- attempt to take the 
prisoner from the authorities and execute vengeance upon him; the precaution 
was taken none too soon, for, as soon as darkness came on, a large crowd 
gathered on tlxchange street and on Court street as far as the bridge over the 
race-way, at the west end of which companies D and G \\-ere posted; after 
taunting the military for some time the mob began to throw stones at them, 
and at last the soldiers, after they had repeatedly asked their officers to be 
allowed either to advance or to fall back, were ordered to disperse the rioters; 
the charge was made and the mob slowly retired, but more missiles w-ere hurled, 
some of them striking and wounding different members of the militia; a mem- 
ber of company D then discharged his musket, which was followed by a vol- 
ley from both companies; several fell to the ground at once, but so dense were 
the crowd and the darkness that it w-as not for several minutes generally known 
whether the result was serious ; finally the wounded were gathered up and 
carried to adjacent saloons, to the City hospital or to their homes, as the nature 
of their wounds permitted; two of them, John Elter and Henry Merlau, died 



i6o History of th?; City ok Rochester. 



in <i few nidiiKnls; thr i itlicr^, ('i\i in niinibLT, c\L-iitually rcC(i\ t rci^l ; the crowd 
llicn slowly ilispcrscii. The next .iftcnioon anothci' ilcmonstr.ilicin \\<is m.Kk-. 
but lliL police, undci- Ca|itain Sulli\an, scattered the cidwil without imicji 
ilifficnlt\- and there was no occisioii for the services of the \eter,ui orj^.inisa- 
tioiis — the ( )ld Thirtei'iith and the Ryan Zoiuues — which had been sworn 
in as special police. < )ii the <la_\- af'ter that the traL;ed_\- closed witii an act 
\\hich wduld ha\e been larcicil but for tlu' solemnity thiit invested the pro- 
ceedings. In \iew of the e.xjjense attendiiiL; the keepiuL; of How.ird until the 
next session of the court — such as soldiers' pay and rations — it was deter- 
mined to hold ,in extra ■session at once, and, as tlu- excitement still prewiiliuL; 
rendered it .diuost certain that there would be bloodslied if the trial took pi, ice 
in open court, it was concluded to hold a secret session ,md ,it nii^ht; the win- 
dows of the Court-room were d.irkened to |)re\ent the emission of hL;ht. ,ind 
llow.ird, with liis face chalked to disL;uise liim, was taken from the j.nl to the 
Court-house i)_\' back streets ami ai'rai^ned before JudL;e Iv Darwin .Smith; he 
pleaded i;uilty, w,is scntenceil to state priscjii for twenty }e.iis ami was im- 
nieiliatel}' put into ,i cirriaije w ith jailer Heckwitii aiul two sherifl"'s officers ; 
tine part)' were at once driven to Honeo_\'e h'alls, where they took the cirs ,iiul 
reached Auburn in safet_\'- The i;rand jury subse(|uently censured the two 
milit.iry comp.uiies for firiivj; into the mob, but that was all tliat ever came of it. 
( )n the 15th of JaniKiry the funerat of William A. Rexiiokls was held .it 
I'lyniouth church. President ,\nderson, of the university, delivtriiiL;' the tiis- 
course ; on the following; Sunda\' Mr. l^artlett, the pastor, preaclied a memorial 
sermon. In the early jiart of this year the friL,'htful epidemic of sm,dl-pox 
seemeil abcnit to establish itself amont; us; there were tweiitv-eiL^ht deaths 
from the disease and man)' cases that were not fatal; those who were taken 
down were reniovetl at once to Mope hospit.il, where Dr. Little, w Iki \\,is then 
the hctilth officer, visited them ever)- da)' duriiiL; their confinement; a i^encral 
V accination w .is ordered b)' him ; about I0,000 |)eople, including.; children in 
the ]iublic schools, underweiit the incision, and the old session-room of the 
I'irst Presb)'terian church Avas used as ,1 L;eiieral operating,'- room for all who 
chose to come to it. It was at this time that the ccvLbro-spiiial iiuningitis also 
broke out with i^Teat violence, lasting (.111I)' throuL;h the month of March, to a 
da)', anti it is a little sinL;'ular tliat in that time the number of tleaths from that 
Ciuse should have been also tvvent\'-eiL;lit, the same as from sm.ill-|)ox. 
TliroUL,diout ( )ctober a disease that went b)' the yoneral name of the " epi/.o- 
ot)'" r.iLjed with <:;reat mortalit)' amonc; the horses. Susan V>. Anthoii)' antl 
other women of this cit)' were, on the 26th of December, held to answer for 
illes^al votinL,"^ in the eitjjhth warti at the previous election. Besides the death 
of Mr. Re)'nolds, mentioiied above — a sketch of whose life will be found in 
another ])art of this work — there were those of O. M. J-Jenedict, a prominent 
lawyer; Dr. L. C. Dolley, Isaac Post, a zealous Abolitionist in former years, and 
Henry Stanton, Lyman Hunger and James Riley, early pioneers of this place. 



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Completion of the City Building. i6r 

In pursuance of the system of education for the ver}- youn<^r_ which liad 
been found so satisfactor)- in the Ok! world, a "real school " was established 
in the earl)- part of 1873, beinf;- dedicated on the 14th of l''el)ruar\'. On the 
28th of Ma>- the corner-stone of the new city hall, just south of the court- 
house, was laid with imposiuL; ceremonies, most of which were conducted b)- 
the Masonic fraternit\- — which turned out in full regalia and made a fine ap- 
pearance — and the ancient forms and rites of Masonry appropriate to impor- 
tant occasions of this nature were used ; Mayor Wilder made the opening ad- 
dress, the prayer was by Rev. Dr. Muller and the oration was delivered by Rev. 
Dr. Saxe ; various relics, ancient records, deeds, coins of the United States, 
etc., were deposited in the stone. Miss Anthony was convicted, at Canandai- 
gua, on the 19th of June, of illegally voting in the previous year .and was sen- 
tenced to pay a fine of $100 for exercising the assumed right of female suffrage. 
On the 29th of October the building of the Young Men's Catholic association 
was formall)' o])ened. Vincent place bridge, which was begun in 1S72, was 
completed in this year; it is 925 feet long and 1 10 feet high, from the surface 
of the water to the floor of the bridge ; the cost was about $1 50,000, borne b)- 
the city at large, with the exception of a small section in a remote corner; in 
1874 the approaches to the bridge were opened, at an expense of $15,000, of 
which one- half was borne b\' the city at large, and the other jjart b\- the region 
more direct!)' benefited. 

The death record of the \'ear includes the names of Dr. A. G. Bristol, who 
came here at an earl)- day-; Robert M. Dalzell, who came in 1826, was for 
over a quarter of a centur)- a deacon in the First Fresb)'terian church and super- 
vised the building of all the flour mills that were erected in his time ; Thomas 
Parsons, state senator in 1867-68 and father of our present mayor ; Gideon W. 
Burbank, one of the early benefactors of the universit)- ; Dr. Michael Weigel, 
a respected German physician; Jolin Ha)-wood, who came herein 1819 and 
soon afterward opened a hat store on State street, which he kept fir more than 
fort)- )-ears, was the first treasurer of the Rochester savings bank and was often 
a member of the cit)- council ; Colonel Aaron New-ton, who came in I 8 17, kept 
a ta\-ern for man)- )-ears, beginning in 1818, on the spot where the Blossom 
Hotel ami the Osburn House afterward stood, and was one of the chief pro 
motcrs of the Old Pioneer societ)- ; Ebenezer Watts, aged ninet)--tw-o, also a 
settler of 1817, who for man)- )-ears had a hardw-are store on Buflalo street 
near Exchange street, and J<ihn McCoiivill, member of Assembl)- in 1864 and 
1865. 

In Januar)-, 1874, the cit)- building on h^ront street was completed, at a cost 
of something over $50,000, including plumbing and gas-fitting; the police court- 
room and head-quarters were located there at first, but were removed to the city 
hall on the completion of that edifice ; the Front street concern has, since then, 
been devoted to fire matters, the office of overseer of the poor, and other city in- 



1 62 History ok the City of Rochester. 

tcrests. Tlic water- works went into successful operation in this month ; a^rand 
public test was made on I'Y-hi'uary iSth, as full}' tiescribed in tile chapter dc\dted 
to that subject^ ( )n the JJd a boy ot" thirteen, while crazed with liquor, threw 
hiniscir into the ri\er and 'Aas carried o\cr the falls; pcrh.ips it was that which 
caused ,1 re\i\al of the temperance movement, mass meetint^s beini; hekl at 
Corinthian hall tluriiiL; the next two months, .iddresseil b_\' Dr. Anderson, Dr. 
Saxe and others; the Ladies' Temperance union petitioned the excise commis- 
sioners in \ain to tyrant no more licenses; the police commissioners ordi'i'ed 
the closint^ of all saloons on Sunday; the la^er beer salocins kept i>[)en, but 
most of the others closed their front iloois. In .M.u'ch .i letter was received by 
the commissioners of Mount fiope, from the sheriff of Lincoln county, ( )ntario, 
sa\'ini; th.it some ot the records of oui' cemeter)' and (.it our city treasurer's 
office had lieen found at St. Catherine's; messengers were dispatched for them 
.md obtained them; the}- were found to be the cemetery records for eleven 
N'ears, tVom i S4(', to 1857, and the accmmts of the sinking fund for most of the 
same time; they had been in the custmly < if John B. Robertson at the timenf 
the burniui; of the l^aL;le liank block in iS^j, he being the comptroller .md hav- 
ing ch.uge ot' those hmds ; he h.id then .illegi'd th.it they were burned, but he 
h.id t.ikeii them oft' to co\-cr .1 defile. ition ofne.irly $40,000; a v.ist amount 1 if 
Confusion .is to Mount Hope lots had been c.iused b_\' the deportation. The 
sportsmen's national convention was held here in September. hi this _\-ear 
I'rof Swift beg. Ill to develop his skill in the i.lisco\er_\- of comets ; there were 
.III unusu.il nunibei' ot suicides, twn of which were bv juniiiing from Clariss.i 
street bridge; three corner-stones were l.iid — those of St. John's German Lu- 
theran .uid the hirst Ciei'iiian Methodist churches ,ind of St, Josejih's orpli.in 
.isylum — and theie were three dedications — those of the l'"ree Ac.idemy and 
the S.ilem I'.v.ingelic.il .md .St .Mich.iel's (C.itholic) churches. 

Recoi-d ni.iy be m.ide of the de.iths, in this )'e.ir, of .S.im Drake, .1 well 
known old llsherm.m, .1 very or;icle on .ill things pert.uiiing to the sport of an- 
gling, who v\ 01 ked here ,it his ti-.ide of book-binding as far back as 1826, in the 
same shop with \\'asliiiiL;ton limit, .ifterw.iid governor; of John AL French, a 
prominent iron-f uuuler, who held wirious otTices .md was more than once the 
c.mdidate of his part)- fir ni.ivor ; of Plinv M. liromle_\-, ver_\- popular in earl)- 
days as a c.inal boat captain .mil in Later ve.irs .is the landlord of the Osburn 
I louse ; of Isaac J-Sutts, a \-eteian journalist of twenty )-e.'irs' experience as ed- 
itor of the At/:rrtisi'i- and then of the Ci/ioii, in which he aciiuired ,1 great repu- 
t.ition, though, having .im.issed .1 f irtune bv investments, he left the profession 
.iboiit ten years before his de.itli ; and of Thoni.is II. Rochester, son of him for 
whom the cit\- was named; he c.ime here in 1.S20, built the old Red mill in 
Connection with his brother-in-law, 1 lai-vev .Montgomery; superintended the 
construction of the Toii.iw.ind.i r.iiho.id in 1.S54, was first cashier of the Coni- 
nierci.il b.iiiK, and mayor of the city in 1 .S jy ; he was throughout his life one of 
the most liigliK- esteemed citizens of Rochester. 



Events ok 1878. 163 

The cit\' hall, tlien reccntl\- completed, was opened to the iniblic on the 
e\enins^' of Januar\- 4th, 1S75, b_\- a musical entertainment (tjixx-n b)' home tal- 
ent) in aid of the sufferers b_\' famine in the West — an auspicious opening, as 
dedicating the edifice to fraternity and human s)'mpath\'. The building cost 
$337,000, and was erected under the auspices of a commission appointed for 
the purpose, consisting, at first, of George J. \\'hitne\-, Daniel \V. Powers, 
Charles J. Hayden, George C. Buell and Jacob Howe, of whom Mr. Whitney 
resigned, and Lysander Farrar was appointed in his place. As a purely mili- 
tary display, the turnout at the funeral of General Williams, on the 29th of 
March, was probably the finest ever seen in Rochester ; after that part of the 
procession went tlie hearse, with the saddle-horse of the general, and then fol- 
lowed the ci\-ic escort, with all the ex-mayors then living, and' the different 
officers of the city government. During this year the people were much dis- 
turbed about the canal frauds, and the impending trials of contractors ; a mass 
meeting was held on the 9th of April, Judge Warner presiding, to strike hands 
with Governor Tilden in pushing on the cases to final punishment. The Lady 
Washington tea-part)', through two e\'enings in Ajjril, at the cit\' hall, for the 
benefit of the City hospital, was so attractive as to bring $2,000 to that insti- 
tution. By a gale of wind, on the night of April 29th, the Leighton bridge 
works at East Rochester were blown to the ground, and great injury was done 
to persons and propert)' in the cit_\'. Se\'eral burglaries were committed in the 
early part of the summer, antl in one case, where the house was not broken 
into, the thief climbed a tree, and w ith a fishing-pole, line and hook, caught a 
watch from the bedside of a sleeping man. The robberies were finally traced 
to one probable culprit, and on the 3d of Jul)' an officer undertook to arrest 
him ; he shot the policeman, but not fatally, and ran till he was stopped by 
John Trevor, a bank watchman, whom he shot with another pistol ; but Trevor, 
though so badl)' hurt that he died of the wound two da)'s later, had held on 
to the murderer till others secured him; it was John Clark, a desperado 
who had committed numerous crimes, and probably man)' murders else- 
where. He was tried in September, and sentenced tt) hang on November 
5th ; his counsel, William F. Howe, of New York, made desperate efforts for 
a new trial, going before si.x Supreme court judges in different parts of the state, 
with a motion for a stay of proceedings and a writ of error, but in \'ain ; after 
a reprieve of two weeks Clark was hanged on the 19th of November. In this 
year the board of education passed a resolution prohibiting religious exercises 
in the public schools ; all the city clergy preached on the subject ; about 
•equally divided in opinion. On the 17th of September the first fast mail train, 
from New York to Chicago, passed through. A freight train, on the night of 
October 7th, ran off the track and dashed into the Central depot at the rate of 
fifty miles an hour, knocking down one of the piers and demolishing the wait- 
ing-room ; the engine then fell over, and the fire went out ; the engineer, 



164 History ov the City of Rochester. 

William J. Vianco, and the fireman, yVntlrew G. Northrop, his son-in-law, were 
instantl}- kiileil, their bodies beiiiL; found under the wreck. 

I'lie i)bituar\- list of the )'ear is a liin^ one, containing the names of h'Jias 
I'ond, who was collector nf the port uiulei- President Taylor, elected sheriff in 
lS^4, and member of Assemlily in iSsy and 1 S60, and activel_\' connected in 
<ild-time politics with Thurlow Weed and (iovernor Seward; Daniel K. Ilanis, 
for a lony time the efficient assistant superintendent of Mount Hope; William 
l^rewster, who came here in iSiO, well known to ail the older inhabitants; 
Ivufiis Keeler, who was mayor in 1S57; (jeorge W. Parsons, a respected citi- 
zen, for man\' \ears suiierintendeiit of the gas works; Pklward S. Houghton, an 
old pioneer; John Williams, who came here in lS:!4, was ma\-or in 1S53, 
elected to Congre>s in 1S54, chosen city treasurer for three consecuti\-e terms, 
proniinentl)' connected with military affairs for most ot his life, being, when 
lie died, major-general of the seventh dixision of the national guard, succeeding 
the late James S. Wadswdrth ; father Patricio B)-rnes, pastor of the Immacu- 
late Concejjtion church; Charles 1.. P.irtlec, formerly sherift"; David R. Barton, 
who .iC(|uireil a national rei)utation as a maker of edge tools; Dr. H. H. Hack- 
ett, of the theological semin,ir\-, one of the forenKjst Hebrew scholars of the 
count!-)-; i\. Carter W'ikler, ma_\'oi- of the city in 1S7J, after having been mem- 
ber of Congress from Kansas; Di'. Ilartwell Car\er, who always claimed to be 
the originator of the Pacific railroad, And William H. Hanford, who, in 1 S i o, 
settled at Hant'ord's Lantling with his relative, Frederick, from whom it was 
named. 

An unearthly din at the horn' of tweh'c ushered in the centennial of 1S76, 
"\e.\ing the drows\- ear of night" with the combination of all imaginable arti- 
ficial noises; the bells rang, cannon roared, torpedoes e.xplodetl, fish horns 
resounded, all the engines of the \e\s' York Central which could be brought 
together for the purjiose screami'd their loudest, the steam fire engines rattled 
down to the " four corners" on the fastest gallop of their horses, and every 
small boy who had been allowed to sta\- out of the house did his best to swell 
the tumult of discordant sounds. That ended the celebration of the historic 
_\ear until the Fourth of July, which was observed in a manner unusually hila- 
rious, but otherwise not remarkable, except that the Germans planted a Cen- 
tennial oak sapling, with much ceremon_\-, in P'ranklin square. At least three 
tleliberate murders were comnfittetl here during the \-ear — those of Louis Goni- 
menginger, a pcjliceman, b_\' P'airbcUiks; of Joseph Fr)-er, a Whitcomb Hotel 
porter, by Stillman, and of Catherine Boorman, near Hanford's Landing, by 
Victor Smith, but all the murderers escaped the gallows, the first two getting 
life imprisonment because they had prepared themselves for their work by be- 
confing crazed with drink, and the third one pleatling guilty by shooting him- 
self and dying in jail a few dav's later. Of the deaths during the )'ear were 
those of Samuel Hamilton, a retired merchant of former da_vs ; Horatio G. War- 



Repuhlican Statk Convention of 1877. 165 

ner, successively lawyer, journalist and banker ; Samuel L. Selden, whose high 
judicial career is sketched in another chapter ; William F. Holmes, closely 
identified with the canal interests, and whose services during the cholera of 1852 
have already been mentioned; Dr. Douglas Bly, of reputation as an inxentor 
of improvements in artificial limbs; Dr. H. C. Wanzer, well known in the ranks 
of dentistr\- ; Abram Karnes, a veteran banker, and L)-sander Farrar, an emi- 
nent counselor. 

The first part of 1877 passed away quietly enough, but in Jul\- the railroad 
strikes, which were the outct)me of the labor riots of the pre\ious month, broke 
out on the Erie road; the l*'ift)--f lurtli regiment was ordered to Hornellsville 
on that account; on the 22d the strike extended to the New York Central and 
Lake Shore roads and the ne.xt day was in fidl blast, so that there was a com- 
plete stoppage of traffic on the Buffalo division of the Central ; great excite- 
ment and alarm here, but no rioting or destruction of railroad property as else- 
where ; two days later the engineers and firemen went back to their work, and 
subsequently some of the most flagrant abuses which the insatiable greed of the 
Erie and the Central had inflicted on their employees were partially corrected. 
In the course of the summer the Rochester Yacht club, which had been organ- 
ised in the spring, built a club-house at Summerville, and had a regatta on the 
lake. The Republican state convention was held in the city hall on the 26th 
of September ; Senator Conkling, then at the height of his power, made a bitter 
personal attack on George William Curtis. On account of the starting of an 
idle rumor that the Rochester savings bank was unsound, there was quite a run 
on that institution during the last three days of the year, but it was checked by 
the prompt action of the bank in paying all depositors and by the display of 
more than a million dollars in greenbacks, which were piled on a hanging shelf 
over the principal counter ; the strength of the bank was not injured in the least, 
the only sufferers being those who by that means lost their interest for a month ; 
over half a million dollars were drawn out in five days, $266,546.82 being paid 
out on the 29th of December ; other savings banks were similarly treated, but in 
a less degree. During the year there died here Rev. Dr. R. J. W. Buckland and 
Rev. S. Emmons Brown, both professors in the theological seminary ; Samuel 
Chase, one of the oldest inhabitants, at the age of ninety-three; Mrs. Mary 
Anderson, one of the first seven communicants of St. Luke's church in 1817 ; 
Augustin Picord, aged one hundred and nine years, born under Louis XV., 
and a middle-aged soldier in Napoleon's "grand army;" Harvey Humphrey, 
formerly county judge and a man of great classical learning; Gen. William E. 
Lathrop, very prominent as a Mason ; e.\-Mayor John B. Elwood, of whom 
more will be said in the chapter on the medical practitioners ; Col. C. T. Ams- 
den, ft)rmerl\' cit_\' treasurer ; George W. Rawson, a justice of the Supreme 
court, and Rev. J. V. Van Ingen, a highly respected clergyman of the Episco- 
pal denomination. 



i66 History ok the City of Rochester. 



Kailniad cntcr[)risc sit^iiali^cd the (ipcniiiL; <>( 187S. fnv nn tlic j8th nf 
January llic last rail was l.iid cm tlic State Line mad (nnw the Ixncllester & I'itts- 
Ijui'l;) fi'im here U< S.d.ini.mca, cmineetinL;, b\' this nie.uis, the I'.rie witli the 
Atlantie & (ireat Western, besides (ipeniiii; up to this cit\' a fertile and [inpu- 
lous seetion of the enuntry, inaccessible tn us by threct cuniniunieatinn befurc 
tlien ; L;re.it celebraticm at Sal.inKinea th.it ilay, but a larL;er one, with immense 
excursion from here, (Ul the 15th (if tile fnllowing Ma)', after the riiatl hatl 
been bahasted. In consequence of the burning of a block on Exchange street, 
near the canal, on the 5th of April, by which one man was burned to death, 
tile wall of an adjacent building just north fell, on the 14th of June, thi'ee floors 
ciMsliing down into the cell.ir and pulling with them a great part of .mother 
block still further north ; Colonel M. II. Smith, projirietor of ,1 printing-oftice, was 
caught in the ruins, carried down into the cellar and fastened there with a hot 
kettle across his chest and dibiis piled aho\e; he was rescued with great tliffi- 
cult_\\ terribly burned and otherwise injui'ed, but finally reco\ei-ed, with the 
loss of the right arm. In bright davlight at some time before noon, on the 
iJtli of ( )ctober, tw enty-f >ur prisouei's in the jail, most of whom were burglai's, 
escaped by breaking a hole through the cell of one of them into llu- dungeon 
and tlienct' into the _\-,u'd; eight were ii'captured the next day, <ind most of 
the others afterWcU"d; it was thought that they took much needless tremble in 
getting out of so rickety a place. jiurglaiy became tpiite popular in Xoveiii- 
ber, a number of houses in the third w.ird being entered. Among those who 
passed away during the _\ear were Dr. H. W. Dean, an eminent physician ; 
Rev. John Barker, an okl Methodist clerg_\-nian ; Iv. X. Buell, formerI_\- cit\' 
treasurer and held in general esteem; Charles P. ^Achilles, much beloxed b}- his 
associates, county treasurer for one term; the \enerable Abelard Re\-nolds, ami 
George J. Whitney, sketches of the last two of whom will be found elsewhere. 

A terrible snow-storm, which during the last week of the previous year had 
blocked the railroads in the vicinit)' ami caused more than one fatal accident, 
was renewed on the 2d of Januar)-, 1S79, antl ])roduced disastrous results for 
several days; the drifts were tliirt}' feet high in the countr)'; on the 5tli no 
train could get into or out ol the city; many were frozen to ileatli in snow- 
drifts in adjacent \-ilIages ; trains ran ofl" the track near here, a number of em- 
ployees being killed; the blockade was not finally broken till the loth; the 
executive board of the cit)- paid $1,300 for shoveling and carting awa_\- the 
snow during the week. The national association of stove-makers held its an- 
nual meeting here in Januar)'. l*"or three days in July the Mannerchor cele- 
brated the twent}-- fifth anni\-ersar\- of the society. During the year the El- 
wood block, on the corner of State anci West Main streets, was erected, and 
the Allen street lift bridge, over the canal, begun in 1878, was completed, at a 
cost of about $7,000; some $6,000 was subsequently spent on it. Dr. Jonah 
l^rovvn, who came here in 18 I 3, was the first plu'sician in the place and the 



Events (ik 1880. 167 



grantee named in the first deed given for real estate paid for in the One-hun- 
dred-acre tract (the lot on Exchange street where the Bank of Monroe now 
stands), died in this year; also, Joseph Eield, an old resident, one of the orig- 
inators of the City bank and for many years its president, one of the most act- 
ive promoters of railroads in early days, being for some time president of the 
Buffalo & Rochester road, and mayor of the city in 1848; Dr. W. W. Ely, 
whose abilities as a physician were supplemented by unusual literary culture; 
Ezra Jones, whose experience as an iron founder went back for a generation 
and his previous experience as a boat-builder far back into the village days, 
and Colonel A. T. Lee, a veteran officer of the United States arm\-. 

Charles Stewart Parncll, the Irish patriot and agitator, made a tour through 
the middle and western states in Januar\-, 1880, and was received here by his 
fellow-countrymen on the 26th of the month ; he spoke at the city hall to a crowd 
that filled the room and showed great enthusiasm. On the 6th of March the 
legal profession furnished a criminal case out of its own ranks; Robert Jarrard, 
a young lawyer, while frantic with drink, shot just o\er the heart, intending to 
kill him, Wallace Rice, an inoffensive man, with whom he had a slight alterca- 
tion; Jarrard, being released on bail, hung himself in his own house three days 
later; Rice finally got well — in other words, "the man recovered from his 
bite." This, being a presidential \'ear, was equal to any of its predecessors of 
that character in the displays and street parades that were given by both of the 
great parties, if not in the intense earnestness that was felt over the election 
contests during the war. The grandest show of the Republicans was on the 
27th of October, both day and night, General Grant and others from abroad 
joining in the turnout of the afternoon; the Democrats had theirs the next day 
and e\'ening, General McClellan appearing in the line of the afternoon parade ; 
the whole country and man_\- towns outside of it sent recruits for the different 
processions, and the evening spectacle in each case was a very fine one, the 
number of men in line on each night being something ov^er seven thousand. 
Several of the old pioneers died during the year — among them, Abner Wake- 
lee, Lyman B. Langworthy, Johnson I. Robins and Edwin Scrantom, the 
residence of the last dating from the very birth of Rochester, as has been told 
in an earlier chapter of this work — while of those whose residence dated back 
to very early times were P. M. Crandall, Aaron Erickson (an outline of whose 
life is given elsewhere), William Kidd, who by industry and integrity acquired 
a large fortune and was for several years the treasurer of the county; Elijah 
V. Smith, who had been mayor in 1841 (being the first one elected by the 
people) and had held \arious offices of public responsibility; Edmund Lyon, 
Dr. J. F. Whitbeck and John Widner, the last-named dying at the age of a 
century. 

Some railroad matters were settled up in the early part of 1881, the State 
Line road, which for a long time had been the source of great anxiety to its 



1 68 History of the City ok Rochestkr. 

lVi(.iuls cind credit! irs, bciiiL; suKl at auctiini, <>n the cmirt-liciusc steps, on the 
8th of January, to the hiLjliest bidder, who was Walston H. lirown, of New 
York, \\ho paid $600,000 for it, reorj^'anised it and chan<;ed it into the Roches- 
ter & rittsljui'i; ; later in the same month the contract for the elevation of the 
Central railro.Kl tracks was siniietl by the citizens' commission and W'illiiim H. 
Vanderbilt. Copies of the revised New Testament were first sold here on the 
2istofMay; 1,500 were bought by individuals on that day. Maud S., the 
famous tr(_itter, lowered, on tlie I ith of August, her own record and trotted a 
mile in 2:10], tlie fastest time ever made up to that hour. On the 3d of July 
pr<i\-ers were offered up in all the churches for the recovery of President Gar- 
field, who hatl been shot the day before; the people waited in suspense from 
that time till the night of September 19th, when the simultiUieous tolling of city 
bells announced his death; the mock funeral here, at the time of his obsetjuies 
on the 26th. was most impressixe ; the procession was by fai' the longest e\er 
seen here up to that time, as well it may have been, for it embracetl a large 
proportion of those who less than a year before had made up the numbers <_)f 
the two monster parades that were g"i\'en in rivalr\- o\-er the ajiproaching elec- 
tion of the man whom ncnv the}' mourned with a common sorrow. 

In the obituary record of our citizens may be placetl the names of James C. 
Cochrane, an eminent law\'er; William Stebbins and David Mood)-, among the 
pioneers ; George D. Stillson, who, after having been engaged in locating the 
Tonawanda railroad, and other roads in this vicinity of half a century ago, had 
been so long the superintendent iif Mount Hope cemetery as to seem almost in- 
separably connected with it ; S.miuel 1). Porter, who, during more than the life- 
time of the city, had been actively engaged in promoting works of benevolence 
and reform, and was for many years one of the leaders of the anti -slavery cause 
in this section of the state (whose oldest son died the day after his father, so 
that the two were borne from the house together) ; Levi A. Ward, who came 
here when a child, with his father, in 18 17, grew up with the [ilace, and was 
for more than a generation in the front ranks of citizenship, ma_\-or in 1849, 
first president of the board of education, and connected with man)- institutions 
of benevolence ; Isaac Hills, a prominent resilient, who, after teaching school 
in Lenox academ)-, Massachusetts, where Mark Hopkins and David Dudley 
P'ield were among his pupils, came here in 1824 to practise law, was district- 
attorne)-, first recorder of the city, mayor in 1843, «i"d the incumbent of numer- 
ous other offices; William Burke, the oldest hardware merchant in the cit)' at 
the time of his death ; John II. Martindale, brigadier-general in the war of the 
rebellion, and afterward attorne)'-general of the state ; Mrs. Jehiel Barnard 
(daughter of Hamlet Scrantom), who came here in 18 12, and whose wedding, 
in 1 81 5, was the first one in Rochester, and, lastly, Lewis H. Morgan, whose 
scholarship reflected distinction upon the city of his abode. He was born near 
Aurora, in this state, in 1818 ; came to Rochester soon after his graduation at 



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Lewis H. Morgan. 169 



Union college in 1840, and began the practice of law, which he continued with 
great success for several years, when he finall)- abandoned it to engage exclu- 
sively in literary pursuits. In early life he had become interested in the habits 
and customs of the Indians formerly dwelling in the state, and his researches 
in this direction caused the production by him, in 1851, of TIic League of the 
Iroquois, in which he thoroughly explained the organisation and government 
of that wonderful confederacy of the Six Nations, whose constitution, the form- 
ation of which is assigned by tradition to Hiawatha, was in part the basis upon 
which that of the United States was reared. This book, instead of closing Mr. 
Morgan's labors in that line of study, only opened the field for wider investiga- 
tion, and he entered upon his life-work, which was twofold — first, the estab- 
lishment of the mutual relationship of the human race by tracing .the similaritj' 
of social customs, a generalisation which took years of labor, and found its 
outcome in his Systems of Consanguinity of the Human Family, a ponderous 
quarto of 600 pages, published by the Smithsonian institution, which contains 
the systems of kinship of more than four-fifths of the world — second, and in 
part the outgrowth of the first, the proof of his theory that the getis, instead of 
the family, was the social unit of the race — a proposition which was whoUj- 
original with the author, and was of course violently combated by Mnglish 
writers, but accepted b_\' man\', even in Great Britain, and which he fully de- 
veloped in his Ancient Society, b}' far the greatest of all his works, and the one 
upon which his future renown will rest. Houses and House- Life of the Anieri- 
can Aborigines was his last production, giving the results of his latest inquiries 
into the habits of the western Indians and the Aztec tribes. Besides these \'ol- 
umes was his work on the American beaver, published in 1868, which, though 
really outside of the range of his special studies, was received by foreign scholars 
with the highest admiration, was translated into various languages, and gained 
for its writer the honorary membership of several of the most famous scientific 
societies. Mr. Morgan was elected member of the Assembly in 1861 and 
member of the upper house of the legislature in 1875, but these honors were 
inconsequential, and were nothing to him in comparison with the presidency of 
the American association for the Advancement of Science, which was conferred 
upon him in 1879. He was the most distinguished ethnologi.st that this coun- 
try ever produced, and the foremost in the world at the time of his death. 

Small-pox was again the enemy to fight against in the early part of 1882, 
the alarm having been given in the autumn of the previous year and the work 
of vaccination then entered upon ; it was carried out with far greater thorough- 
ness than ever before, the board of health, with Dr. Buckley as health officer, 
using the most stringent measures and being sustained by the municipal author- 
ities ; several young physicians were appointed to do the work, and not only 
every school but every manufacturing establishment had to submit to visitation 
and operation upon all who could not show themselves proof against the infec- 



1 



]jo History of the City of Rochester. 

ti(in ; in this way between 20,000 and 30,000 were vaccinated, and the appear- 
ance of the scourge was eftectually preventeti. Strikes were extensively inauLj- 
urated at this time, and in some instances carried on with disastrous resuhs. 
After there had been some trouble of that kind in one or two of the shoe shops 
the eniplo)'ees of the Cunningham carriage factory determined to redress in tliat 
manner some things of which tlie_\- had complained in \'ain ; of 450 workmen, 
400 went out on the 2.Sth of Januar)', the others remaining and being reinforced 
b\' nearl\- a hundred of newly employed non-union men ; all through February 
the contluct of the sti"ikers was faultless, but on the ist of March,- their patience 
and their means being nearl\- exhausted, the)' resortei.1 to violence to (ibtain 
their ends and attackeil the non-union men in the street as the)' were returning 
frtim their work; the next da)' there were more wicketl assaults and some 
bloodshetl, though no one was killetl ; this, of course, could not be allowed to 
go on, so the sherift' interfered and peace was preservetl for the next two da)'s, 
after which, b)' the inler\-ention of the ma)'or, a compromise was eftected and 
the men returned to work, abandoning the scheme for a cooperative carriage- 
making conipan)', with a cipital of $250,000, which had been almost matured 
during the strike. /\s a counterpait to the trades union, most of the em- 
plo)'ers in the cit)' formed, in I\Ia)', a protecti\e union, b)- which each one 
bound himsell not to emplo)- men who have struck in other establishments and 
to join in resisting an\' attempt on the part of the trades union to coerce an\' of 
the associated manufacturers. In March, on account of the large amount of 
mone)' lying idle in the savings banks, by reason of the New York insurance 
,uk1 other companies having loaned mone)- in Monroe count)' below the legal 
rate of si.x ])er cent., the sa\'ings banks here agreed to loan at iwu per cent, 
on sums of $5,000 or upward. The summer months brought with them some 
niild excitements, beginning \\ith one, in June, of a rather serious nature, in 
the shape of a funereal exhibition b)' the national association of undertakers or 
funeral directors, the hi'st of the kind in the United States and quite a fine aftair; 
then followed, in the same month, the first general parade of workingmen 
e\'er seen in this cit)', in which over 6,000 "Knights of Labor" were in line, 
their idea being to express abhorrence of the new penal code.. In July a 
disease called the "pink-eye" made havoc with the horses, thirtv'-si.x of the ani- 
mals connected with the street cars being attacked in a single day ; few deaths 
occurred from that cause. In August there was a great firemen's convention, 
as described in another chapter. The Osburn House, after being one of the 
leading hotels in the state for ne.u'l)- a quarter of a centur)', closed its doors in 
September and was turnetl into ,1 business block. The lift bridge at Brown 
street was built during the )'ear, at a cost of about $1 1,000. On the 2 1st of 
December those standing in front of the old Cit)- bank saw a sign attached to 
the door, with these wortls : "This bank has suspended ; " much distress was pro- 
duced b)' the faiku'e, which was caused b)' speculation in oil ; the capital stock 
was $200,000, a total loss to the holders; the loss to depositors was very great. 



First Chinese Voter in Rochester. 171 

Death made many inroads into the ranks of our older citizens during the 
year, carrying off Hamlet D. Scrantom, who came here, at the age of six, in 
1812, was elected mayor in 1S60, and after leaving office took a lease of Con- 
gress Hall, and acquired a high reputation as a typical landlord ; David Bell, 
who came here in 1822, was one of the first Quakers of the place, and always 
active in charity ; Joseph Medber_\-, who was one of the first settlers here, at 
one time president of the village and prominent in its militia, in which he held 
the rank of major; Benjamin Fish, Nathan Huntington and Mrs. Mary West- 
bury (at the age of one hundred), who were among the pioneers; James Vick, 
whose fame as a nurseryman and cultivator of flowers was almost world-wide, 
but who had been also a printer, an editor, an author, a publisher, a farmer, 
a botanist, a merchant, and all his life a student ; Colonel Charles J. Powers, 
whose good service in the field gained for him the brevet of brigadier-general, 
and who was elected county clerk in 1867 ; Patrick H. Sullivan, another brave 
soldier, who was chief engineer of the fire department in 1864; Charles H. 
Chapin, a prominent banker ; Francis Gorton, who, after a successful business 
career as a merchant, became president of the Flour Cit\' bank, and continued 
such till his death, twenty six years later, and E. Peshine Smith, a noted pub- 
licist, whose work on political economy is a standard text-book in several 
American colleges, and who, many years ago, was professor of mathematics in 
our universit}', then deputy superintendent of public instruction of the state, 
then reporter to the court of Appeals, then solicitor of the state department at 
Washington during much of the war time, after which he was, on the advice of 
Secretary Seward, selected by the Japanese government as chief legal adviser 
of the foreign department of that country, a position which he held until a few 
■years ago, when he returned to the United States. 

Rochester's first Chinese voter was naturalised on the 8th of January-, 1883 ; 
his name was Sam Fang, his age twenty-seven, his residence in this country 
twenty years ; he could hardly be called a "heathen Chinee," being a member 
of St. Paul's Episcopal church. Shortly after noon, on July 19th most of the 
telegraph operators in all the offices here, as well as elsewhere, left their instru- 
ments, in obedience to a rapping from the office at Washington, where the 
headquarters of the brotherhood were. The signal agreed upon was the tele- 
graphic utterance of the sentence "Grant is dead," and it was supposed that 
the language would not be understood b}- any one but the different operators. 
Some one in New York, however, either in the office or outside of it, happened 
to overhear the secret message, and, giving to it its exoteric meaning, rushed 
into the street and communicated what he mistook for information, upon which 
there was great excitement, that was allayed only by the revelation of the strike 
that had been just inaugurated. In the Western Union office here only two 
telegraphers remained at work, and all the managers had to go on duty to take 
the place of those who had retired ; in the American Rapid office all deserted, 

12 



1/2 History of the City of Rochester. 

and tlie door was closed ; in the MutLial Union two operators sta\-ed, and the 
work went on as usual. A week later the American Rapid companj' compro- 
mised with the strikers, and the office was reopened, but with the other the 
trouble continued for just a month from the beginning of the strike, when at 
last the operators, disappointed in the supply of funds from other trades organ- 
isations, and driven to surrender b\- dire necessity, )-ielded and returned to their 
work. They preser\ed, throughout the whole period of their voluntary sus- 
pension from income-producing labor, their self-respect, and with it the respect 
of the entire community, which sympathised in this well-directed though un- 
successful resistance to the intolerable tyranny of the most heartless monopol\- 
of modern times. On the 5th of August the military funeral of General E. G. 
Marshall — who died at Canandaigua, though he was sometime a resident of 
this city, and was colonel of the "old Thirteenth" — took place here. In Sep- 
tember three things occurred here — the con\-ention of Freethinkers of the 
United States, the visit of Lord Coleridge, chief-justice of the English court of 
queen's bench, and the digging up on St. Paul street of one of the spikes and 
strap rails of the old Rochester & Carthage horse railroad. The bi-centennial 
of the German settlement of America was celebrated in fine style by the fellow- 
countrymen of those pioneers, the street parade on the 8th of October being 
notable for the variety of its elements. Of the prosperit)- and improvement of 
the city during this last jear of our historical record, the few following state- 
ments ma\- convey some intimation to readers in future years: The new depot 
of the New York Central and the elevation of its tracks through the city were 
completed, at a cost of about $2,000,000; the Powers Hotel — afire-proof 
building, standing on the site of an ancient tavern, older than the city itself, 
which was built as the Monroe House, then changed its name to the National, 
then to the Morton, then to the Champion, then back to the National — was 
finished, at an expense of about $630,000 ; the Warner observatory, on Plast 
a\enue, was completed, costing, with its magnificent telescope, not far from 
$100,000; the Warner building, a splendid iron structure on North St. Paul 
street, was built, at an expense in the neighborhood of $500,000; Church 
street was opened and improved at a total cost of about $165,000 ; North St. 
Paul street was straightened and widened for the same amount ; the lift bridge 
over the canal at Lyell street was built for $13,000, and finally, Central avenue 
was extended and a bridge built across the river to Atwater street, at a cost of 
$46,000. The records of the city surveyor's office show that during the year 
there were eleven streets impro\ed, at an expense of $1 10,000, and thirty-one 
sewers constructed, costing $56,000. The records of the city treasurer show 
that the receipts for the year, on account of general cit\- tax, were $1,059,- 
940.48; the expenditures for local improvements, $498,384.00; the receipts 
on local improvements, $300,353.73, and the receipts for water rents about 
$150,000- The registry of vital statistics indicates that the total number of 



Necrology t)F 1884. 



births was 2,472, of marriages 1,021, of deaths 1,785. The population is at 
this time (June loth, 1884) estimated at 110,000. 

Of the deaths those may be noted of Samuel Richardson, mayor of the 
city in 1850, though he lived in Penn.sylvania for most of the time after that; 
the venerable Jeremiah Cutler, who in 1824 was appointed a deputy in the 
county clerk's office and served in that capacity continuously — with the ex- 
ception of two intervals aggregating less than three years — till his death, at 
the age of ninety-one, having been employed under twenty successive county 
clerks; Lewis Selye, who came here in 1824 and soon acquired more than a 
local fame as a manufacturer of fire engines, was always a public-spirited citizen 
and a liberal giver, was elected county treasurer in 1848 and again in 1854 and 
member of Congress in 1866; Dr. B. F. Gilkeson, a well-known physician; H. 
Edward Hooker, a prominent nurseryman, held in the highest esteem by all 
who knew him; Roswell Hart, one of the earliest coal dealers here, elected 
member of Congress in 1864, secretary of the Rochester savings bank at the 
time of his death; Isaac Ashley, a veteran landlord, who came here in 1825 
and kept, first, the Carter House, near the canal feeder, then the Union Hotel, 
then the National (at that time the Monroe), and then the Clinton, beginning 
there in 1835 ^nd retiring in 1878; Dr. Hugh Bradley, an eminent physician 
and the oldest here at the time of his death; Addison Gardiner, a distinguished 
citizen, whose public career is traced in another part of this work; Nathaniel 
T. Rochester, a son of Colonel Rochester, who came here in 1818, a man uni- 
versally respected but of so retiring a disposition that he almost uniformly re- 
fused to hold any public office; Charles J. Hill, who came in i8i6andwas 
mayor in 1842. of whom a sketch is given elsewhere; Joseph Curtis, one of 
the proprietors of the Union & Advertiser, influential in financial circles and 
respected by all his associates ; Judge E. Darwin Smith, who came here in 
1824 and, after practising law for many years, was raised, in 1855, to the bench 
of the Supreme court, where he remained till 1876, when he retired by reason 
of the constitutional limitation of seventy years; and Mrs. Anson House (for- 
merly Lucinda Blossom), who came here in 1820 and was one of the witnesses 
to the first deed recorded in the county. 

Up to the time of the celebration of the city's birthday nothing occurred in 
1884, essential to mention in this chapter, except the death of Martin Briggs, 
a prominent citizen, who held several public offices and was closely identified 
with the iron industry of the city for more than fifty years; of George B. Har- 
ris, the typical fireman of Rochester and chief-engineer of the department for 
more than seven years; of Mrs. Silas O. Smith, who came here with her hus- 
band in 181 3, and of her son Edward M. Smith, one of the most popular citi- 
zens of his da\-, who, after being in the municipal council, was elected mayor 
in 1869; he was postmaster from 1871 to 1875, being in the meantime one of 
the commissioners of water- works; for several years he was one of the three 



174 History of the City of R()Ciif:ster. 

nicnibcrs of the fish cnmniission of the state of New \'ork ami was a delegate 
in its liehalf U> the llsheries exposition in London in I SS3 ; in 1 S76 he was ap- 
jjointeti Unitetl States eonsiil at Mannlieini, liuleii, and occupied that position 
at the time of his death, wliich occun-ed in l-jigland, as he was on his way to 
return home. 



CHAPTER XXIH. 



1 IIK <,KI;A r ( KIKHKA IIDN. 



I're|inrati.Mis f(,v llir Kvi-nl — SL-rvio-s in llu- ( ■liurclics ,,11 Siin.l.iy — I l|.rnin.i; S.ilill^- nn Momlny 

— Tlu' Liu-inry I'acrim-, — Tl„; I'yruioclniK I )i^|.lav — krci-|.li..i, ,,r CucsN — 'I'Iil- (ucat I'am.lc 

— Hk- llan.nu-l — 'llic 'I'Masl. — riiL- ( 1..s^-. 

"\T riTH perpetual announcements through the tlail)' press of the approach- 
\\ ing festival, no one in all this region was ignorant of the preparations 
that were nuide f>i' the appropriate celebration of Rochester's fiftieth birthday, 
and the popular expectations were raised so high that a fulfillment of them 
might well ha\'e seemed tlestructive of the vanit}' of human wishes. Hut so it 
was that all that had been ])romised was performed and all that had been louketl 
for came to pass, and the citizens of Rochcstei' were justK' satisfied with a 
triumph that has had no counterpart in this portion of the state. The anniver- 
sary tla_\'S were the 9th and lOth of June, but the observances realh' began on 
Sunda\", the 8th, with a deliver)- in most of the churches of discourses per- 
tinent to the occasion — in man\' cases reminiscent, in others jjrophetic. In 
the I'irst I'resbv'terian church, wheise societ_\- is the oldest in the cit\', the ser- 
vices were especially noticeable. In the morning i>lev. Dr. Tryoii lulwai'ds, who 
was installed as pastor of the congregation fifty \'ears ago — ami who is now- 
settled at Gouverneur, in this state — preached, by request, the same sermon 
which he delivered at his installation, and man_\' of his hearers at this time were 
able to recall the w-ords to which the)- had listened so long before. The evening 
services were conducted b\- Rev. Ur. F. iJe VV. Ward, now of Geneseo, whose 
connection with the old church also datetl back half a centur)-, for it was then 
that he was there ordained as a missionar)^ to Imlia. 

Monday morning was quiet enough, except as it was occupied b\- the uumic- 
ipal committee in the reception of invited guests from abroad lUid in putting 
the final touches on the decorations with which most of the buildings on all the 
business streets were profusely adorned. As the minute of noon arri\-ed the 
cit)- hall bell gave the intelligence that Rochester's semi-centennial birthday had 
begun; the booming of cai-inon, with fifty measmx-d notes, answered back the 



The Semi-Centennial Cei.eisration. 175 



stroke, while for the succeeding liour the sweet chimes of St. Peter's church 
gave forth melodious sounds that were not wholly lost amid the diapason of 
the guns or the shrill discord from steam whistles. In the afternoon the liter- 
ary exercises were held, before an audience that filled the large room, to which 
admission was by tickets, given b)- the committee to all who asked for them. 
The walls were decorated with the flags of all nations, the Stars and Stripes 
occupying the greater space, and across the ceiling stretched alternate lines of 
red, white and blue bunting. On the platform were seated those who were to 
take part in the proceedings, the general committee, the former mayors now 
living and a large number of the old citizens who were voters in 1834. Soon 
after two o'clock Mayor Parsons stepped to the front of the stage and made a 
short address, beginning thus : — 

"Fellow-citizens: The event that calls us together todaj- is one truly memorable. 
Never again in the life history of most, so far as our own city is concerned, will a similar 
occurrence present itself. A half century hence, long after our children shall have as- 
sumed the municipal inheritance we leave them, those who are active participants or 
cjuiet listeners to-day will have gone the way of all men — gone to join the innumerable 
throng. But this is not the time for sad reflection. Neither do we a.ssemble in a spirit 
of triumph or exultation. We have reason to rejoice, however, and have called in our 
friends to rejoice with us." 

Rev. Dr. J. B. Shaw, the \enerable pastor of the Brick church, then in\oked 
the divine blessing on the proceedings about to take place and gave thanks for 
all the material blessings showered upon the city during its existence and for its 
noble founders, "those conscientious and high-minded men, from whose ex- 
emplary lives has radiated an influence for good which has been felt through all 
the years down to the present time." The prayer being ended, the mayor 
read a communication from the town clerk of Rochester, England, containing 
a resolution passed by the council of that city, acknowledging the invitation 
sent by our mayor to theirs to be present at this celebration, regretting his in- 
ability to do so and congratulating our city on its growth and prosperity. 
Frederick A. Whittlesey then offered resolutions, which were adopted by the 
assemblage, expressing gratification over the missi\e from the ancient corpora- 
tion by the Medway to its youthful namesake, and requesting our mayor to 
transmit to the council of the former place a copy of all the proceedings con- 
nected with this da\- of jubilee. Telegrams were then read from Frederick 
Douglass, now living in Washington; from Mayor Banks of Albany, and from 
M. H. Rochester, of Cincinnati, conveying their felicitations and e.xpres.sing 
regret at their unavoidable absence on the occasion. The quartette of St. 
Peter's church, consisting of Mrs. Mandeville, Miss Alexander. Dr. F. A. Man- 
deville and F. M. Bottum, sang Oliver Wendell Holmes's Angel of Peace, with 
the accompaniment of the I'ifty-fourth regiment band, the whole music, vocal 
and instrumental, of this piece and others, being under the direction of Albert 
Sartori. 



176 HIs■|(lR^• i>v THK Cri'v hf RuciiKsrKk. 

Cliarlcs E. Fitch was then introduced and gave an extended historical ad- 
dress, from which these extracts may be taken, the last one being his perora- 
tion: — 

•• It is a fact not. ptjrhaps, generally known, hut exceedingly interesting and descrying 
eni|iliasis, that the chief imimlse to the exodus of C'ulonel Rochester from Maryland 
was his aversion to the institution of human liondage. He could not bear the thought 
of rearing his family anii<l its demoralising influences. He freed all his slaves, bringing 
the majority of them with him, as hired domestic servants, and, with his household goods, 
set his face toward the north star. Thus Rochester, which the Chrysostom of the col- 
ored race was afterward to make his home, and from which New York's most philosophic 
statesman was to announce the 'irrepressible conflict,' is, through the resolution of its 
founder, most honorably itlentified with the revival of anti-slavery sentiment in America. 

Mrs. .Abelard Reynolds came to RcnliL'ster, a young wife and mother, to share 

in the toils of the frontier settlement, and to rear her family in 'the nurture and admoni- 
tion of the Lord.' What panorama of dissolving woods, of opening thoroughfares, of 
artificial waterways, of iron fingers with friendly clasp of distant communities, of ascend- 
ing walls enshrining peaceful homes or uplifting dome and tower and stee])le, of ham- 
mers swinging and wheels revoKdng, of \aried industries unfolding and expanding, of 
hospitals and asylums e\oked 1)\- the gentle genius of charity, of the confident tread of 
the sons ]iressing upon the tottering steps of the fathers, has passed before her eyes. 
Mother in Israel ! we greet thee, to-day, with reverence and with love, grateful that 
thou hast been .spared to witness all these wonders, and earnestly imploring that, upon 
the rounded cycle of thy hundred years, now so near its consummation, health and |.)eace 

and mercy may descend in benediction We bid the newer generations 

glory in the warmth and cheer of a newer age. We stand afar oft" and hail that centen- 
nial hour. We, who are about to die, salute it; and our prayer only is, knowing how, 
in the order of nature we ])ass away and are forgotten, that some tender hand, searching 
amid the moss-covered entablatures of the past, may find the half-effaced inscriptions, and 
learn that there were men and women wIkj, in 1884, tried honestly, if humbly, to take 
some note of their city's progress, and to transmit it to the coming century worthy, at 
least, of its kindly welcome." 

After the rendition of another selection by the (juartette, George Raines de- 
livered the oration, beginning with these words: — 

"The true orator of the hour is the imperial city whose fifty years we celebrate ; at our 
feet he her rieh robes of green, bound round with sheen of placid waters. She jjoints us 
to her open ways thronging with busy life ; her schools for youth crowned with a uni- 
versity currieulum ; her theaters for popular amusement; her clanking machinery; her 
flags of spray fluttering in triumph above the conquered waters escaping from brief im- 
prisonment in mill and factory to seek the great lake ; to the princely palaces of the rich ; 
to the thousanil homes of toilers in all the arts of life in which fair women and Ijrave 
men dig deep in the bed-work of conscience the foundation of true morality and patriot- 
ism for the generations of the future ; to her tribunals of justice in which the right is 
measured to the [)eople ; to her body of oflicials, administering a government of liberty 
regulated by law ; to her churches and cathedral, echoing the solemn chant and te deum 
of the religion of human charity and of the holiness of sacrifice. Let church bells chime 
and cannon boom the universal joy. Proud in every fiber of her achievements of the 
past, which are hostages to the future, we ha\'e to hide no traditional disgrace in her 




' "I ll'f t^'""' 



MRS. AllELARI) REYNOLDS. 
17(54. — i8iJ4. 



The Semi-Cexte\.\ial Celebration. 177 

civic history, either in court or camp or municipal council. We exalt the grand strains 
of our rejoicing in honor at once of all the generations that have poured their labors of 
love into our victory in the great rivalries of cities." 

Tennyson's Golden Year having been sung, Rev. Joseph A. Ely recited a 
poem, of which the following are the first two and the last two stanzas : — 
"Out of the forest sprung, 
City of ours ! 
Fondly thou dwell'st among 
Trees that with thee were young ; 
Now be thy praises sung, 
City of flowers I 

" O'er thee no castle walls 
Proudly look down ; 
No mythic glory flills. 
No storied past enthralls, 
Marble nor bronze recalls 
Ancient renown. 

" Lived their loved East again 

Here in the west. 
Borne by heroic men 
Through river, lake and glen. 
Mid the wild forest, then, 

Seeking its rest. 

" Long may the city's fame 
Honor their worth. 
Long, where the fathers came, 
Children their praise proclaim, 
Bearing a noble name 

Wide through the earth." 
A festival hymn, with music composed for the occasion by Prof. Sartori, 
was then given, after which the mayor introduced, successively, Mayor Low, 
of Brooklyn, and Mayor Smith, of Philadelphia, both of whom made short ad- 
dresses of congratulation, which were received with much applause by the audi- 
ence, after which the time honored America was sung by the audience, accom- 
panying the band, and the benediction was pronounced by Rev. Dr. H. C. Riggs, 
of St. Peter's church. A sunset salute of fifty guns closed the day, and in the 
evening an e.xhibition of fireworks was given at the driving-park, near Lake 
avenue, where a crowd of nearly 30,000 people witnessed the finest display of 
that kind ever beheld here. 

Tuesday, the loth, was ushered in by a sunrise salute, and from that time 
tlie city was in a state of more joyful confusion than even on the preceding 
day. The streets were filled at an early hour with a throng of persons, busy 
in their idleness, intent on looking at the holiday apparel of the buildings, and 
watching with interest the movements of each other. Many of these were resi- 



178 History of the City of Rochester. 

dent citizens, but a great proportion were from otlier places, aiul the trains all 
through the morning brought still larger numbers of strangers than had arrived 
the day before. Between nine and ten o'clock came, in a special car, (iovernnr 
Cleveland and most of the officers of his staff, accompanied by Mayor ICdson, 
of New York, who had gone up to Albany the night before, to come on with 
the others. The guests were met at the depot by Mayor Parsons and the 
reception committee, besides a detachment of police, and a large military 
escort, under the command of Colonel 1*". A. Schteffel, comprising the lughth 
Separate compan)-, with the l-'ifty-f mrth regiment band; the Powers Rifles, 
with drum corjis; the Lincoln Guartls, with the Lincoln band; the Grecnleaf 
(niards ,uid the P'lower Cit>- Zouaves. The line being formetl, the parly were 
taken to the Powers Hotel, in the rotunda of which a reception was held, 
Ma_\-or Parsons delivering an address of welcome, to which the go\ernor 
responded; after which Ma_\-or Ldson and Mayor Low made brief acknowl- 
edgments. The noonday salute of fift_\- guns gave the signal f)r all the stores 
to close their doors, a measure that required no self-deiu'al, for at the ver)' time 
thousands of persons were occui)_\ing all the steps and stairwa)-s and windows 
on the route of the procession that was to be, antl thousands more were (lock- 
ing down to fill up any space not alread_\- taken. Patience was needeil, but 
good nature was param<umt o\-er all, and the dense throng on "the tour cor- 
ners" [larted without a murmur fir the carriages containing Governor Cleve- 
land .md the other tlistinguished visitors to pass through to Church street, re- 
view the public school children assembled there, and return to the lofty platform 
which had been erected on West Main street, in front of the court-house, ft)r 
their accommodation and that of all, pioneers and others, who had been invited 
to seats upon it. This was done after the parade had reall)^ begun, for the line 
of march was formed at the libert_\- pole, at the intersection of Last Main street 
and Last a\enue, and, though it began to move soon after two o'clock, it was 
three before the head of the column had crossed the river by the Central avenue 
bridge, and had come abreast of the reviewing-stand. In the van was the 
police force — those in front moimted, the others on foot — then came the 
marshal of the day, Gener.il John A. Reynolds, with a full stall of aids and 
deputies; then the \eteran military organisations, then the citizen soldiers- of 
the present day — with a comiiau}- of Huftalo Cadets between the lines of their 
hosts, the Rochester Cadets — then the lodges of Odd Fellows, followed by the 
uniformed Catholic societies, the German societies of various kinds, and the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, succeeded by a number of organisations, 
social, industrial and otherwise, and then the Rochester fire department, after 
which came an almost endless array of wagons representing the different trades 
and industries. The procession took more than two hours to pass the stand, 
which will give a better idea of its length than any enumeration can — the 
more so as its passage was continuous, f)r nothing occiu'retl to obstruct it, as 



The City Government. 179 

ropes were stretched across the intersection of Main street, from Elizabeth to 
Lancaster, and all \-ehicles were at an early hour excluded from the streets 
along the line of march. It was, as the committee had determined it should be, 
the grandest parade ever seen in this section of the state. 

At six o'clock the banquet was served at the Powers Hotel, where more than 
one hundred were seated. After the dinner the following toasts, with appro- 
priate elaboration, were proposed b\- Mayor Parsons, and were responded to by 
those whose names are attached, in each case: "The state of New York," 
Governor Cleveland; "the United States," Alfred Ely; "the city of Roches- 
ter," General A. W. Rile\- ; "our sister cities," Mayor Edson, of New York; 
"Pennsylvania," Mayor Smith, of Philadelphia ; "our educational institutions," 
President Anderson; "the clergy," Bishop McQuaid ; "the judiciary," Judge 
Macomber ; "the bar," \V. F. Cogswell; "the medical profession," Dr. E. M. 
Moore; "the press," William Purcell ; "municipal government," Mayor Low, 
of Brooklyn ; "our Dominion visitors," Mayor Boswell, of Toronto ; "our labor 
interests," William N. Sage; "the horticulture and floriculture of Rochester," 
Patrick Barrj- ; "our labor interests" (to this there was no response, as H. H. 
Cale, who had been designated, was absent); "our veterans," Colonel H. S. 
Greenleaf; "the ladies," J. Breck Perkins (b\- letter). Judge Morgan then 
introduced Oronovetekha — the present chief of the Mohawks, from Canada, 
and of the family of J(«eph Brandt, the old war sachem of the tribe — who 
spoke in a manner that was the natural result of the finished education which 
he had received in England. Another salute at sunset, with a general illumina- 
tion of business blocks and houses, and a street display of miscellaneous fire- 
works in the evening, many of which were of a high order, closed, with satis- 
faction to all — participants, hearers and spectators — the semi-centennial 
celebration of Rochester 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



THE CITV CiOVKRN.MENl'. 



The I'resem nfficers — The Common founcil — The Hoard of Education — The City Debt — 
The Tax Levy for the Present \'ear — The .Municipal Court — The Police Board — The Executive 
Board — The County Officers — The United Stales Officials. 

THE municipal year of this city begins on the first Monday of April. The 
following persons now constitute the government: Mayor, Cornelius R. 
Par.sons; treasurer, Ambrose McGlachlin ; police justice, Albert G. Wheeler; 
city attorney, John N. Beckley; judges of the Municipal court, Thomas E. 



i8o History of the City of Rochester. 

White, George E.Warner; cit)- clerk, Peter Sheridan ; city SMr\'e\-or, Oscar 
H. Peacock; city messenger, I'^-aiik J. Irwin; overseer of the poor, John Lutes; 
city sealer, Stephen Rauber; fire marshal, Arthur McCormick; street superin- 
tendent, Gilbert H. Reynolds; assessors — John Gorton, Wjlliam Mahar, Val- 
entine Fleckenstein; executive board — George W. Aldridgc, Byron Holley, 
Samuel W Williams; jiolice commissioners — C. R. Parsons (r.r (^/^V/c), 1^'red- 
erick Zinimer, Joseph W. Rosenthal; board of health — C. R. Parsons (r.v 
officii), J. W. Martin, V.. B. Chace, Tim"th>- Derick, Dr. V. B. Gallerx-, Dr. \\. 
M. Moore, J. O. Howard. Dr. J. J. A. Burke is health officer 

The common council is matle uj) as fwllows: First ward, Wm. H. Tr.ic)-; 
second ward, Martin Barron; thiid ward. Anion Bmnson; fourth ward, Charles 
Watson; fifth ward, Henr\- Knhlmetz; sixth ward, Flias Strouss ; seventh 
ward, Charles A. Jeffords; eighth w.u'd, John H. l-'ole_\-; ninth ward, F. S. 
Upton; tenth ward, James M. Pitkin; ele\-enth ward, Peter (i. Siener; twelfth 
ward, Henry Rice; thirteenth ward. Christian Stein; fourteenth ward, Jas. M. 
Aikenhead; fifteenth wani, J. Miller Kelly; sixteenth ward, John B. Simmel- 
ink. J. Miller Kell>- is president of the board. 

The b(.iard of education is as follows: ]'"irst wani, J. 1'-. Durand; second, 
J. (). Howard; third, Thomas McMillan; fourth, H. A. Kingsley; fifth, C. S. 
Cook; sixth, F. M. Thrasher; seventh, Milton Xoyes; eighth, T. /\. Ray- 
mond; ninth, W. J. McKelvey; tenth, C. S FUis; eleventh, Henr_\' Klein- 
dienst; twelfth, T. H. Maguire; thirteenth, F. C. Loebs; fourteenth, August 
Kimel; fifteenth, J. P. Rickard; sixteenth, V . H. \Mck. C. S. ICllis is presi- 
dent of the board. S. A. I'LUis is superintendent of schools. 

The debt of the city in June, 1S84, with the items of the various loans, is 
as follows: — 

Genesee Valley railroad loan re-issue ..1 $144,000 00 

R. N . & P. K. R. loan . 150,000 00 

R. iS; S. L. R. R-. loan 600,000 00 

Arsenal site loan 8,000 00 

Floating debt loan 2 1 0,000 00 

City Hall Commissioners loan 335i°o° 0° 

Free academy building loan 1 25,000 00 

Water works loan _. 3,182,000 00 

Funding loan 1875 410,000 00 

N umber 5 school loan ._ 20,000 00 

Consolidated loan 100,000 00 

$5,284,000 00 
The Genesee Valley railroad loan is ])i'o\'ided for by excess of receipts from 

lease to the N. Y., L. F. and W. R. R. .ifter interest on the loan is paid. 

The arsenal site loan is [)rovided for b_\' $1,500 recei\'ed annuallv from the 

county of Monroe, for rent of the arsenal. 



The Tax Lkvv kc)k 1884-85. 



The tax levy for 1884-S5 is as follows: — 

For payment of notes authorised by the common council to su|)ply deticiencies in 
the following funds : — 

Water pipe fund - - $75,000 00 

City propert)' fund . 8,000 00 

Park fund . 2.000 00 

Erroneous assessments _ . 633 58 

Contingent fund 42,000 00 

Highway fund _ .. 51 ,000 00 

Health fund i. 3i5°° °° 

Police fund 21 ,000 00 

Lamp fund 22,500 00 

Fire department fund . 1 7,000 00 

$242,633 58 

For deficiency in estimate in tax levy of 1883-84 of the 
amount to be received from the executive board for surplus 
receipts over expenditures from water works 40 000 00 

For interest on the bonded debt as follows: — 

At seven per cent, for one year $352,300 00 

At four per cent, for one year _ 4,000 00 

$356,300 00 
Less amount to be paid in by executive board for 
surplus receipts over expenditures from water 

works 85. 000 00 

271,300 00 

For payment of 15 bonds Free academy site loan 

due January ist, 1884, at $1000 each 15,000 00 

For payment of 50 bonds deficiency loan due 

January ist, 1884 : 50,000 00 

Less amount of unpaid taxes prior to 1870, col- 
lected since the issue of said loan and placed 

to its credit ' 25,939 75 24.060 25 

For erroneous assessments . - 4:442 60 

For local assessments on city property 6,477 75 

For lighting city 75>ooo 00 

For support of poor... 20,000 00 

For support of police 75'°oo 00 

For contingent expenses 60,000 00 

For board of health, including collecting gar- 
bage - 1 2,000 00 

For city property . . _ - 4,000 00 

For parks 2,500 00 

For executive board, as per requisition 165,200 00 

For support of common schools 226,399 °7 

Total $1,244,013 25 

The Municipal court was organised in -1876, taking the place of the jus- 
tices' courts which had formerly existed here. It is a court of civil jurisdic- 



1 82 History of the City of Rochester. 

til HI, (ov tlic tiial (if actions tn the extent of $500. The first judges were 
John W. Deuel and (lecirye W. Sill, b<.ith ajipointed by Governor Tilden — the 
former for fi\e years, the latter lor six. In i8<Si George K. Warner was 
elected to succeed Judge Deuel, and in iSSj Thomas K. White was chosen to 
succeed Judge Sill. The term is si.\ \ears; the offices are in tlie cit\' hall 
building. 

The following list of the se\'eral police boards since the present law went 
into effect, in Jui\-, 1865, has been furnished by R. F. Enos, the clerk of the 
board : — 

1865. — D. D. T. Moore, m.iyor; ilenry S. Hebard, Jacob Howe, sr., 
commissioners. 

1866, —S. W. D. Moore, ma>-or; H. S. Hebard, Jacob Howe, sr., com- 
missioners. 

1867-6S. — Hcnr)- L. l^'ish, ma_\-or ; H. S. Hebard, Jacob Howe, sr., com- 
missioners. 

1869." — lulward iM. Smith, mayijr; H. S. Hebard, (ieorge (i. Cooper, 
commissioners. 

1870. — John Lutes, max'or; H. S. Hebard, George G. Cooper, commis- 
sioners. H. S, Hebard actetl as secretar)' t(.i the board to this date. 

1 87 1. — Charles W. l^riggs, ma_\-t.)r; H. S. Hebard, (jeorge G. Cc)oper, 
commissioners. B. I'rank h.nos, clerk. 

1872. — A. Carter Wilder, ma_\'or; H. S. Hebard, G. (i. Cooper, commis- 
sioners. B. 1'. Enos, clerk. 

1873. — A. Carter Wilder, nias'or; G. G. Cooper, h'red. Zimmer, com- 
missioners. B. F. Enos, clerk. 

1874-75. — George G. Clarkson, max'or; G. G. Cm.iper, l^Ved. Zimmer, 
commissioners. B. !•". Enos, clerk. 

I 876. -^ C<.)rnelius R. Parsons, ma)'or ; G. G. C(jopei', h'retl. Zimmer, com- 
missioners. B. E. Enos, clerk. 

1877—79 — '-• '"^' Barsons, ma}'or; Ered. Zimmer, Henr\- C. Daniels, com- 
missioners. B. E. I'.nos, clerk. 

1880—84 — C. R. Parsons, ma\-or; Ered. Zimmer, Jacob Howe, jr., com- 
missioners. B. E, luTos, clerk. 

Thomas J. Ne\-ille, clerk of the e.xecuti\-e board, has kindly prepared the fol- 
lowing " histor\- of the rise, [lower and pr(.)gress of the commission of public works, 
the executi\e board, the water commission, and the water-works and fire 
board " : — 

"The board of commissioners of public works was created by an act of the legisla- 
ture passed May 20th, 1872. The members of this board were made commissioners of 
highways and authorised to exercise all the powers and perform all the duties belonging 
to such commissioners in all the streets, lanes, parks, etc., of the city of Rochester. The 
authority to pass ordinances for public improvements, let contracts tor, sujjervise the con- 
strueiion ot, and eonfirn) assessment rolls of, such improvements was also given to said 



The Board of Commissioners of Public Works. 183 

commissioners, which power was formerly vested in the common council. A. Carter 
Wilder, mayor, appointed Martin Rriggs, Wm. Purcell, (;eorge H. Thompson, Herman 
Mutschler and Daniel Warner commissioners of ])iil)lic works on May 28th. 1872. In 
1873 Henry S. Hebard was appointed commissioner in place of Herman Mutschler, and 
Thomas J. Neville in place of William Purcell resigned, and in 1874 Jonathan E. Pier- 
pont, in place of Henry S. Hebard, whose term of office had expired, and Ambrose Cram 
in place of Daniel Warner resigned. In March, 1876, by an act of the legislature, the 
executive board was created, consisting of six members, three of whom were elected by 
the people and three were appointed by the mayor. The three members elected were 
Thomas J. Neville, Philip J. Meyer and V. Fleckenstein for the terms of one, two and 
three years repectively, and Henry L. Fish, .\mbrose Cram and C. C. Woodworth were 
appointed for corresponding terms of office. On the executive board was conferred all 
the power exercised by the commissioners of public works, except the authority to ])ass 
ordinances and confirm assessment rolls, and in addition thereto the control and man- 
agement of the fire and water works department was conferred upon them. In the 
chapter on the water works of Rochester will be found a sketch of the water board. In 
April, 1879, the executive board was bisected and the management of the street depart- 
ment was placed in a board of three members, viz., F. P. Kavanaugh and Ezra Jones 
elected and F. C. Lauer appointed, and the water works and fire department in the 
charge of a board of two members, V. Fleckenstein and C. C. Woodworth, which was 
known as the 'water works and fire board.' In 1880 the executive board and water 
works and fire board were united and a board constituted of three members was organ- 
ised. The law provided that members be elected by the people for one, two and three 
years. This board is now existing and has the care and management of the water works, 
fire and street department of the city of Rochester." 

It may be as well to give, in this connection, the names of the count)' offi- 
cers now serving. The city members of the board of supervisors are given in 
the following chapter. The county clerk is Henry D. McNaughton ; county 
treasurer, Alexander McVean ; district-attorney, Joseph W. Taylor ; sherifif, 
Francis A. Schceffel ; county judge, John S. Morgan ; special county judge, 
Thomas Raines ; surrogate, Joseph A. Adlington ; superintendent of the j)oor, 
George ¥.. McGonegal ; coroners — Dr. Porter Farley, Daniel A. Sharpc. 

Of the United States officials, the postmaster is Daniel T. Hunt, the col- 
lector of the port is Charles E. Morris and the collector of internal revenue is 
Henrv S. Pierce. 



HisT(»k\- OF THE City uk Rochester. 



CHArTl<:R XXV. 

rill', ( i\ II, I iM'. 

TIk- \illau>- T^l^l^•L•s - Hr- May.., ,— The H..ar.ls ..r Al.ki iirii — -I'lio Cily Ticasiircr-, — Tlic !'.> 
IIll' lu-,lKes— riiL- Cily Sii|i< rvis.ir^— IIk- SlierilT^ — I"1k- C.iuiUy I 'iLrk- — The Cuunly Tix-asui er.-, - 
■n.c Slalc Scnal.iis— riR- .Mciiil .crs ..f Assc-mlily — I'hc Mrml.cis .jf C..ngix's-s. 



T 



W. names of the trustees of the N'illaye, chosen at its uicorporation in 1817, 
have been gi\'en above, and those elected in succeeding years are as foi- 



iSi.S. — • l'"rancis Iirown, Daniel Mack, l^verard I'eck, Isaac Colvin, Ira 
West. Moses Chapin, clerk ; h'rederick h'. Backus, treasurer. 

1.519. — No election was held, the old trustees continuing in office. 

1.520, — Matthew Broun, jr., Moses Chapin, William Cobb, Ciiarles J. Hill. 
I'llish.i Tax-lor. Moses Chapin, clerk ; F. F. Backus, treasurer. 

i.Sji. — M. Brown, jr., Moses Chapin, Warham Whitne}', C. J. Hill, 
Flisha 'I'ax-liir. M. ChajMU, clerk; F. I-'. Backus, treasurer. 

1^22. — M. Brown, jr., jiresident ; R. Bender, C. J. Hill, .S. Melanct.m 
Smith, W. Whitney. H. R. 1-iender, clerk ; V. V. Backus, treasurer. 

1823. — M. Brown, jr., president; Jacob Graves, W. P. Sherman, Abner 
Wakelee, S. M. Smith. Rufus Beach, clerk ; V. F. Backus, treasurer. 

1824. — John W. Strong, president; W. Whitne_\-, Anson Coleman, Jona 
than Packard, Ashbel W. Riley. R. Beach, clerk ; F. F. Backus, treasurer. 

1825. — M. Brown, jr., president; Phelps Smith, P'rederick Starr, William 
Rathbun, Gilbert PIvernghim. R. Beach, clerk ; P^. F. Backus, treasurer. 

1826. — During this year and the ne.xt seven one trustee was elected from 
each of the five wards into which the village had been divided, the wards being 
represented in the order in which the trustees are named, as follows: William 
Brewster, M. Brown, jr. (presitlcnt), Vincent Mathews, John Mastick, Giles 
Boulton. Rufus Beach, clerk; P~. P". Backus, treasurer ; Raphael I^each, collec- 
tor. 

1827. — Frederick Whittlesey, P^zra M. Parsons, Jonathan Child, P21isha 
Johnson (president), A. V. 'P. Leavitt. R. Beach, clerk ; John B. Pllwood, 
treasurer ; Stephen Symonds, collector. 

1828. — Plbenezer Ely, P2. M. Parsons, Plphraim Moore, K. Johnson (presi- 
dent), Nathaniel Rcssiter. P". Whittlesey, clerk ; P". P^. Backus, treasurer ; D. 
D. Hatch, collector. 

1829. — John Haywood, S. S. Alcott, Robert L. McCollum, E. Johnson 
(president), William H. Ward. Hester L. Stevens, clerk ; Seth Saxton, treas- 
urer ; Robert H. Stevens, collector. 

1830. — William Pease, Joseph Medbery (president), Jonathan Child, Adon- 
ijah Green, Harmon Bissell. Samuel L. Selden and Isaac R. P^lwood, clerks ; 
S. Saxton, treasurer ; A. Newton, collector. 



City Civil List. 18 = 



183 I. — Rufus Meech, M. Brown, jr., Jacob Thorn, Harvey Humphrey, N. 
Rossiter (president). A. W. Stovve, clerk; Ebenezer Ely, treasurer; Lester 
Beardslee, collector. 

1832. — S. L. Selden, William Rathbun, J. Thorn (president), Daniel 
Tinker, Orrin E. Gibbs. A. W. Stowe, clerk; Eben. Ely, treasurer; Seth 
Simmons, collector. 

1833. — William E. Lathrop, Eletcher M. HaiLjht (president), E. E. Marsh- 
all, D. Tinker, Nathaniel Draper. I. R. Elwood, clerk ; I^benezer Watts, treas- 
urer ; James Caldwell, collector. That ends the village government, for in 
1834 Rochester was incorporated as a city. 

Mayors. — The first mayor chosen was Jonathan Child. His successors in 
office are as follows: 1835 and 1836, Jacob Gould; 1837, A. M. Schcrmer- 
horn and Thomas Kempshall ; 1838, Elisha Johnson ; 1839, Thomas H. Roch- 
ester; 1840, Samuel G. Andrews; 1841, Elijah V. Smith; 1842, Charles J. 
Hill; 1843, Isaac Hills ; 1844, John ,\llen ; 1845 and 1846, William Pitkin; 
1847, John B. Elwood; 1848, Joseph Eield ; 1849, Levi A. Ward; 1850, 
Samuel Richardson; 185 1, Nicholas E. Paine; 1852, Hamlin Stilwell ; 1853, 
John Williams; 1854, Maltby Strong; 1855, Charles J. Hayden ; 1856, Sam- 
uel G. Andrews; 1857, Rufus Keeler; 1858, Charles H. Clark; 1859, Samuel 
W. D. Moore; i860, Hamlet D. Scrantom ; 1 861, John C. Nash; 1862, Mich- 
ael F"ilon ; 1863, Nehemiah C. Bradstreet; 1864, James Brackett ; 1865, Daniel 
D. T. Moore; 1866, S. W. D. Moore; 1867 and 1868, Henry L. Fish; 1869, 
Edward M. Smith; 1870, John Lutes; 1871, Charles W. Briggs ; 1872-73, 
A. Carter Wilder ; 1 874-75, George G. Clarkson ; 1876-77, 1878-79, 1880- 
81, 1882-83, and 1884-85, Cornelius R. Parsons. 

Aldcniicn. — The following is a list of the members of the common council 
from the incorporation of the city to the present time, the second name given 
after each ward being that of the assistant alderman during the first four years/ 
after which two full aldermen were chosen from each wanl till 1877, when the 
representation was confined to one member : 

1834. — First ward, Lewis Brooks, John Jones; second warti, Thomas 
Kempshall, Elijah F. Smith ; third ward, Frederick F. Backus, Jacob Thorn ; 
fourth ward, A. W. Riley, Lansing B. Swan ; fifth ward, Jacob Graves, Henry 
Kennedy. John C. Nash, clerk. 

1835. — First ward, Hestor L. Stevens, William E. Lathrop; second ward, 
Matthew Brown, Hiram Blanchard ; third ward, James Seymour, Erastus 
Cook ; fourth ward, Joseph HaLsey, Nathaniel Bingham ; fifth ward, I. R. El- 
wood, Butler Bardwell. Ariel Wentworth, clerk. 

1836. — First ward, Alex. S. Alexander, John Haywood; second ward, 
Warham Whitney, Joseph AUeyn ; third ward, Joseph Strong, Jonathan Pack- 
ard ; fourth ward, Manley G. Woodbury, Mitchel Loder ; fifth ward, William 
\\. Ward, David Scoville. P. G. Buchan, clerk. 



1 86 History ok the City of Rochester. 

1837. — I*"irst ward, H. L. Stevens, Kilian H. Van Rensselaer; second ward, 
S. II. I'ack.ird. W. I-iarnm Williams; third ward, Joseph Strong, John Hawks; 
rmirth ward, M. (i. \\'oodl)ur\-, Schuvlcr Moses; fifth ward, L. C. I-"aiilkner, 
Janu's Willianis. J. W. (iilbert, clerk. 

1838. — l-"irst wartl, Abclard Re>-nolds, Stephen Charles: seconil ward, 
John .Allen, Isaac F. .Mack; third ward, Josc])h Strong;, John Hawks; fourth 
ward, I'.lias Pond, Matthew (i. Warner; fifth ward, S.iniuel (i. .Andrews, Orrin 
]■■.. C.ibhs. I. K. I'llwood, clerk. 

18^9. — I'irst- ward, .Abel.ird Reynolds, Stephen Charles; second ward, 
John .Allen, (leor.ije .Arnold; third ward, John C. .Stevens, Iv 1). Smith; fourth 
ward, l-'.lias I'ond, S W. I). .Moore; fifth wanl, S. (',. .Andrews, William Pit- 
kin. '['. 11 Ilainilton anil W. R, Montgomerv, clerks. 

1840. — h'irst ward, Stephen Charles, Henry Witbeck ; second ward, (jeorge 
.Arnold, I. F. Mack; third ward, F.. 1). Smith, Henry Cady ; fourth ward, S. 
W. I). Moore, Porter Ta>-lor; fifih w.ird, 1). R. H.irtoii, Willi,mi J, Southerin. 
W. K. Montgomery, clerk. 

1841. — I'irst ward, Henr\- Witbeck, Johnscin 1. Rubins; second ward, I. F. 
Mack, Lewis Selye ; third ward, llenr\- Cad\-, Joseph Field; fourth w.inl. 
Porter T.iylor, William W. Howell; fifth ward, W. J. Southerin, .Aar.m l-'.rick- 
son. W. R. Moutgomer)', clerk. 

1842. — P'irst waril, |. 1. Robins, ll.niilin .Stilwell ; second ward, Lewis 
Sel>e, Joim Williams; third w.ud, Joseph Field, Henry Canipbell ; f lurth ward, 
W. W. Howell, George H. Henj.unin ; fifih w.ird, .Aaron l-'.rickson, N. H. Nor- 
throp. J. .A. Fastman, clerk. 

1843. — P'irst ward, II. .Stilwell, S. Rich.irtlson ; second ward, J. Williams, 
I,. Selye; third ward, H. C.impbell, i'deazar Conkey ; fourth ward, (J. H. Benja- 
min, Moses 11 .Sew.ird ; fifth \\artl, N. H. Northrop, Joshua Conkev. .A. .S. 
Hcers, clerk. 

1844. — l-'irst ward, S, Richardson, .Mfied ilubbell; second ward, I,. 
Selye, J. Willi.ims ; thirti ward, !{. Conkey, Simon Traver ; fourth w.ird, M. 
H. Seward, Thomas Kem])shall ; I'ifth ward, J. Conke\-, Rufus Kceler. .A. -S. 
Heers, clerk. 

1845. — P'irst wartl, .A. Hubbell, .Abram \'an Slyck ; second ward. Pardon 
1). Wright, Seth C. Jones; thirti waril, S. rra\er, I^verard Peck; fourtli ward, 
'P. I\em])shall, John 11. Habcock ; fifth w.ud, Joseph Cochrane, Jared Newell; 
si.xth \\ard, L. .A. Ward, (ieorge Keeney ; seventh ward, Wm I. ll.mforil, Jer- 
enfi.di I lildreth ; eighth ward, John Hriggs, Fdwin Scrantom ; ninth ward, John 
l-'isk, Charles H. Coleman. Chauncc)' Nash, clerk. 

1846. — P'irst ward, A. Van Slyck, .A. Hubbell; second ward, S. C. Jones, 
Samuel V. Witherspoon ; third ward, E. Peck, Charles Hendri.v ; Fourth ward, 
J. H. Habcock, Theodore R. llamilton; fifth ward, Jared Newell, Henrv I-"o.\ ; 
si.xth ward, Charles L. Pardee, 1.. .\. \\ ani ; seventh ward, J. Hildreth, William 



City Civil List. 187 



G. Russell; eighth ward, E. Scrantom, Samuel W, D. Moore; ninth ward, 
George J. Whitncw t'harles Robinson. Chaunccy Nash and James S. Tryon, 
clerks. 

1847. — ^"i''st ward, .\. Hubbcll, .S. Richardson ; second ward, .S. V. Wither- 
spoon, John Disbrow ; third ward, C. llendri.\, James M. Fish; fourth ward, 
T. B. Hamilton, Josepii Hall; fifth ward, H. Fo.\, Nathan H. Blossom; sixth 
w-ard, L. A. Ward, John Rees ; seventh ward, W. (\. Russell, L. Ward Smith ; 
eighth ward, S. W. D. Moore, Hatfield llalsted; ninth ward, C. Robinson, 
James Gallery. J. .S. Tryon, clerk. 

1848. — I-"irst ward, S. Richardson, H. .Scrantom; second ward, J. Dis- 
brow, li/.vn Junes; third ward, J. M. F'ish, Wm. Churchill; fourth ward, Joseph 
Hall, John L. l-'ish; fifth ward, N, H. Blossom, Isaac Van Kuren; si.xth ward, 
Philander Davis, J. S. Benton; se\-enth ward, L. W. Smith, John Greig; eighth 
ward, H. Halsted, S. W. D. Mciore; ninth ward, J. Gallci-_\-, .Sebastian Zeug. 
H. I.. Winants, clerk. 

1849. — First ward, H. Scrantom, John Dawley; second ward, F2zra Jones, 
S. B. Stoddard; third ward, W'm. Churchill, J. .S. Caldwell; fourth ward, J. L. 
F'ish, G. S. Copeland; fifth ward. 1. Van Kuren, N. B. Northrop; si.xth ward, 
Phil. Davis, Samuel P. Allen; seventh ward, John Greig, George T. F'rost; 
eighth ward, S. W. D. Moore, E. S. Boughton; ninth ward, Sebastian Zeug, 
Peter A. Smith. Newell A. Stone, clerk. 

1850. — First ward, J. Dawle_\-, William 1-". Holmes; second ward, W. H. 
Wait, Martin Briggs; third ward, J. S. Caldwell, L. R. Jerome; fourtii ward, 
G. S. Copeland, T. T. Morse; fifth ward, N. B. Northrop, Joshua Conke}-; 
sixth ward, Phil. Davis, C. A. Jones; se\-enth ward, G. T. k~rost, Hiram Ban- 
ker; eighth ward, E. .S. Boughton, Henr\- L. Fish; ninth ward, Peter A. 
Smith, Henr}" .Suggett. J. N. Drummond, clerk. 

1851. — F'irst ward, Wm. l•^ Holmes, Benjamin M. Baker; second ward. 
Martin Briggs, W. H. Wait; third ward, L. R. Jertjme, Anion Bronson; fourth 
ware], T. T. Morse, Schusder Moses; fifth ward, Joshua Conkey, J. K. Robert- 
son; sixth ward, C. A. Jones, Thomas Parsons; se\'enth ware!, Hiram Banker, 
J. H. Babcock ; eighth ward, H. L. l'"ish, H. Se\-mour ; ninth ward, John l-'isk, 
Lysander Farrar. FL. B. Shepardson, clerk. 

1852. — First ward, B. M. Baker, Wm. 1'. Holmes; second ward, W. H, 
Wait, B. F. Giikeson ; third ward, .\mon Bronson, John M. French ; fourth 
ward, S. Moses, George Shelton ; fifth ward, J. B. Robertson, George B. Red- 
field ; sixth ward, T. Parsons, Michael F"ilon ; seventh ward, J. H. Babcock, 
F^dward M. Smith; eighth ward, H. Seymour, George G. Munger ; ninth 
ward, L. F'arrar, FIdgar Belden. Washington Gibbons, clerk. 

1853. — F'irst ward, W. F. Holmes, Ambrose Cram; second ward, B. F. 
Giikeson, J. C. Marsh ; third ward, J. M. French, Anion Bronson ; fourth 
ward, G. Shelton, J. C. Chumasero ; fifth ward, G. B. Redfield, M. FJouglass ; 

13 



i88 History of thk City ok Rochester. 

sixth ward, M. Filon. Charles II. Clark; seventh ward. K. M. Smith. I'. V. 
Thaxer ; eit^hth ward. ('•. (i Mun,L;er. Daniel D. Lynch; ninth ward, I".. Hel- 
deii, H, SchiitTel ; tenth ward, Tiionias Parsons. W. (iibbuns, clerk. 

iS:;4. — I'ii'st ward, .\, Cr.ini. Ii.linson I. Robins; second ward, J. C. Marsh, 
.\ I Harlow ; third w.ird. .\ i^ronson. William Brcck ; fourth ward, J. C. 
Chum.isero, Cieort,'c Shelton ; fifth ward, M. Douglass,!".. K. Warren ; si.xth 
ward, C. II. Clark, .Michael l-'ilon ; seventh ward, P. P. Thax-er, Stephen 
diaries; eighth ward, D. D. I,_\'nch, William H. Moore; ninth ward, H. 
Sch(eftel, J. Hilton; tenth w.ird, T. Parsons, John Oiiin. W. Gibbons, clerk. 

1S55. — first ward, J. I. Robins, hxlwin Pa n cost ; second ward, .A.J. 
Harlow, Martin Hriggs ; third ward, W, Rreck. Thos. C. Montgomery; 
fourth w.ird, C. Shelt<.n. J. M. W'inslow ; fifth w.u-d, ['.. K. W.irren, M. Doug- 
glass; sixth w.ir.l. .M. l'il.>n, C, II. Ckirk ; seventh w.ird, S. Charles, K. W. 
Sabin : eighth w.u'd, W 11. M.K.re. J,H, Heiinett ; ninth ward, J. Hilton, 
I.onis Bauer; teiuii w.ird, J. Uuin, John V. More)-. W. (iibboiis, clerk. 

1856. — l-'ir-^t w.ird, ['. C. lulgerton, W. .S. Thompson; second ward, M;ir- 
tin Hriggs, (i, W. i'ar-ons; third w.ird. T. C. Montgomery, ,\dol])hus Morse ; 
fairlh w.ud. J. M. Wiii-^h.w, Ji.hn 1'. I..ic>-; fifth waril, M. Dougl.iss, M. .Mc- 
Donald; sixth w.ird, C. II. Clark, (leorgeCi. Cooper; seventh ward, IC W. 
Sabin, Channel)- Perr\- ; eighth ward, J. H. Bennett, H. 1,. Msh ; ninth w.ird, 
I.. B.iuer, Lewis Selve; tenth ward, J. L, .More), C. Dutton. C. X. Simmons, 
clerk. 

1857. — hirst w.ird, W .S. rhom])son, J.icob Howe; second ward, (i. W. 
Parsons, lleman Li»imi^; thii-d w.ird, .\. Morse, .\. (]. Wheeler; fourth w.ird, 
1, T. l.,ie\-, 11. S. jleb.ird; fifth ward, .M. .McDon.ild, P. M. Bromley; si.xth 
w.ird, Ci. (i. Cooper, J. Scliutte ; M.-\-enlh ward, C. Perr_\-, P. Cunningham; 
eighth ward, II. L, h'i-^li, ( )bed .M. Rice; ninth waril, L. Selye, John Lutes; 
tenth ward, C. Dutton, 'I'hom.is Parsons. L'. X. Simmons, clerk. 

183.S. — hirst w.iril, Jacob Howe, W. .Mudgett. jr. ; secontl ward. Hem, in 
Looniis, Ci. W. Perr\- ; third ward, .\. (i. Wheeler, W. .\. Reynolds; fourth 
ward. II. S. llehard. C,. W. Lewis; fifth ward, P. M. Bromley, L. B. Twitch- 
ell; sixth ward, J. .Schutle. 1). W. Perr\- ; se\-enth ward, P. Cunningham, II. 
Billinghurst ; eighth ward, ( ). M. Rice. Henr_\- B. Knapp ; ninth ward. John 
Lutes, L. Sel\-e ; tenth ward, Thomas Parsons, H. S. P'airchild ; ele\-enth w.ird, 
1. W. Philliiis, L. Bauer. C. X. Simmons, clerk. 

1,859. — l-'irst w.ird. W. Miulgett, jr. ; W. P. Holmes; second ward, (i. W. 
Pen-)-, Belli, imin Butler; third w.ird, W. .\. Re\-nolds, William Hollister; 
fourth ward, ('.. W. Lewis, 11. S. Ilebard ; fifth ward, L. B. Twitchell, .X. C. 
l^radstreet ; sixth ward, D. W Perr\-, John C. Xash ; seventh ward, Henry (i. 
Moore, .Aaron h^rickson ; eighth ward, II. B. Knapp, .X. A.Stone; ninth ward. 
L. .Sel\-e, John Lutes; tenth ward, II. .S. Fairchild, G. Shelton; eleventh ward, 
L. Bauer. J. C. .M.ison ; twelfth waril, W. T. dishing, II. Billinghurst. P". S. 
Rew-, clerk. 



City Civil List. 189 



i860. — First ward, W. F. Holmes, James Brackett-; second ward, 11 But- 
ler, U. A. Wo()dbur_\- ; third ward, W. Hollister, ICbeii N. Buell ; foiirlh ward, 
H. S. Hebard, 1. S. Waritii;; fifth ward, N. C. Bradstrect, Alexander Lon;^^- 
muir; si.xth ward, Alonzo Stearns, Gottlieb Goetzman ; seventh ward, A. l'".r- 
ickson, H. G. Moore; eighth ward, X. .\. Stone, Levi Palmer; ninth ward, I. 
Lutes, O. L. Angevine; tenth ward, G. Shelton, hVederick Vose ; eleventh 
ward, J. C. Mason, Christian Schaefier ; twelfth ward, H. Billinghurst, Patrick 
Barry. F. S. Rew, clerk. 

1861. — First ward, J. Brackett, \V. F. Holmes; second ward, D. A. Wood- 
bury, B. Buder; third ward, E. N. Buell, John H. Brewster; fourth ward, I. 
S. Waring, H. S. Hebard; fifth ward. A. Longmuir, N. C. Bradstreet ; si.xth 
ward, G. Goetzman, Charles H. Williams; seventh ward, H. G. Moore, Jason 
W. Seward; eighth ward, L. Palmer, Daniel Warner; ninth ward, (). L. Ange- 
vine, M. C. Mordoff ; tenth ward, F. V^ose, S. B. Raymond ; eleventh ward, C. 
Schaeffer, John Cody; twelfth ward, P. Barry, George N. Hotchkin. N. A. 
Stone, clerk. 

1862. — First ward, W. F. Holmes, Luther C. Spencer; second ward, B. 
Butler, George IJarling ; third ward, J. H. Brewster, E. N. Buell ; fourth ward, 
H. S. Hebard, C. M. St. John; fifth ward, N. C. Bradstreet, P. M. Bromle\' ; 
sixth ward, C. H. Williams, Joseph Hoffman ; seventh ward, J. W. Seward, H. 
G. Moore; eighth ward, IX Warner, H. L. Fish; ninth ward, M. C. Mordoff, 
Horace A. Palmer; tenth ward, S. B. Raymond, Louis I'^rnst ; ele\-enth ward, 
John Cody, G. A. Sidler ; twelfth ward, G. N. Hotchkin, Henry Hebing. C. 
N. Simmons, clerk. 

1863. — First ward, L. C. Spencer, Ambrose Cram; second ward, G. Dar- 
ling, W^illiam C. Rowley; third ward, E. N. Buell, Daniel D. T. Moore; fourth 
ward, C. M. St. John. Wallace Darrow ; fifth ward, P. M. Bromley, E. K. War- 
ren; sixth ward, J. Hoftman, James O'Maley; seventh ward, H. (i. Moore, 
James Upton; eighth ward, H. L. Fish, D. Warner; ninth ward, H. A. Pal- 
mer, M. C. Mordoff; tenth ward, L. F^rnst, Alonzo Chapman ; eleventh ward, 
G. A. Sidler, Thomas M. Flynn ; twelfth ward, H. Hebing, Hamilton McOuat- 
ters. C. N. Simmons, clerk. 

1864. — First ward, A. Cram, L. C. Spencer; second ward, W. C. Row- 
ley, S. A. Hodgeman; third ward, D. D. T. Moore, William H. Groot ; fourth 
ward, W. Darrow, G. S. Copeland ; fifth ward, E. K. Warren, N. C. Brad- 
street; sixth ward, J. O'Maley, Joseph Schutte ; seventh ward, J. Upton, Row- 
land Milliman; eighth ward, D. Warner, H. L. Fish; ninth ward, M. C. Mor- 
doff, H. A. Palmer; tenth ward, A. Chapman, William Wagner ;. eleventh 
ward, T. M. Flynn, G. A. Sidler; twelfth ward, H. McOuatters, H. Hebing; 
thirteenth ward, George P. Draper, Lawrence Sellinger. B. PVank Enos, 
clerk. 

1865. — First ward, L. C. Spencer, A. Cram; second ward, Joseph Oual- 



1 



igO HiSTORV OF THE CiTY OF ROCHESTER. 

tn>u;4h, Gcnroc K. Harris; tliird ward, W. II. Cirdnt, William I loUistcr ; fourth 
ward, (i. S. C.'opcland, Stcplicii Kcminytoii; hftli w.iid, Martin Ht-bcrLjcr, \i. 
K. W'.irrcii ; si.xth wai'd, J. .Schiittc, Joscpli Bcir; seventh wai'd, R. Alilhman, 
WiUiani H (iiirslinc; ci-hth ward, U. L. I'"ish, (icorL^c TaNdur ; ninth ward, 
U A. I'.ihiur, W, 1). Calhstcr; tenth w.ird, W. W, turner, John (Juin ; ele\'cnth 
ward, Ci. A. .Sitllcr, T. M. I'd\-nn ; tweh'tli ward. If. Hcbing, H. McUuatters ; 
thirteenth ward, L. .SeUin^^er, (i. 1'. Hr.ipcr. W. V. Imios, clerk. 

1866. — I'irst waril, .A. Cram, I,. L. Spencer; secunti wan.l, (i. ]'>. Harris, 
J. Oualtrminh ; third waril, W. Ilcillister, W. H. (irnrit; fourth w,ird, S. Rem- 
ington, John (ir.iham; tifth warii, I-',. K. W'.u-reii, William (niggcnhcim ; sixth 
ward, j. l-ieir, Herman Mutscliler; seventh ward, W. II. ( iursline, David Cope- 
land ; eighth ward, ( leorge Taylor, M. M. Hrow n ; ninth w.ud, W. D. Callister, 
James H. Kelly; tenth ward, J. (Juin, Cvrus ]•". I'aine ; ele\enth ward, T, M. 
]<dynn, V. Adelman ; twelfth w.ird, 11. iMcOuatters, H. Ilorcheler; thirteenth 
ward, Ci. 1'. Draper, John Mauder; fuirteeilth ward, II. .S. Hogoboom. B. !■'. 
Hnos, clerk. 

1867. — h'irst ward, I.. C. Spencer, .\. L'ram ; second waril, J. Ou.dtrough, 
J. Lutes; third ward. W. II. (iroot, I'^zra R. .Andrews; fourth ward, J. (iraham, 
S. Remington; fifth w.ird. W. tiuggenheim, William Carroll; sixth wartl, II. 
Mutscliler, Lodowick I'. Relyea ; seventh ward, I ). Copeland, William Ratt ; 
eighth ward, M. M. Hrown,Ci Ta\lor ; ninth ward, J. II. Kcll_\-, Patrick Burke ; 
tenth ward, C. V. I'aine, .S R. Woodriifl'; ele\'enth ward, 1*". Adelman, Robert 
R. Charters; twelfth wan.1, B. Ilorcheler, .\. Bingeiiier ; thirteenth ward, J. 
Mauder, Henry Miller; fourteenth w.ird, Cornelius R. I'.u'soiis, J. (Juin. B. I'. 
l'".nos, clerk. 

1868. — k'irst w.u'd, A. Cram, .\. (i. Whitcomb; second ward, J. Lutes, J. 
Oualtrough ; third waid, L. R. .Andrews, H. I-',. Rochester; fiurth ward, S. 
Remington, (i. W. Crouch ; lil'th ward, W. Carroll, James Cochrane ; sixth ward, 
L. F. Rehea, William Side\- ; seventh w.ird, W. Ratt, C. A. Jeffords; eighth 
ward, (i. Tayloi', I'atrick Caufield ; ninth ward, P. Burke, W. S. Thompson; 
tenth ward, S. R. Woodruff, Llijah Withall ; ele\enth w<ird, R. R. Charters, J. 1'. 
Roche; twelfth w.ird, .A. Bingenier, I'". .S. Stebbins ; thirteenth ward, H. Miller, 
John Mauder; fourteenth ward, J. (Juin, C. R. {'arsons. R. H. Schoole}', 
clerk. 

1869. — l"'irst ward, A. C.. Whitcomb, (_'. W. Briggs ; second ward, J. (Jual- 
trough, John liarker ; third ward, H. V.. Rochester, L. R. Andrews; fourth 
ward, Ci. W. Crouch, .S. Remington; fifth ward, J. Cochrane, William Caring; 
si.xth ward, W. F. Morrison, L. V. Rel_\'ea ; seventh wartl, C. A. Jeffords, Philip 
J. Meyer; eighth ward, 1'. Caufield, Henr_\- H. Craig; ninth ward, W. S.Thomp- 
son, John H. Wilson ; tenth ward, Iv Withall, S. R.' Woodruff; eleventh ward, 
J. P. Roche, Jacob (jerling; twelfth ward, F. S. Stebbins, Edward Dagge ; thir- 
teenth ward, J. Mauder John Nagle ; fourteenth ward, C. R. Parsons, William 
Aikenhead. R. H. Schooley, clerk. 



City Civil List. 191 



icSjo. — I'"irst ward, C. W. Hrigi;s, A. (i. W'hitconib ; second ward, J. Bar- 
ker, (icorge Wait ; third ward, K. R. Andrews, II. T. Rugcrs ; fmirth ward, S. 
Remington, George Herzberger; fiftli ward, W. Caring, M. M. Smith; si.xth 
ward, L. F. Relyea, G. W. Connolly; seventh ward, P. J. Meyer, E. A. (jlover ; 
eighth ward, H. H. Craig, N. A. Stone; ninth ward, J. H. Wilson, J. H. Kelly; 
tenth ward, S. R. Woodrufif, W. Mandeville ; eleventh ward, J. Gerling, R. R. 
Charters; twelfth ward, 1'^. Dagge, F. S. Stebbins; thirteenth ward, J. Nagle, 
J. Mauder; fourteenth ward, W. Aikenhead, C. R. Parsons. Wm. F. Morri- 
son, clerk. 

1 87 1. — First wartl, A. (i. Whitcomb, George W. Aldridge ; second ward, 
G. Wait, R. K. (lould ; third ward, H. T. Rogers, Charles F. Pond ; fourth ward, 
G. Herzberger, Michael Heavey ; fifth ward, Owen F. Fee, W. Caring; sixth 
ward, G. W. Connolly, Abram Stern ; seventh ward, K. A. Glover, Robert Y. 
McConnell ; eighth ward, N. A. Stone, H. H. Craig; ninth ward, J. H. Kelly, 
L. Selye ; tenth ward, Wesley Mandeville, John Stape ; eleventh ward, R. R. 
Charters, J. Gerling; twelfth ward, F. S. Stebbins, Valentine V. Whitmore ; 
thirteenth ward, J. Mauder, Frederick Stade ; fourteenth ward, C. R. Parsons, 
W. Aikenhead. W. ¥. Morrison, clerk. 

1872. — First ward, G. W. Aldridge, John Cowles ; second ward, R. K. 
Gould, James O. Howard ; third ward, C. V. Pond, H. T. Rogers; fourth ward, 
M. Heavey, John Gorton ; fifth ward, W. Caring, O. V. Fee ; si.xth ward, A. 
Stern, G. W. Connolly; seventh ward, R. Y. McConnell, Charles C. Meyer; 
eighth ward, H. H. Craig, W. W. Croft; ninth ward, L. Selye, J. H. Kelly; 
tenth ward, J. Stape, J. H. Nellis ; eleventh ward, J. Gerling, Thomas Mitchell ; 
twelfth ward, V. F. Whitmore, E. H. C. Griffin ; thirteenth ward, F. Stade, J. 
Mauder ; fourteenth ward, W. Aikenhead, J. Philip Farber. W. F. Morrison, 
clerk. 

1873. — First ward. J. Cowles, G. W. Aldridge; second ward, J. O. How- 
ard, A. H. Cushman ; third ward, H. T. Rogers, John McMuIlen ; fourth ward, 
J. Gorton, G. Herzberger; fifth ward, O. F. Fee, Henry Brinker ; si.xth ward, 
G. W. Connolly, A. Stern ; seventh ward ; C. C. Meyer, W. G. Anthonj- ; 
eighth ward, W. W. Croft, D. M. Anthony ; ninth ward, J. H. Kelly, William 
Shelp ; tenth ward, J. H. Nellis, John Bower; eleventh ward, T. Mitchell, 
George Pleckenstein ; twelfth ward, E. H. C. (iriffin, V. F. Whitmore ; thir- 
teenth ward, J. Mauder, J. Margrander ; fourteenth ward, J. P. Farber, F. S. 
Skuse. W. ¥. Morrison, clerk. 

1874. — First ward, G. W. Aldridge, William H. Tracy; second ward, 
A. H. Cushman, J. O. Howard; third ward, J. McMullen, George D. Lord; 
fourth ward, G. Herzberger, Wm. Whitelock ; fifth ward, H. Brinker, Charles 
P. Bromley ; sixth ward, A. Stern, William N. Emerson ; seventh ward, W. G. 
Anthony, C. R. Parsons ; eighth ward, D. M. Anthony, N. A. Stone ; ninth 
ward, W. Shelp, James E. Booth ; tenth ward, J. Bovver, Walter Weldon ; elev- 



IQ2 History of the City ok Rociif:ster. 



L-ntli ward, (".. Mcckciistcin. M. J. MaliLT : twelfth uanl, \'. I-", Whitniorc, li. 1". 
Thomas; tliirtccnth ward, j. Mai'L;randcr, J. Maudcr ; inurtccntli w.ird, !•". S. 
Skusc, Louis ]'. Heck; tifteeiitli w.ird, Aiithoin- H, Maitin, James (iorsHne; 
sixteenth ward, M. II. Alerriman, S, Dubelbeiss. \\\ I"". Morrison, clerk. 

[S75. — I-'irst ward, W. 11. Tracw ('.. \V. AklridLje ; second ward, J. O. 
Howard, Andrew Naijle ; third ward, (j. 1.). Lord, lJa\id H. Westbmw ; fourth 
ward, W. Whitelock, A. G. Whitcomb ; fifth ward, C. P. Bromley, H. Brinker; 
sixth ward, Simon Hays, W. N. F^merson, F. H. Smith (to fill vacancy) ; sev- 
enth ward, C. R. Parsons, 1*". S. Hunn ; eighth ward, X. A. Stone, J. W. \hir- 
tin ; ninth ward, J. L. Booth, J. 11. Kell_\- ; tenth ward, W. Weklon, Ktlwin 
HuntinL;ton ; ele\'enth ward.M. J. Maher, (i. I'deckenstein ; twelfth w.ird, B. h". 
Thomas, John Mc(iraw, :?d ; thirteenth ward, J. Mauder, Jacolj XunnoKl ; four- 
teenth w.ird, L. P. ]>eck, W'm. S. Smith; fifteentli ward, A. II. Martin, J. P. 
Rickard ; sixteenth w.ird, j. (ieor^e Baetzel, Win. \: BueH. W. 1'". Morrison, 
clerk. 

1876. — I'irst w.ird, (i. W. Akli'idye, \V. JL Trac_\' ; second wartl, Andrew 
Nai,de, John M. Brown; third ward. 1). H. W'estbury, Thomas Peart; fourth 
ward, A. (1 Whitcomb, Nathan P.ilmer; fifth waril, II. Brinker, P'rederick Mor- 
hardt ; sixth ward, .S. ILiys, Willis (,'. Hadley ; seventh ward, h'rancis S. Hunn, 
G. A. Redni.m ; eighth w.irtl, John W. Martin, A. 11. Bennett; ninth ward, J. 
H. Kelly, P.. B. Chace ; tenth ward, W. Weklon, I'.dwin Huntington; eleventh 
ward, G. Fleckenstein, John l^ra^'er ; twelfth wartl, J. McCiraw, 2d, Benj. F. 
Thomas; tliirteenth ward, J. Nunnokl, I''. C Lauer, jr.; fourteentli ward, W. S. 
Smith, L. P. l-!eck ; fifteenth ward, >\. H. Martin, J. P. Rickard ; sixteenth ward, 
J. Geo. Baet/.el, Charles Plilbei't. I'",dward Angevine, clerk. 

1.S77. — I'"irst ward, W. H. Trac_\- ; second ward, Michael H. I~itz,Simons ; 
third w.ird, T. C. Montgomer_\' ; fourth warel, G. Herzberger; fifth ward, V.. 
K. Warren; sixth ward, S. Hays; seventh ward, (i. ,\. Redman; eighth w.ird, 
J. W. Martin; ninth ward, \i. B. Chace; tenth ward, L. Huntington; eleventh 
w.ird, Nicholas Kase ; twelfth ward, John Donivan; thirteenth w.inl, P'retf C. 
Lauer, jr. ; fourteenth waril, W. S. Smith; fifteenth ward, J. Miller Kell}' ; 
sixteenth w.irtl, J. G. l^aetzel. Pxlward Angevine, clerk. 

I.S7,S. — First ward, W. H. Trac\- ; second ward, M. IP P'itzSimons; third 
ward, T. C. Montgomer)' ; fourth w.ird, G. Herzberger ; fifth ward, 1'.. K. 
\\'arren ; sixth ward, S. Ha\'s ; se\enth ward, Charles T. Crouch; eighth w.irLl, 
J. W. Martin; ninth warti, P".. B. Chace; tenth ward, P-. Huntington; eleventh 
ward, Rudol})h \'ay ; twelfth ward, John ])oni\an; thirteenth ward, Lewis 
P^delman ; fourteenth ward, W. S. Smith ; fifteenth ward, Joseph W. Knobles ; 
sixteenth ward, J. Ci. l^aetzel. lulward Angevine, clerk. 

1.S79. — P'irst ward, W. IP Tracy; second ward, M. H. P"itzSimons ; third 
ward, I). H. Westbury ; fourth ward, L. M. Otis; fifth ward, E. K. Warren; 
sixth ward, Henr)- Hebing; seventh ward, C. T. Crouch; eighth ward, Geo. 



City Civil List. 193 



Chambers; ninth ward, K. B. Chacc ; tenth ward, W. Mandeville ; eleventh 
ward, R. \'a)- ; twelfth ward, Philip Wickcns ; thirteenth ward, Lewis Edcl- 
nian ; fourteenth ward, D. G. Weaver; fifteenth ward. J, W. Knobles ; six- 
teenth ward, J. J. Hart. Edward Angevine, clerk. 

1880. — First ward, W. H. Trac\'; second ward, M. H. FitzSimons; third ward, 
D. H. We.stbury; fourth ward, L. M. (Itis ; fifth ward, ()wen F. Fee; si.xth 
ward, Ifenry Hebing ; seventh ward, Ira L. Otis; eighth ward, Geo. Chambers; 
ninth ward, S. D. Walbridge ; tenth ward, \V. Mandeville; eleventh ward, 
John A. Felsinger; twelfth ward, P. Wickens ; thirteenth ward, Lewis Edel- 
man ; fourteenth ward. D. G. Weaver; fifteenth ward, J. M. Kelly; sixteenth 
ward, J. J. Mart. Lucius M. Mandeville, clerk. 

1 88 1 — W. H. Tracy; second ward, Martin Harron ; third ward, D. II. 
Westbur)' ; fourth ward, H. S. Ransom ; fifth ward, U. V. Fee : sixth war<J, 
A. Stern; se\-enth ward, I, L. Otis; eighth ward, G. Chambers; ninth ward, 
S. D. Walbridge; tenth ward, J. M. Pitkin; eleventh ward, J. A. Felsinger; 
twelfth ward, Henry Rice ; thirteenth ward, L. Edelman ; fourteenth wai-tl, W. 
Aikenhead ; fifteenth ward, J. M. Kelly; sixteenth ward, J. |. Hart. J. T. 
McMannis, clerk. 

I 882. — First ward, Alphonso Collins ; second ward, M. Harron ; third ward, 
Amon Bronson ; fourth ward, H. S. Ransom; fifth ward; George W. Archer; 
sixth ward, A. Stern; seventh ward, C. A. Jeftbrds; eighth ward, G. Cham- 
bers ; ninth ward, James A. Hinds; tenth ward, J. M. Pitkin; ele\-enth ward, 
J. A. P"elsinger ; twelfth ward, H. Rice; thirteenth ward, James T. Southard; 
fourteenth ward, W. Aikenhead ; fifteenth ward, J. M. Kelly ; sixteenth ward, 
J. J. Hart. Frank N. Lord, clerk. 

1883. — P'irst ward, A. Collins; second ward, M. Barron; third ward, A. 
Bronson; fourth ward, Charles Watson; fifth ward, (.1. W". Archer; sixth 
wartl, Elias Strouss ; seventh ward, C. A. Jettbrils ; eighth ward, John H. Fole)- ; 
ninth ward, J. A. Hinds; tenth ward, J. M. Pitkin ; eleventh ward, J. A. Fel- 
singer; twelfth ward, H. Rice; thirteenth ward, J. T. Southard; fourteenth 
ward, J. M. Aikenhead ; fifteenth ward, J. M. Kelly ; si.xteenth wartl, John B. 
Sinimelink. F. N. Lord, clerk. 

Ci/y Treasurers. — The following are the names of the cit)- treasurers, in 
order: 1834, E. F. Marshall; 1835, Theodore Sedgwick; 1836, lu-asmus D. 
Smith; 1837, W. PI Lathroji ; 1 838, E. P\ Marshall ; 1839-40-41-42, Eben 
•N. Buel'l; 1843-44, James M, Fish ; 1845-46, Hiram Wright ; 1847, Matthew 
G. Warner; 1848, Clarence H. Sweet; 1849-50, Elbert W. Scrantom ; 1851- 
52-53-54, Charles M. St. John ; 1855-56, P.M.Bromley; 1857-58, Abram 
Karnes; 1 859-60, William E. Lathrop ; I 86 1-62, Thomas Hawks ; 1863-64, 
Christopher T. Amsden ; 1865-66-67-68-69-70, Harvey P. Langworthy ; 
1871-72-73-74, John Williams; 1875-76-77-78-79-80, George D. Williams ; 
1880-81-82-83-84, Ambrose McGIachlin. 



History of the City of Rochester. 



Police Justices. — The fdllowini^f-namcd have presided over the crimuial 
Court for the trial of minor oftenses : Sidney Smith, from June, 1834, to June, 
1.S56; Ariel Wentworth, from 1S36 to 1 .S40, and from 1 S44 to 1848; Matthew 
("i. Warner, 184010 1844; S. W. 1). Moore, 1 848 to iS^rj; Hutler ]-!ardwell, 
185610 1860; John We-man, 1860 to 1865; l-;. W. Hryan, 1863 to 1873; 
A. (i. Wheeler, 1873 to 1877, and l8,Si to the present time ; (ieori^e Trues- 
dale, 1877 to 1881^ 

Supervisors. — The foHowiiiL; are the names of the snperxisoi's from the 
eitv of Rochester in each ye.ir, those serNiny duiiiii; the first two years beini; 
elected from the city at laiL^e, after which an amendment to the charter .lUowed 
a supei"\isor to be chosen in each w.ird : — 

1834. — iM'asmus \). Smith, A M. Schermerhoin, Horace Hoi>ker. 

1S35.— J,,seph Medberv", Charles J. Hill, Jared Xewell. 

1836. — First w.ud, Ahiltby Strong,'; second ward, Joseph Medbery ; third 
wai'd, Thomas H, Rochester; fourth wartl, Mlisha Johnson ; fifth w.irtl, I'disha 
W Strono. 

1837. — j-'irst Wai'd, Lyman ]>. L.tni^w oi'thx' ; second ward, John Williams; 
tliird w.ird, ■]' II, Rochester; foiiith w.u'd, James \\ (ire;;or_\; fifth waril, 
J a ret! Newell, 

18^8. — hirst ward, Thomas J, Patterson; second wartl, l-.lijah 1-", Smith; 
third ward, V.. 1), Smith; fourth wai'd, Thomas Kempsh, ill ; tilth ward, Horace 
ll(H,ker, 

1839. — I-'irst ward, Alfred Iluhbell; secoiul ward, \\ F. Smith; third 
ward, I'A-erartl Teck ; fourth ward, J, W, Smith; fifth wai'd, Levi /\. Ward. 

1840 — I-'irstward, A. llubbell; second ward, Seth C.Jones; third ward, 
James AT lM-,h ; foiiith ward, Willi. im Criffitli ; fifth wartl, L. A. Ward. 

1 84 I . — h'irst ward, Tde.izar Con key ; second ward, John Allen ; third ward, 
J. AT h'i^h ; fourth ward, John Hawks; lifth ward, Rufus Keeler. 

184J. — Fii'st ward, ]{. Conkex' ; secoiul waril, J. Allen; third ward, J. I\T 
l-'ish : tourth ward, Asahel S, ]5eei's ; fifth wartl, R. Keeler. 

1843. — T'irst \\ ard, .S.imiu'l H, l)ewe_\-; second ward, William liuell ; third 
w.iril, Simon 'Tra\ei' ; fmrth ward, .Schuyler Moses; tifth ward, Teter W. 
Jenniiii^s. 

1844. — hirst ward, John Haywtiod; second ward, William W. Alcott; 
third ward, Henry Cady ; fourth w;u'd, Robert I lai_L;ht ; fifth ward, V.. H. 
Stroni;'. 

1845. — T'our new wards were added to the cit\' in this year, but the cit\''s 
representation in the boaril of super\'isors was not increasetl till l853,the divis- 
ion beini;' for ei;^ht years b)- districts, as follows: T'irst ward, Anibrose Cram; 
second and ninth wards, (Teori;e IT Miiniford; third and eighth wards, \\. F. 
Sniith ; fourth anti se\enth w ards, ATitthew d. Warner ; fifth and si.xth wards, 
P. W. Jenninij-s, 



City Civil List. 195 



1846. — First ward, John Hax'wootl ; second and nintli wards, G. H. Alum- 
ford; third and eighth wards, .Samuel Miller; fourth and seventh wards, John 
Miller; fifth and sixth wards, William B. Alexander. 

1847. — First ward, Johnson I. Robins; second and ninth wards, Joel W 
Milliner; third and eigluh wards, Zina H. Benjamin ; fourth and sexenth wards, 
John Miller; fifth and sixth wards, David R. Barton. 

1848. — First ward, John Ha_\-wood ; second and ninth wards, J. P. Mil- 
liner ; third and eighth wards, William H. Cheney ; fourth and se\enth wards, 
Thomas B. Husband ; fifth and sixth wards, Philander G. Tobey. 

1849. — First ward, John Haywood; second and ninth wards, John Crom- 
bie ; third and eighth wards, E. F. Smith; fourth and seventh wards, T. B. 
Husband ; fifth and sixth wards, Harvey Humphre\-. 

1850. — First ward, Lansing B. Swan; second and ninth wards, J. Crom- 
bie ; third and eightli wards, James Chappell ; fourth and seventh wards, M. G. 
Warner; fifth and sixth wards, Mitchel Loder. 

1851. — First ward, George Gould; second anil ninth wards, J. Crombie ; 
third antl eighth wards, C. J. Hill ; fourtli and seventh wards, James C. Camp- 
bell ; fifth and sixth wards, AF Loder. 

1852. — First ward, John Whitney; second, Lewis Selj'e ; third, Nathaniel 
T. Rochester; fourth, Simon L. Brewster; fifth, Joshua Conke}- ; sixth, Rob- 
ert Syme ; seventh, William I. Hanford ; eighth, Zina H. Benjamin; ninth, W, 
Barron Williams; tenth, eleventh and twelfth, Hubbard W, Jones. 

1853. — First ward, Abram Karnes; second, Ezra Jones; third, C. J. Hill ; 
fourth, Alonzo K. Amsden ; fifth, J. Conkey ; sixth, R. Syme; seventh, John 
Rigney ; eighth, Asa B. Hall; ninth, Daniel Gatens ; tenth, ele\'enth and 
twelfth, George Peck. 

1854. — First ward, Thomas Kempshall ; second, William E. Lathrop ; 
third, Samuel Miller; fourth, y\lvah Strong; fifth, J. Conkey; sixth, R. Syme ; 
se\enth, John H. Babcock ; eighth, Henr\- L. Fish ; ninth, James C. Cochrane; 
tenth, eleventh and twelfth, Wm. H. Alexander. 

1855. — First ward, Henr\- Churchill ; second, George Arnold ; third, C. J. 
Hill; fourth, Harvey Prindle ; fifth, I'hilander G. Tobey; sixth, Hiram Davis; 
seventh, J. H. Babcock; eighth, Henr_\- B. Knapp; ninth, Lysander Farrar ; 
tenth, eleventh and twelfth, James L. Angle. 

1856. — First ward, John Ha)-wood ; second, George Arnold; third, J. 
Crombie; fourth, Edward Roggen ; fifth, N. C. Bradstreet ; sixth, H. Davis ; 
seventh, Aaron Erickson ; eighth, William Cook; ninth, D. Gatens; tenth, 
eleventh and twelfth, David Wagner. 

1857. — First ward, W'ilham S. Thompson; second. John H. Thompson; 
third, William Churchill ; fourth, Hiram Smith ; fifth, J. Rigne_\- ; sixth, Robert 
R. Harris; seventh, Jarvis M. Hatch ; eighth, Sidney Church ; ninth, D. Gatens; 
tenth, eleventh and twelfth, D. Wagner. 



196 History of the City of Rochester. 

1858. — First ward, W. S. Thompson ; second, Hamlet D. Scrantom ; third, 
W. Churchill; fourth, James McMannis; fifth, William R. Giffortl ; sixth, J(jhn 
('.. Wayner; sc\enth. Alex. W. Miller; ei-hth, S. W. 1). Moore; ninth, l-"nm- 
cis Brouii ; tenth antl twelfth, H. W. Jones; eleventh, Charles Wilson. 

1859. — First waid, Henj. M. Baker; second, H. D. Scrantom; third, 
i\mon ]5ronson ; f<.)urtli, ( )cta\ius 1'. Chamberlain; fifth, Wm, W. Hrufi"; sixth, 
Geori^e C. Maurer; se\enth, M. C, Warner; eighth, Joel ll Bennett; ninth, (). 
L. Anyevine; tenth, II W Jones; ele\-enth, h'rancis A. Adelman ; twelfth, 
I'hilip J. Me_\'er. 

i860. — h'irst waril, H. M. Baker; second, J. H. Thonipson ; thirti, A. Bron- 
son ; fourth. William .McCarth\- ; fifth, William Carroll; sixth, I'Aan F\'ans ; 
seventh, Fdward AL .Smith ; eighth, Benj.imin Mcl-"arlin ; ninth, Thomas C. 
(iilman ; tenth, Louis l''.rnst ; ele\-enth, Jacob Waldele ; twelfth, L_\-man Mun- 
ger. 

1861. — I'irst ward, I lamlin Stilwell ; second, Samuel M. Hildreth ; thiril, 
A. Bronson ; fourth, Wm. H. l^urtis ; fifth, W. Carroll; -,ixth, William Shep- 
herd; se\'enth, \i. AL Snfith ; eighth, II McFarliii ; ninth, T. C. Cilman ; tenth, 
Daniel B. Loder ; eleventh, Augustus I laungs ; twelfth, Alex. McWhorter. 

1862. — I-'irst ward, 11. Stilwell ; second, Wm. C. Rowley ; third, A. Ikon- 
son ; fourth, (jeorge N. Deming ; fifth, Patrick J. Dowling; sixth, William 
Side}-; seventh, F2dwin Ta_\-|or ; eighth, B. McFarlin ; ninth, lohn II. Wilson; 
tenth, Henr)- Suggett : ele\-enth, .A. H.iungs; twelfth, Patrick Barr_\-. 

1863. — i-~irst \\ar<l, II, .Stilwell: second, F/.ra Jones; third, .\. Bronson; 
fourth, Cr. S. Copeland : fifth, Patrick Conoll}- : sixth, W. Sidey ; seventh, K. 
Ta)'lor ; eighth, B. McFarlin ; ninth, L. Seh'C ; tenth, 1.). Wagner; eleventh, 
I'rederick Zimmer: twelfth, James L. .Angle; thirteenth, John Seeder. 

1864. — l-'ii'st warti, Dudley D. i'almer; second, Fzra [ones; third, A. 
l^ronson ; fourth, H. S. Redfield ; fifth, P. Conoll\- ; sixth, Chas. II. Williams; 
seventh, B)-ron M. Hanks; eighth, B. McP'arlin ; ninth, Wm, J, .Sheridan; 
tenth, De Witt C. Ellis: ele\enth, J, W. Phillips; twelfth, P. Barr_\- ; thirteenth. 
Philander Davis. 

i,S65. — I-"irst ward, H. .Stilwell; second Ezra Jones; thirti, A. Bronson; 
ftnirth, W. \'. K. Lansing; fifth, P. Conoll}- ; sixth, C. H. Williams; se\'enth, 
D. B. Beach; eighth, S. Lewis; ninth, L. Selye : tenth, A. H. Billings; elev- 
enth, Louis Bauer; twelfth, Alex McWhorter; thirteenth. Christian Widman ; 
fourteenth, Samuel S. Partridge. 

1866. — P'irst ward, Henr_\- Churchill ; second, P>,ra Jones; third, .\. Bron- 
son; fourth, U.S. Redfield; fifth, P. Conolly ; sixth, C. H. Williams ; seventh, 
F. De W.Clarke: eighth, S. Lewis; ninth, L. Selye; tenth, A. II. Billings; 
eleventh, Chas. S. Baker; twelfth. A. .McWhorter; thirteenth, C. Widman ; 
fourteenth, S. .S. Partridge. 

1867. — P'irst ward, Joseph Curtis ; second, George .Arnold ; thiitl, .A. Bron- 



City Civil List. 197 



son; fourth, W'm. S. Kimball ; fifth, F. Conolly : sixth, Joseph Schutte ; seventh, 
J. VV. Seward; eighth, Daniel Warner ; ninth, I.. Sel\-e : tenth, George Hreck : 
eleventh, L. Bauer: twelfth, George V. Schaffer ; thirteenth, C. Widman : foui- 
teenth, John Stewart. 

1868. — First ward, Charles H. Stilwell : second, John Barker: third, Thos. 
C. Montgomer)' ; fourth, J. C. Campbell: fifth, P. Conolly: sixth, J. Schutte; 
seventh, Porter W. Taylor: eighth, D. Warner; ninth, M. S. P'airchild ; tenth, 
Isaiah F. Force; eleventh, L. Bauer; twelfth, George Plllwanger : thirteenth, 
George P. Davis ; fourteenth, J. Stewart 

1869. — P'irst ward, H. Churchill; second, Thomas T. Sprague ; third, T. C. 
Montgomer\- : fourth, James Kane, sr. ; fifth, William Guggenheim; sixth, 
Ouincy Van Voorhis : seventh, P. W. Taylor; eighth, M. J. Glenn ; ninth, C. 
S. Baker; tenth, D. C. Ellis; ele\enth, Thomas M. Flynn ; twelfth, Joseph L. 
Luckey ; thirteenth, Henr_\- S. Brown; fourteenth, J. Stewart. 

1870. — First ward, H. Churchill; second, G. Arnold; third. T. C. Mont- 
gomery ; fourth, J. Kane, sr. : fifth, Michael Kolb ; sixth, Q. Van Voorhis ; sev- 
enth, P. W. Ta)-lor ; eighth, B. McFarlin : ninth, C. S. Baker ; tenth, D. C. Ellis ; 
eleventh, T. M. El}-nn : twelfth, J. L Luckey ; thirteenth, PVederick Loebs ; 
fourteenth, J. Stewart. 

1871. — First ward. L, A Pratt ; second, T. T. Sprague ; third, T. C. Mont- 
gomery ; fourth, Lyman M. Otis; fifth, W. W. Brufif; sixth, Q. Van Voorhis; 
seventh, Frank N. Lord ; eighth, Charles P. Achilles ; ninth, Addison N. Whit- 
ing ; tenth, D. C. Ellis ; eleventh, Thomas Mitchell ; twelfth, John W. Deuel ; 
thirteenth, F. Loebs ; fourteenth, Richard H. Warfield. 

1872. — First ward, Alonzo G. Whitcomb ; second, Charles A. Pool ; third, 
James L. Brewster ; (appointed by council in place of Wm. Carson, deceased); 
fourth, Ro}al L. Mack ; fifth, George J. Knapp ; sixth, Francis Boor ; seventh, 
George F. Loder ; eighth, Nicholas Brayer ; ninth, William C. Stone ; tenth, 
I. F. Force : eleventh, Geo. B. Swikehard ; twelfth, Henr\- Bender ; thirteenth, 
C. Widman ; fourteenth, Abram Boss. 

1873. — First ward, Frank W. Embr}- ; second, C. A. Pool; third, Henry 
E. Rochester; fourth, John B. Hahn ; fifth, Heman S. Brewer; sixth, V. Boor; 
seventh, G. ¥. Loder ; eighth, Wm. F. Parr\- ; ninth, Thomas McMillan ; tenth, 
Bernard Haag; eleventh, Jacob Gerling; twelfth, William C. Barry ; thirteenth, 
Frederick C. Lauer, jr. : fourteenth, Chas. F. Hetzel. 

1874. — First ward, Wm. F. Holmes; second, Ansel A. Cornwall: third, 
H. E. Rochester; fourth, J. B. Hahn; fifth, John Dufner: sixth, F. Boor; sev- 
enth, Chas. H. Webb ; eighth, B. McFarlin ; ninth, Frederick Miller (appointed 
in place of Horace W. Jewett, resigned) ; tenth, Douglass Hovey ; eleventh, 
J. Gerling ; twelfth, Nicholas Cutberlet ; thirteenth, John Nothaker; fourteenth, 
Wm. H. Dake ; fifteenth, John C. O'Brien ; sixteenth, Henry E. Boardman 
(last two appointed b}' common council). 



igS History of the City of Rochester. 



1S75. — I'irst wanl. L, A. rr.itt ; sccoiul, C. A. P(i<il; thinl, II I'. Ri.ch- 
cstcr: f"..nrth, tK-iir\ S. licbanl; fifth, J. Dut'ncr; sixth, Wilhs C'. Hadlcy ; 
seventh, r. H WVbb: cii^hth, B. Mcl-'arh'n ; ninth, Iv MiHcr; tenth, Daniel 
Li.)\\rey ; ele\entli, J, deiiiiiL;: twelfth, Ge' >r^re \' .Schaft'er ; thirteentli, l'"rank 
X. Bradler; fourteenth, W. H, Dake ; tifteentii, Henry Khnk-hamnier ; si.x- 
teenth, (iciirt^e J. I-'arber. 

1876. — ['"irst ward, L. A. Pratt ; second, James Day ; third, Chas. F. \\n-n\ ; 
fourth, James H Hayden ; fifth, Charles luiylert ; sixtii, Samuel Rosenblatt ; 
se\-enth, C. H. W' ebb ; eighth, William Wright; ninth, Cicorge W. Jacobs; tenth, 
Daniel Lowrey : eleventh, Jiihn (ireenwood ; twelftii, (i. V, Schatifer ; thir- 
teenth, (.)laf Oswald ; fourteenth, W. H, Dake; fifteenth, H, Klinkhammer; 
sixteenth, Ilenry l-i. McCionegal 

1877. — I'"irst ward, L. ,\. I'ratt ; second, Hiomas Pr_\di- ; thiid, C F. 
Pond; fourth, J, K. Ha_\den ; fifth, C. I'lnglert ; sixth, William .S. p'alls ; 
seventh, C. H. Webb; eighth, W. Wright; ninth, G. W. Jacobs; tenth, I'lthan 
A. Chase (appointed in [ilace of .\. N. Whiting, tleceased) ; eleventh, Thomas 
McAnarney; twelfth, William Gibbs ; thirteenth, O. Oswald ; fom-teenth, W. 
l\ Dake; fifteenth, J, imes 11. Cnrran ; sixteenth, H, Ix McGoneg.il. 

1878. — h'irst ward, L. A. Pratt; second, Michael M. Keenan , third, C. F. 
Pond; fourth, J. \\. H.ivden ; fifth, William lunerson ; sixth, W. S. P'alls ; 
seventh, Maxe_\- N. Van Zandt ; eighth, Leonartl Henkle ; ninth, G, W. Jacobs; 
tenth, Harvc}- C. Jones; ele\'enth, Reuben Punnett ; twelfth, W. Gibbs; thir- 
teenth, O. Oswald; fiurteenth, John J, Burke; fifteenth, J. H, Lurr.in; six- 
teenth, H. B. McGonegaf 

1879. — I'irst wartl, Willi. im \\ . Can; second, ^L M. Keenan ; thirtl, l-"rank 
M. Bottum ; fourth, J, K. Ha_\den ; fifth, C. P'.nglert ; sixth, W. .S. F.ills ; 
seventh, George fleberling ; eighth, Maurice I,e_\'den ; ninth, (i. W. Jacobs; 
tenth, II. C. Jones; ele\enth, John Bra^'er ; twelfth, Conr.id Fisenberg ; thir- 
teenth, John .\. P. Walter; fourteenth, Thomas Cr.me ; fifteenth, J. H. Curran ; 
sixteenth, John W .Sti'oup. 

1880. — First ward, James W. Clark; second, James Da)-; third, V. M. 
Bottum; fourth, J, IC Hayelen ; fifth, C(jnrad Bachman ; sixth, Joseph Hoff- 
man; sexenth, G. Heberling; eighth, Bernard ()'Kane; ninth, Martin [oiner ; 
tenth, II. C.Jones; eleventh, J. Bra_\-er ; twelfth, Philip Weider ; thirteenth, 
J ,\. P. Walter; fourteenth, T. Crane; fifteenth, .\nthony II. Martin; six- 
teenth, .Alexander Button. 

1881. — P'irst ward, J. W. Clark; second, (k-orge Wait; third, F. M. Bot- 
tum; fourth, Charles Watson; fifth, C. Bachman; sixth, .\bram J. Capjion ; 
seventh, G. Heberling; eighth, B. O'Kane; ninth, M. Joiner; tenth, Henry I{. 
Shaffer; eleventh, J. Brayer ; twelfth, P. Weider; thirteenth, J. A. P. Walter; 
fourteenth, Thomas Gosnell ; fifteenth, A. H. Martin ; sixteenth, .A. Button. 

1883. — I'irst ward, Dwiglit Knapp ; second, Conrad B. Denn)- ; third, F. 



County and Other Officers from Rochester. 199 

M. Rottum ; fourth, C. Watson; fifth, George Caring (appointed in place of C. 
Bachman, deceased) ; sixth, WiUiam Perry ; seventh, Charles C. Meyer ; eighth, 
James P. TumiHty : ninth, M. Joiner ; tenth, George Weldon : eleventh, William 
\\'olz : twelfth, P. W'eider ; thirteenth, Stephen Rauber : fourteenth, T. Gos- 
nell ; fifteenth, Henry Kondolph ; sixteenth, John Vogt. 

1883. — First ward, D. Knapp ; second, George B. Wesley: third, Thomas 
Peart; fourth, Charles B. Ernst; fifth, Roman Ovenburg : sixth, Valentine 
Hetzler; seventh, C. C. Meyer; eighth, James P. Tumility: ninth, M. Joiner; 
tenth, Bartholomew Keeler: ele\enth, W. W'olz ; twelfth, D. Clinton Bar- 
num ; thirteenth, Carl F. Gottschalk ; fourteenth, T. Gosnell ; fifteenth, John 
Foos ; sixteenth, Chaunce)- Nash. 

1884. — First ward, E. F. Stilwell ; second, G. B. Wesle\- ; third, George 
Morgan; fourth, C. B. Ernst; fifth, George Caring: sixth, Abram Stern; 
se\-enth, C. C. Me_\-er ; eighth. J. 1'. Tumilit}- ; ninth, Frederick E. Conway; 
tenth, B. Keeler; ele\'entli, John Bra)-er; twelfth, D. C. Barnum ; thirteenth, 
James H. Brown; fourteenth, T. Gosnell; fifteenth, George J. Held: sixteenth, 
Oscar F. Brown. 

County officers do not properh* come within the ci\'il list of a municipal 
corporation, but, as Rochester is the county seat, and the county ofiicers are 
therefore located here, it seems better to insert them in this place with the year 
in which they went into office, and to give, as well, the list of supervisors from 
the city (as has been done above), and of state senators, members of Assembly 
and representatives in Congress, in all cases from the city alone. The count)- 
judicial officers — judges, surrogates and district-attorne\'s — will be found 
named in order in the chapter devoted to the bench and bar. 

Sheriffs. — 1 82 I, James Seymour; 1823, John T. Patterson; 1826, James 
Seymour; 1829, James K. Livingston; 1832, Ezra M. Parsons; 1835, Fllias 
Pond; 1838, Darius Perrin ; 1 841, Charles L. Pardee; 1844, Hiram Sibley; 
1847, George Hart; 1850, Octavius P. Chamberlain; 1853, Chauncey B. 
Woodworth ; 1856, Alexander Babcock ; 1859, Hiram Smith; 1862, Jo.seph 
H. Warren; 1865, Alonzo Chapman; 1868, Caleb Moore; 1869, Isaac V. 
Sutherland (appointed in place of Moore, deceased); 1870, Joseph B. Camp- 
bell : 1873, Charles S. Campbell ; 1876, Henry E. Richmond ; 1879, James K. 
Burlingame; 1882, Francis A. Schceffel. 

County Clerks. — 1821, Nathaniel Rochester; 1823, I-Llisha Ely; 1826, 
Simon Stone, 2d ; 1829, William Graves ; 1832, Leonard Adams ; 1835, Sam- 
uel G. Andrews ; 1838, Ephraim Goss; 1841, James W. Smith ; 1844, Charles 
J. Hill ; 1847, John C. Nash ; 1850, John T. Lacy ; 1853, W. Barron Williams ; 
1856, WiUiam N. Sage ; 1859, Dyer D. S.Brown; 1862, Joseph Cochrane 
1865, George H. Barry; 1868, Charles J. Powers; 1871, Alonzo L. Mabbett;' 
1874, John H. Wilson; 1877 and 1880, Edward A. Frost; 1883, Henry D. 
McNaughton. 



History of the City of Rochester. 



County Ti-cdsin-crs. — Xo record, sn far as can be ascertained, has been 
kept in any form, [)rintei-i or written, of the early treasurers of Monroe count)', 
noi' are tlleir names obtainable from the records of the board of superxisors, 
by whom the\' were elected before I 84.S. for the reason that those records are 
not in existence in their original form, nor can printed copies be found of more 
than a very tew of those ancient _\'ears — so that the list of supervisors above 
gi\en had to be made up in part from the original records (which are complete 
and well preserved in the cit_\' clerk's office) of the proceedings of the common 
council, which acted as a board of canvassers. The first treasurer was .S. 
Melancton .Smith, and after him were Frederick W'hittlesc}-, William S. W'hit- 
tlese\-, William McKnight and William Kidd, the last of whom held the office 
for six or eight \-ears. The first to be electetl by the people was Lewis Sch'e, 
who entered u[ion the office in 1X49 and again in 1855, after William H. I'er- 
kins had held it for the intermediate term. In 1858 jason Baker went in, in 
1864 .Samuel Schofield, in 1867 (leorge N. Deming, in 187:; Charles !'. .\chil- 
les, in 1876 James Ilarris and in 1879 Alexander .Mc\'ean, the present incum- 
bent. 

Stdti- Siiiators. — No member of the state SeiKite was sent from either the 
village or the city of Rochester till 1844, when Frederick I'", liackus was elected, 
.serving for tour _\'ears ; the next was Samuel Millei', in 1848; the others were 
William .S. Bishop, in 1854; L_\-s<uuler l-"arrar, in 1862; (ieorge (i. Munger, 
in 1864; Thomas Parsons, in 1866; Lewis H. Morgan, in 1868; William N. 
Lmerson, in 1876: (jeorge Raines, in 1878; Charles .S. Baker, in 1884 — each, 
except Dr. Backus, for one term of two \-ears. 

Members of Assi'iiil'/y. — 1822, Nathaniel Rochester; 1823, .Simon Stone; 
1824, l^nos Stone ; 1825 and 1830, Thurlow Weed ; 1S26, Vincent Mathews; 
1S27, .\belard Re\-nolds ; 1828 anti, 1833, Timothy Childs ; 1829, Heman 
.Xorton ; 1831 and 1832, Samuel (i. Andrews; 1834, Flatcher M. Haight ; 
'^35' ''"^j/- 1838 anti 1840, iJerick Sible\-; 1836, Horace Ca)-; 1839, William S. 
Bishop; 1S41, .Alexander Kelse\- ; 1 842, Frederick Starr; 1843, Robert 
Haight; 1844, Ashley Sampson; 1845, 1846 and 1847, William C. Bloss ; 
184S, A. M. Schermerhorn ; 1849 and 1850, L. Ward Smith; 1S51, William 
A. Fitzhugh ; 1852, Joel P. Milliner; 1853, Uriando Hastings ; 1854, James 
L. Angle; 1855, John W. Stebbins ; 1856, 1862 and 1863, Fliphaz Trimmer; 
1857, John T. Lac_\- ; 1858, Thomas Parsons; 1859 and i860, Elias Pond ; 
1 86 1, Lewis H. Morgan; 1864 and 1865, John McConvill ; 1866, Henry R 
Selden ; 1867, Henry Cribben ; 1868 and 1 869, Nehemiah C. Bradstreet ; 
1870, 1876 and 1877, James S. Graham; 1871 and 1872, George D. Lord; 
1873, Henry L. ]-"ish ; 1874 and 1 875, George Taylor ; 1 878, P^lias Mapcs ; 
1879, 1880 and 1882, Charles S. Baker; 18S1, John Coules ; 1883, David 
Healy; 1884, Charles R. Pratt. 

Mcnibcrs oj Cougirss. — The following are the names of congressional rep- 



The P'ire Department. 



resentatives from this district wlio were residents of this city at the time of their 
election, with the year in which the congressional term of each one began : 
1823, William B. Rochester ; 1827, Daniel D. Barnard ; 1829, Timothy Childs ; 
1831 and 1833, Frederick W'hittlcsc)- ; 1835 and 1837, Timothy Childs; 1839, 
Thomas Kempshall ; 1S41, Timothy Childs; 1849 and 1851, A. M. Scher- 
merhorn ; 1853, Azariah Boody ; 1855, John Williams : 1857, Samuel G. An- 
drews ; 1859 and 1861, Alfred Ely; 1863, Freeman Clarke ; 1865, Roswell 
Hart; 1867, Lewis Selye : 187 1 and 1S73, Freeman Clarke ; 1875, John M. 
Davy: 1879 and 1881, John Van Voorhis ; 1883, Halbert S. Greenleaf 



CHAPTER XXVL 

THE FIRK DKI'ARTMEXT.i 

Its History from the Beginninij — The Apparatus in Early Times — The First Fire Company — 
'I'he Old Volmiteer Department — Its dlories ami its Misdeeds — The Protectives, Alerts and Actives 
— The Firemen's Henevulent Association — Dedication of the Monument — I.ist of Chiefs and As- 
sistants — Tlie Fire Record. 

IX a previous chapter mention has been made of .the organisation of a fire 
department for the little settlement, and the choice of Messrs. Hart, Kemp- 
shall, Bond, Wakelee and Brown as fire wardens at the first village election in 
the spring of 1817. Their dut\- was not onl)- to enforce the ordinances which 
looked to the prevention of fires but to superintend the efforts for their ex- 
tinguishment after the_\- had broken out, to form the line of citizens who rushed 
to the scene, each with the fire-bucket which he was compelled to own, antl to 
direct the rapid and judicious passage of those primitive appliances down the 
line. This arrangement was soon seen to be inadequate, and on the 19th of 
October, in the same year, the first fire company was organised, with the fol- 
lowing members : Everard Peck, William P. Sherman, Josiah Bissell, Albert 
Backus, Roswell Hart, Jehiel Barnard, Isaac Colvin, Hastings R. Bender, 
E^benezer Watts, Moses Chapin, Daniel Mack, William Cobb, Horace Bates, Ros- 
well Babbitt, Gideon Cobb, Daniel Warren, Jedediah Safford, William Brewster, 
Reuben Darrow, Ira West, Caleb L. Clarke, Davis C. West, Charles J. Hill. Daniel 
Mack was chosen foreman. Of all these fire-laddies not one remains on earth, 
the last to go being the one who stood at the end of the list in the original 
record and who was the last to answer the final roll-call — Charles J. Hill, who 
died in August, 1883. An engine was purchased, a poor affair into which the 



1 In the preparation of this chapter the editor has been aided by articles of Edward Angevine, 
which appeared in the daily press a few years ago; liy a manual of the department prepared in 1S82 
bv 11. W. .Mathews, 1.. .\1. Xewton and (_;. II. Harris, and by thepersonal kindness of Mr. .Mathews. 



History of the City of Rochester. 



water had to be jxuircd from buckets, for it had no suction hose, but a house 
was built for it on Court- House sc|uare and it was not till icSjo that the machine 
needetl rejiairs, when $9.-5 was \'oted for that [lurijose, and in the same _\-ear the 
l)oard of \illaLje trustees ajjpropriated $lJO "to purchase and repaii^ fire uten- 
sils, such as buckets, hooks, latlders, etc., ami to build a shelter for the laiklers." 
In iiS2i the engine house was removed to Acjueduct street, and the first rope 
for the fire- hooks was purchased at an expense of ei|:,dit dollars, a vote of all 
the inhabitants beini; deemed necessar}- for the purjiosc. The first fire-truck 
was obtained in 1SJ4, when fift\' dollars was voted for the purp(3sc of procur- 
ing one or more fire-ladders to be placed on wheels ; the ne.xt vear four hunilred 
and se\-ent\' dollars was paid for a new engine, the house for which, costing 
one hundretl dollars, was located in Bugle alle_\-, where the Corinthian Academy 
of Music now staiuls, and a report was made to the fire-wardens b)- Frederick 
Starr and Gilbert ]''.\ernghim, who had been prexiously apjvninted a committee 
to (jrganise a \olunteer fire department, as up to that time the firemen were 
rather appointees of the wardens and acting untler their orders. 

The \'olunteer tlepartment may be saitl to date its existence from the 5th of 
Ma_\-, 1826, for on that day the boaixl of trustees (.if the \illage accepted the 
following persons and issued certificates to them, assigning them to the com- 
l^anies mentioned ; — 

Engine company luiinber i. — .Kddison (lardiner, .Alpheus Bingham, John S. 
Smith, Silas K. Clriffitli. I'liniiias .Mattlieus. Jacob Strawn, James Frazer, El lenezer Watts, 
William Bender, Everard I'erk. Charles J. Hill, Daniel I). Hatch. Hervey Ely. Elisha 
Taylor, Elias Beacdi, Nathan Mead. W illiain Haxuood. J.icoh Gould, Robert King. 
John Swift. Thomas Keni|ishall, .\>a .\lartni, Suiifou 1'. Olcott. S. I,. .Merrill. Ciilhert E\- 
crnghim. James K. Livingston, John ('. Muini, Willi.un Rathhnn. bihii Haswood. [esse 
Congdon, Timothy Kempshall. 

Engine company nuiiihcr 2. — .Vnson House. I)a\is ('. West. Giles lloulton. H. 
Crandall. Dennis 1'. lirou n. Jose|ih 1'. King. I'"rederu k Starr. William liliss, .Miner Wake- 
lee. E. H. (Irover, Chaimcey Eaton. C. W. Barnard. E. S. Curtis. John T. Wilcox. W. 
G. Russell. .'Stephen ( 'harles. John Colby. X'olney Ghapin. Roswell Bush. Charles M. 
Dee. William .Atkinson. Jabe/. Rannew Joseph Halsey. Moses Barnard. Butler Banbvell, 
'I'itfany Hunn. Jeremiah Williams. .Miner Ward. 

Hook and ladder compaii)-. — C. \. Van Slyke. I'helps Smith. E. J. Cummins, John 
ISingham. .-Vrchihald Hotchkiss, Daniel 'I'inker, Henr\ Bush. ISaniev Btish. |osiah 
'I'ower. Nathan l,\nian. Phelps Smith, foreman. 

.\t the same time the president of the board appointed the first committee 
on the fire department, consisting of Vincent Mathews and William Brewster, 
.and .S.imuel Works w.is elected the first chief-engineer, a man of extraordinary 
activity, of perfect fearlessness and of great presence of mind, admirably adapted 
for such a post. Harve}- Leonard, proprietor of the " Merchants' L^xchange 
ta\ern," which stood where the Young Men's Catholic association building 
now is, was the first to be complained of for violating the ordinances, but he 
was let ofi' with a reprimand. 



The Vn.LAGE Fire Department. 203 

The next year saw quite an advance in fire matters; the village trustees 
ordered the chief-engineer to purchase a new engine at a cost not exceeding 
$1,200 ; three months later Mr. Works, who must have been an officer of mar- 
\elous moderation in the expenditure of public money, reported that he had 
bought a new engine for $716, and also that he had expended $216 for 300 feet 
of hose. In October a new volunteer company was organised by those living 
in the second ward (Frankfort), with William Rathbun as foreman and 11 H. 
Rrown as assistant. It was mustered into service as fire company number 3, 
but the engine assigned to it was the little old one, bought ten \-ears before, 
while the new machine was called number 2 and given to that company, known 
b\- the name of "Torrent." The first inspection of the department took place 
in October, the engines and the truck being ordered to appear for that purpose 
in "Mumford meadow;" in the same month tlie trustees ordered that fire en- 
gine number I be located near the h'irst Presbyterian church, that engine num- 
ber 2 be placed near the blacksmith shop opposite Blossom's tavern on Main 
street (where the Osburn House stood in later years), and that number 3 ("Red 
Ro\-er") be housed near the intersection of Piatt and State streets. The oc- 
currence of fires was evidently carefully guarded against, for in this year Mel- 
ancton Smith, one of the fire wardens, reported that several stove-pipes in the lit- 
tle theater on State street were in a dangerous condition. The growth of the vil- 
lage rendered it necessary in 1830 to appoint an assistant to the chief-engineer, 
and the man selected was William H. Ward, who two years later succeeded Mr. 
Works as chief. In January, 1 83 1 , number 4 ( "Cataract ") came into existence 
as a company, with Joseph h'ield, Metcher M. llaight, Henry E. Rochester, 
Daniel Loomis, Levi W. Sibley and James K. Livingston among its members; 
later in the year compan_\- number 5 ("Rough and Ready") was organised, 
with Ashbel W. Riley, Selah Mathews, ICdwin Scrantom, Anson House and 
eighteen others on the original roll ; many of these must have dropped out within 
a few )-ears, for in 1847 number 5 disbanded as a compan)- ; the engine house 
was in the barn of A. W. Rilev in rear of Court street. In 1833 company num- 
ber 6 was organised, with its engine house in Pindell alle}-, but the members 
were so dissatisfied with the location that the trustees a year later removed it to 
Fitzhugh street (where the Alert hose now has its quarters), paying $150 for 
removing the old house and refitting it. Here old " Protection 6" was housed, 
with "Pioneer" hook and ladder company number i (afterward called "Em- 
pire "), until the final dissolution of the volunteer department, both the engine 
and the truck occupying the ground floor and having separate session-rooms 
up stairs. The original roll of number 6 had thirty-one members, among 
them William Ailing, A. J. Langworth\- (afterward chief-engineer), John Chris- 
topher and P'rancis M. Marshall. In the _\'ear before this the first little disturb- 
ance had occurred in the department, companies I and 5 having a serious 
quarrel over the possession of a new machine which had been made by Lewis 

14 



204 History ok the City <if Rochester. 

Sel\-e. So mutinous did the latter company become that it was disbandetl by 
the \illage trustees and reoi'L^'anised the next year. In 1S33 tlie first exemption 
[lajjers were Ljranted, ]'"i-ederiek Starr anil Josej)!) llalsey receivini,^ those pre- 
cious (.locuments. 

The city ijovernnient cime into existence in 1834, but no startling change 
was made in fire matters. John Haywood and Abelard Reynolds were chcwen 
by the common council as fire wardens for the first ward, John Jones and 
Willis Kempshall for the second ward, I'.rasmus D. Smith and Thomas H. 
Rochester for the third. Nehemiah Osburn and Obadiah M. Hush for the fourth, 
Marshall l>urton and William Colb\- f.r the fifth. W. li. Ward was elected 
chief-engineer, with Theodore Chapin and Kilian H. V^an Rensselaer as his 
assistants; in Se])tember hi»ik and Ladder compan\' number 2 was organised 
with thirt\- members, and located on the east side of the river; $1,500 was put 
in the ta.x levy this _\-ear for the support of the fire department. A hose com- 
pany, called the ".Ktna," after the name of engine compan}- number I, was 
formed in 1835, with L. ]>. Swan, Ileman Loomis, George A. Wilkin and A. 
S. Wakelee among the members. Several disastnuis fires in 1S37 had aroused 
the citizens to a sense of the importance of increasing the efficiency of the de- 
partment, and in 1S38 a number of additions were made. Two bucket com- 
panies were organised, with George B. Benjamin, Justin M. Loder ami W. H. 
Enos among the members of the first, and S. W. D. Moure, Gabriel Longmuir 
and D. C. Ailing on the roll of the second; an engine, tub and hose company 
also came into being, with George W. Parsons and nine other members. 
"Storm/" now makes its appearance, the first engine company organised 
under the city charter, with Newell A. Stone, Henry Haight, F. W. Backus, 
Thomas Hawks and James L. Mlwood among its original members. Its name 
was not inapt from the first, and its restless disposition caused its disbandment 
within a _\-ear of its f(nuulati<in. Being reformed (in one sense) it became located 
in Januar)', 1843, on "Cornhill," where it letl an\'thing but a quiet life; reor- 
ganiseil in 1853, it was again tlisbanded five }'ears later, and again reorganised 
on the same day. When the war broke out in 1 86 1, and volunteers were 
called for by President Lincoln, an entire compan_\' of the "Old Thirteenth" 
was formed out of the members of "Storm 7," with William Tulle}' as cajjtain, 
Michael McMuUen as first lieutenant, ami Jerry A. Sullivan as second lieuten- 
ant — a completeness of record not ec[ualed by an}^ other fire company in this 
localit}', even by "Red Rover 3," though great numbers of that body enlisted 
under Frank A. Schcefifel and Law S. Gibson, now respectively sheriff of this 
count}' and chief-engineer of the department. In the month of November, 
1838, "Osceola 8," also, was organised, with Lewis Selye, James McMullen, J. 
M. Southwick, Orrin Harris and others as the charter members ; originally 
located on Piatt street, it was afterward moved to Mill street ; disbanded in 1853, 
it was reorganised in the same }-ear as "Columbia 8," was again disbanded 



DlSBANDMEiNT OF THE VOLUNTEER FiKE DeI'AKTMENT. 205 

in 1856, and reorganised a >ear or two later as "Live Oak 8," being located 
on Alexander street, near Mount Hope avenue. "Champion 9," the last of 
the volunteer engine companies in date of organisation, was chartered in A])ril, 
1848, and disbanded in July, 1853. The engine lay on Main street, between 
Clinton and Lancaster. 

The glory of the volunteer fire department has jjassed away, and its disre- 
pute has gone with it; "the noise of the captains, and the shouting," are no 
more ; order reigns, instead of discord, and conflagrations are extinguished 
without the disturbance of the public peace. In this city, as in other places, 
the excesses of many firemen brought disgrace upon the department ; not only 
were drunkenness and fighting the usual concomitants and consequents of every 
respectable fire, but the flames were often kindled by the hands that were to 
suppress them, and one incendiary fireman served a long term in state prison 
as the reward of his crimes. With all this, no bod\- of men ever existed that 
could show a brighter record of courage, of endurance, of brilliant heroism and 
sublime devotion to duty. Their virtues and their vices are bound together, 
and where blame is gi\'en, praise should go with it, hand in hand. As con- 
necting the old department with the new, three organisations of proved effi- 
cicnc}- and trustworthiness should now be mentioned — The Protectives, the 
Alerts and the Actix'es. 

On the evening of the 23d of August, 1858 — a few days after the general 
disbandment of the old volunteer department, which occurred after the fire that 
destroyed Minerva hall — in response to two calls made through the daily 
papers, a meeting of business men W'as held in the mayor's office, and another 
in the city clerk's office, one to organise what is now known as the Protectives 
and the other for the formation of a hose company. 

The Protectives perfected their organisation at once, the company — or 
association, as it was then called — having as an object for its formation, as im- 
plied by the name, and as set forth in the first article of its constitution, the 
removal of propert\- from burning buildings, or buildings in dangerous prox- 
imit}- to fire, and the protection thereof by an efficient and responsible guard 
during the confusion incident to such occasions ; also, the extinguishing of fires 
when practicable. The first officers of the Protectives (or Protective sack and 
bucket company number i, the explicit name of the association) were: George 
W. Parsons, foreman; William A. Hubbard, first assistant foreman; James 
Terry, second assistant ; Roswell Hart, president ; A. M. Hastings, vice-presi- 
dent ; George H. Humphre}-, secretary ; William H. Ward, treasurer, and 
Joseph B. Ward, director in the Firemen's Benevolent association. Their 
quarters were under Corinthian hall, on Mill street, and were provided for 
them by the city. They entered service wn'th an active roll of forty members. 
The apparatus of the company, a four-wheeled carriage, designed especially 
for their needs, was drawn b}^ hand, and from its peculiar shape it was at once 



2o6 History of the City of Rochester. 

called "the hearse." In this carriage were carried a number of pieces of can- 
vas, several can\as sacks, and a large number of leatiier buckets, their onl\- 
means of fighting fire. The Protectives s6on proved themselves a worthy ad- 
junct to the department b\- the removal, in many instances, of complete stocks 
of goods. The guard also pro\ided for goods thus saved found favor at once 
with the merchants, who, previous to this in case of fire, were in quite as much 
danger of loss by theft as from the elements themselves. Continuing prosper- 
it\' favored the young compan\- for the next few years, until the war of the 
rebellion called for the very best members of such an organisation. The first 
to enlist were spared b\- the redoubled efforts of their remaining brothers, but. 
as member after member left to take the place of those who had fallen — and 
they were many — the compan\' commenced to falter, and for a period it could 
scarcely be said to li\e : at last, however, with the return of the survivors of 
that terrible struggle, new life was infused, and the compan\- found that their 
quarters were not suitable. 

In 1866 they purchased a lot on the northeast corner of Mill and Market 
streets, and erected a three-stor\- building thereon for their own use. ^larch 
25th, 1S68, they were incorporated by a special act of the legislature. Xew 
appliances for extinguishing fires were now coming into use, and in 1870 two 
chemical fire extinguishers superseded the buckets, and from this time forward 
the company were enabled to compete with other branches of the department, 
owing to this valuable invention. For several succeeding years the compan\- 
continued to grow, and adopt such changes as were brought about by the im- 
proved system of the last decade ; two modern carriages had in turn superseded 
the old hearse, and the bunk-room, with its regular bunkers, was now an ab- 
solute necessity. Composed of the fleetest and strongest runners, midnight 
fires were now hailed with delight, and. while the desire to strictly obej- the 
call to dut\- was as strong as ever in their breasts, the love for their company, 
and the determination not to retrograde, caused these young champions of 
their city's welfare to accept not only the rivalry of other volunteer organisa- 
tions, but that of their greatest competitor, the paid department. 

In 1 88 1, the quarters of this company again proving inadequate for the 
realisation of certain hopes for the future, to further their plan they sold to one 
of their members the property then occupied by them, and moved into tem- 
porarj- quarters at number 17 Mill street, in a building owned by the Butts 
estate. Completing tiie purchase of a valuable lot on the east side of North 
Fitzhugh street, a short distance from West Main, with the proceeds of the sale 
of the Market street property, negotiations were commenced with the city for 
tlie erection of a suitable building, and the proper equipment of the same. 
Partially successful in their efforts, the city having decided to appropriate 
$10,000 for the erection of a house, the members felt that they could now look 
forward with certaint\- to the fulfillment of their fondest hopes, namely, the 



The Protectives. 207 



establishing of the company on the plan of the insurance patrol companies of 
the large cities of this countr\'. We say they were only partially successful in 
their efforts, and for this reason. Estimates from the plans adopted by the 
company clearly proved that the appropriation was not large enough to com- 
plete the building, but in the following spring the city appropriated nearly 
$5,000 additional, which finished a building that is now regarded a model of 
beauty and convenience. Much still remained to be done, as the heating ap- 
paratus, plumbing and gas- fitting were not included in the builder's contract. 
The house must also be furnished in order to make it serviceable for the pur- 
pose intended. In this extremity the company decided to ask the insurance 
companies doing business in the city and also the business men to aid them, and 
in September, 1881, appointed a committee which issued a circular showing the 
record of the company from 1859 to date. By this act the company received 
from the insurance companies $1,136.25, and the business men attested their 
appreciation of the company's efforts in their behalf by subscribing the sum of 
$2,557.86, a total of $3,694.05, all of which was expended on the house and its 
furniture. May 25th, 1882, the company took possession of its new home and 
formally opened the same about a month later. The rapid growth of the city 
now demanded greater service from the company, and the executive board 
decided to furnish them with a patrol wagon and horses and two drivers and 
lay aside the hand carriage then in use. August i8th, 1882, witnessed the 
change from the old style to the new, and the company, not without regrets, 
gave up the rivalry that had heretofore formed part of their very existence. 
The following persons have held the office of foreman : George W. Parsons, 
Wm. A. Hubbard, Lyman M. Newton, \Vm. R. Brown, E. A. Jaquith, Dwight 
H. Wetmore, Samuel B. Williams, A. M. Semple, Henry D. Stone, L. H. Van- 
Zandt, J. H. Coplin, John Craighead, Herbert S. King, S. J. Rogers, Wm. R. 
Pool, E. B. Bassett, R. W. Bemish, A. M. Bristol, C. P. Dickinson, Frank W. 
Kinsey. The present officers of this organisation are :. Frank W. Kinsey, fore- 
man ; John R. Kelly, first assistant foreman ; Charles J. Allen, second assist- 
ant ; Albert M. Bristol, president ; Herbert S. King, vice-president; Edmund 
J. Burke, recording secretary ; Samuel B. Williams, financial secretary ; John T. 
Roberts, treasurer ; Rev. Wm. H. Piatt, chaplain. 

The present members of the company are divided into the honorary roll, 
requiring twelve years' service in the company, numbering seventeen ; an ex- 
empt roll of eleven, a roll of five associate members and the active roll of twen- 
ty-five members, in all fifty-eight members, with two drivers, who are hired by 
the city, and a steward paid by the company. 

In conclusion, a brief summary of the work done by this company will show 
the public on what grounds they have asked and received such substantial 
proofs of their appreciation. During the twenty-six years of their life as a com- 
pan\- they have responded to more than 1,700 alarms and have done duty at 



2o8 History of the City of Rochester. 



ncarlv 1,400 actual fires, and rccoiils in jxisscssinii nf the t"iic niaisl)als antl the 
cunii)any show that the pn ipert)- sa\etl (ir reniii\'ed b\' the ihiect etinrls < it tlie 
compan)- amount to iiian_\- liundred thousand dollars — a remarkable showinL; of 
a remarkable company, standin;^ alone, as it does, the only company in the 
L'nited States performiuL; \'olunteer fire [jatrol dut_\', while not deri\inLj any 
benefit fi'oni the insur.mce comjianies. The members receive no conipens<ition 
for their serxices and the lauiniuL; expenses are borne b_\' the cit\- <j;o\ernment. 
This is but .mother instance of the cit_\''s watchful cire of its business interests. 
The orL;anisation of the .\lert or Cit\- hose number I, the latter being the 
first name of this company, was jjerfected September "th, i85(S, b_\' electini^r 
1{. W. I-'ariini;ton, foreman; 1 lerliert (.'hurchill, assistant f )reman ; John 1'. 
I I uniphre)', secretary' ; Abram Karnes, tre.isurer ; aiul W. it. Cross director of 
the i'iiemen's Henevolent association — the fireman acting as president during 
the meetings of the company. Mr. f'arrington was an old New York fireman 
iiiul did much toward setting the comi^any on the high road to success. The 
othei' original members were: Charles II. Clark', Morris .Smith, W'm. .S. dr.uit- 
synn and Walter .S.ibey. The .Alerts were ([uartered under Corinthi.ui iiall 
block on Mill street, being next north of the Protcctix'cs. Here the_\- remained 
mitil 1866, wiien they were forced to \-acate, and, the common council not pro- 
viding them with a house, they storctl their cai'riages and for a few months did 
no fire dut_\', although holding regular meetings in a room rented b\' them for 
th.it purpose in Maker's block. The)- soon tired of this and made up their 
mind to ha\e a house at their own expense, and a comnfittee soon secui'ed 
qu.u'ters in a new block on the east side of Front street. Possession was taken 
on I-'ebruar)- 1st, 18(^)7, and the_\- were again "]{\er Read}'," that being the 
company motto. The comp.'ui)' numbered at this time, active, exenij)t and 
honorary members, in all about f)rt\'. In the latter part of 1874 the city 
erected a carriage house for them on the site of the old house formerh' occu- 
pied by "Protection" 6 ;uid " lunpire " hook anil hulder number I. This is a 
three- stor)' house, with carriage room and re.iding-room on the first floor; 
bunk room, containing si.x douljle beds, locker room, bath-room and closet on 
the second and an elegant session-room .uid comjjany locker on the third. It 
was completed about Janu.iry 1st, 1875. The. company immediately set about 
furnishing it at their own expense, and on Saturda\- e\'ening, Januar\^ -3d, 
1875, the company, headed b_\' a drum corps and drawing the three carriages 
owned b\' them, left the P"ront street building and marched to and took pos- 
session of the house they now occu[)}'. The compaii)' had increased greatly 
during the eight years on P'ront street and now numbered in all over one hun- 
dred members. The companj' was incorporated on the 30th of March, 1867, 
having at that time thirty-two members on the active roll, of whom fifteen were 
exempt. The following have been elected foremen : I{. W. F"arrington, W. S. 
Grantsynn, James B. Humphrey, George B. Harris, Charles H. Stilwell, Charles 



Alert and Active Hose Companies. 



209 



B. Ayers, R. H. Warfield, F. B. Watts, E. M. Smith, John A. Baird, \V. H. H. 
Rogers, Wm. H. Brady, John A. Davis, Frank H. Leavenworth, Charles H. 
Atkinson, Samuel A. Rose, James Cassidy, Irving C. McWhorter, John E. 
Kelly, John A. Vanderwerf, Henry W. Mathews. The present officers arc : 
Henry \V. Mathews, foreman ; George W. Scott, first assistant ; Wm. V. 
Boyd, second assistant ; Charles H. Atkinson, president ; Robert Renfrew, jr., 
vice-president; Wm. F. Brinsmaid, recording secretary; Charles E. Boor, 
financial secretary; Thomas H. Husband, treasurer ; Rev. W. D'Orville Doty, 
chaplain ; C. H. Atkinson, W. F. Brinsmaid, Simon V. McDowell, Simon Stern 
and Henry W. Mathews, trustees. After twenty years' services on the active 
and exempt roll a member becomes a life member in the company, conferred, 
so far, onl}' on H. W. Mathews and G. B. Harris. The honorary i;oll contains 
the names of ninety-four members, the exempt roll thirty-three members, the 
active roll thirt\'-se\en — -in all one hundred and sixty-four members. At the 
time of the great parade held in this city on August i8th, 1882, the last day 
of the meeting of the New York State Firemen's association, the Alerts, on the 
I right of the line, had on the rope ninety-one members, three officers, one 
steward, with three on the central committee and two marshals of division, in 
all one hundred members. 
■ Active hose company number 2 dates its organisation from June 9th, 1868, 
i when the following persons were named as officers : President, Arthur D. Wal- 
bridge : vice-president, Cornelius R. Parsons ; secretary, J. Matthew Angle ; 
treasurer, P. Frank Ouin ; foreman, James Cochrane ; assistant foreman, S. W. 
Updike, jr. ; but they did not receive their carriage until some time about No- 
vember 1st, of the same year. Before that time a difference of opinion arose 
among the members and resulted in a number of those who had been most 
actix'c in effecting an organisation lea\-ing the compain-, whereupon they 
elected a new set of officers, who were the first under whom fire dut)' was 
done, their first alarm being on November 4th, 1868. They were located at 
this time on Water street, next door to steam engine number I, where they 
remained until November 5th, 1873, when they opened their new house on 
North St. Paul street, w here they now are. The names of those who have 
held the office of foreman arc : James Cochrane, Bernard Dunn, John W. Wil- 
son, Owen F. Fee, Joseph F. Cochrane, William H. Tracy, W'illiam V. Clark, 
Josiah J. Kinsey, Adolph H. Otto, George Ford, John B. Mooney, Morris 
H. Lempert, John E. Rauber, John Leight, R. C. Rcynell, H. C. Knowlton. 
About the 1 8th of August, 1882, the company received a new hose carriage 
called "the citizens' gift," as it was bought b)' a subscription raised for that 
purpose, and intended to be drawn by horses. The present officers of the com- 
panyare: President, Henry C.Wulle; vice-president, R. Charles Reynell ; record- 
ing secretary, Louis Rice : financial secretary, Adolph H. Otto ; treasurer, John P. 
Kislingbury: foreman, H. C. Knowlton: fir.st assistant, John Reinhart : second 



IIlSTOKV (IF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



assistant, Louis Rice. The honorary exempt roll, which requires ten years 
service in this conipan}-, contains the names of James Malconi, A. II. Otto, 
Selim Sloman ; the exempt roll contains fifteen names, the acti\'e roll sixteer 
names; and besides the company has what are called "passive" members, who 
upon the payment of yeaii\- dues of the sum of three tlollars, ai'e entitletl tc 
the privilege of the house but have no vote in its meetings; on this roll there 
are seventeen names. 

In Februar}-, 1861, two steam fire engines were brought to the cit_\-, whicli 
were afterward known as numbers 1 ;md :;. There was at first some slight op- 
position to their use and much incredulity was felt with regard to their efiect- 
iveness, especiall}' in cases where rapidit)' of action was concerned. This 
ho\\e\'er, soon woi'e awa_\', especiall)- after the substitution of horses for haiu 
labor, which was the m(jti\e power in drawing the steamers for the first tew 
months. The ine\it;ible result followed; the old hand engines soon fell intc 
disuse, the paid fire department was organised in 1862 and one steamer aftei 
another was addetl to the U--.t, until there were four, ready to be called intc 
acti\e Work at an}- moment. These performed all that could be accomplishec 
by any number of machines at a fire, and most of them turnetl out at everj 
alaini until the Holly system of water-works went into successful operatior 
in 1874, when the attendanci.- of the steamers on ordinar\' occasions was ren- 
deretl unnecessary, so that only the Imse carts of the paid department turnet 
out at every call, together with the chemical engine or fire extingiusher. The 
two volunteer hose companies, the sack and bucket conipan}- and the patent 
Ha\-es truck, with long, extension ladders, which was added to the apparatu; 
last \'ear, run onl_\- to boxes in the center or more thickh' settled parts of the 
cit)', while the steamers respond onh' to a general alarm or a special call in 
case of emergency. A fifth hose cart has just been addeel to the paitl elepart- 
ment. A useful factor in the su])pression of fires, and one which it would now 
seem almo^t impossible to do without, is the fire alarm telegraph, of the Game- 
well s_\stem, which was accepted b)' the city government in March, 1869, aftei 
its construction at a cost of $12,000. Box after box has been added, unti 
now there are eighty-seven in all. The telegraph was from the beginning un- 
der the charge of B. F. Blackall, who was succeeded three years ago by Charles 
R. Finnegan, both of whom have conducted the afifairs of the office in a satis- 
factory manner. No more valuable adjunct to the department exists than the 
fire marshal, whose obligations are \'arious but whose most important duty U 
to examine all buildings in process of construction and to forbiel their ceiniple- 
tion if it will be dangerous to human life, as well as to oreler the elemolition of 
structures that have so fiir gone to deca_\- as to render them unsafe. O. L. An- 
gevine filled the office for a great number of \-ears and in I 880 ga\x place tc 
\Villiam Carroll, who in April of this _\-ear was succeeeleel by y\rthur McCor- 
mick, the present incumljcnt. 



Firemen's Benevolent Association. 



Of the many parades of the fire department alone, the largest and most 
imposing ever given under the old volunteer system was on September 13th, 
1854, when several machines from Buffalo, Batavia, Elmira, Geneseo, Oswego 
and Cobourg appeared in the line, two of the visiting companies being accom- 
panied by brass bands. This was eclipsed by the grand procession at the ded- 
ication of the firemen's monument in 1880 and b)- that in August, in 1882, 
when the convention of tlie State Firemen's association, under the presidency 
of Thomas A. Raymond, of the Alert hose company of this cit)-, was held here. 
The festivities then lasted through most of the week, but the exercises were not 
confined to the mere entertainment of delegates and visitors from abroad, for 
they included the exhibition at a large building on North St. Paul street, which 
was temporarily used as headquarters, of all imaginable contrivances fui- the 
extinguishment of fires or connected in any way with that important service. 
It will now be well to go back a little in point of time and to give a sketch of 
the Firemen's Benevolent association. 

From an early period in the histor>- of the \illage there had been a firemen's 
benevolent fund, to provide for the maintenance of the men during sickness and 
for the relief of the widows and orphans after death had taken away their nat- 
ural support. This fund was neither permanent in its nature nor constant in its 
amount, the money being raised from time to time, as occasion demanded, and 
the achisabilit)- of making it lasting and adequate to all calls upon it was be- 
ginning to be realised when Colonel Thomas S. Meacham, of Pulaski, Oswego 
count)-, offered to gi\^e the city a mammoth cheese, weighing several hundred 
pounds, which had been made in his dair\-, and which, according to his condi- 
tions, was to be sold at auction and the proceeds " to be set apart as a fund for 
the relief of the widows and orphans of firemen and for disabled firemen." The 
offer was gladly accepted and at a special meeting of the common council, held 
October 13th, 1835, the colonel presented the cheese. The nutritious article 
was then transferred to the corporation and sold in small pieces, the sum total 
obtained being $958. 27. This became the nucleus of the permanent firemen's 
fund, and to take care of it the Firemen's Benevolent association was organised 
the same year and incorporated in 1837. Ten years after its foundation the 
fund showed an increase of one hundred and fifty per cent., being $2,405.06, 
in 1856 it was $3,848.09, in 1866 it had mounted up to $10,246.18, in 1876 
it had risen to $40,303.94, and on December 10th, 1883, it was $50,136.39. 
In only three years has there been a decrease — one of those being 1880, when 
$8,956.89 was paid for the monument — and during all this time large amounts 
have been disbursed annually for relief, aggregating more than $30,000, a per- 
petual bed in the City hospital, for the use of the sick poor of the department, 
has been purchased at a cost of $1,500, and other large expenditures have been 
made. In 1864 the association was re-incorporated under the name of the 
"Rochester fire department," in order that it might receive the two per cent. 



History (if the City of Rochester. 



(if tlic premiums paid ti) fcireis^n insurance companies, which tliosc organisa- 
tiniis had, before that time, ])aiil to the cit}- treasurer. 

The great da_\' of tlie association — or department, as it must now be 
called — was September 9th, 1880, when the montmient, above referred to, 
was unxeiled with impressi\'e ceremonies. All the firemen in tiie cit)', exemjjts 
as well as those in acti\'e ser\ice, turnetl out to do honor to the occasion, and 
\isiting companies, w itli their appar.itus, and accompanied in some cases by 
their own bands, were present from .\uburii, I'enn Yan, Ithaca, Iirockport, 
Lockport, and RratU'ord. I'.i., to join in the p.u'ade, and the solemn m.u'ch to 
Mount Hope. The structure st.nuls at the end of Gi'iive a\enue, in the soutli- 
western part of the cemetery, on a high ground o\-erlooking the ri\-er, and giv- 
ing a \-iew of some of the most beautiful portions of the cit_\-, two miles to the 
northward. l^'rom the center of a [il.itform, twent\'-f >ur feet antl three inches 
s(]uare. rises the monument to a height of fifty feet, made of X'ermoiit granite, 
without a blemish in it, and constructed entireh- b_\- Rochester workmen. ( )n 
the summit of the shaft is a figure eight feet nine inches high, that of a fire- 
man, we.u'ing a fire hat, with coat on the left arm, and standing in an .ittilude 
of rest; the words " I'ire department," on one of the bases, firm the onl\- let- 
tering on the work. The e.\ercises were opened with a brief speech b_\- An- 
drew M. Semi)le, the [iresident of the da_\-, after which Dr. H. C. Riggs, of St. 
Peter's church, made a prayer; Cornelius R. Parsons, the mayor of the cit\-, 
deli\-ered an address; then followeil, after music, an address by James II. 
KelK', a poem written fir the occasion b\' Mrs. J. G. Maurer, and read b\' l)r. 
Riggs, an address by Jolm W. Stebbins, and the benediction by Re\'. Bjion 
Holley, of St. Luke's 

The first officers of the association were: President, I'^astus Cook; \'ice- 
presidents, Peter \V. Jennings and William Blossom ; treasurer, John Williams; 
secretar)-, William R. Montgomer)- ; collector, vV. J. Langwoi'thy ; ilirectors, 
iMigine company number I, William S. Whittlesey; number 2, lulw.ird Rog- 
gen ; nimiber 3, Isaac Ilellems ; number 4, John T. Tallman ; number 5, IC. H. 
Wheeler; number 6, William Ailing; hook autl ladder nunibei- 1, William 
Ikewster; number 2, James Piradshaw ; hose number I, I leman Looniis. 
The different presidents from that time on were William lii'ewster, Mai'tin 
15riggs, George Arnold, George W. Parsons, William K. Lathrop, John Craigie, 
George B. Harris, A. S. Lane, Joseph B. Ward, John Cowles, S. M. Stewart, 
Law S. Gibson, L. W. Ckirke, Thom;is II. Husband, Henry W. Mathews and 
Theron K. Parsons. The fillowing are the names of the chief-engineers, from 
their time of ser\-ice, and the names of the various assistants: Samuel Works, 
1826-31 ; W. H. Ward, 1832 and 1834-35 ; Thomas Kempshall. 1833 ; Theo- 
dore Chapin, 1836: Alfied Judsoii, 1837-38 and 1840; P. W.Jennings, 1839 
anil 1841; A. J. Langwiirth)-, 1842: George W. Parsons, 1843-44; T- ^^■ 
Hamilton, 1845, 1847-48 and 1850: S. M. Sherman, 1846 ami 1851-54; 



Notable Fires. 21 3 



James Cowlcs, 1849: William H. Spruntj, 1855-56; Zachariah Weaver, 1857- 
58 and 1868; George B. Harris, August, 1858-62 and 1865-67; John Mc- 
Mullen, 1863; P. H. Sullivan, 1864; Wendel Biiycv, December, 1868-69 and 
1880; Law S. Gibson, 1870-79 and 18S1-84. Assistants, W. H. Ward, James 
K. Livingston, Theodore Chapin, K. H. Van Rensselaer, W. S. Whittlesey, 
Erastus Cook, Alfred Judson, P. D. Wright, Reuben A. Bunnell, P. W. Jen- 
nings, I. H. Babcock, William P. Smith, A. J. Langworthy, G. W. Parsons, T. 
B. Hamilton, George Charles, Thomas Hawks, S. M. Sherman, U. C. Edger- 
ton, George W. Burnap, John Craigie, James Cowles, J. P. Steele, Benjamin 
H. Hill, M. H. Jennings, James Melvin, William Mehin, W. H. Sprung, Ed- 
ward Madden, Valentine Shale, Zachariah Wea\er, John Cowles, J. \. M. 
W'eeks, S. M. Stewart, John R. Steele. John McMullen, Joseph Consler, Jo- 
seph Corbin, John D. Pike, Robert B. Randall, Joseph Franklin, Jeremiah 
Twaige, A. Galley Cooper, Friend W. Hines, John McMahon, Wendel Bayer, 
P. H. Sullivan, Thomas O'Brien, John Arth, James White, James Malcom, 
August Bauer, Charles Frank, Law S. Gibson, Thomas Crouch, Ralph Ben- 
don, John F. Goldsmith, John C. Connolly, Henry W. Mathews, Samuel Be- 
mish, Anthon)' Kassel, John O'Kane, James Plunkett. 

An organisation known as the Rochester Fire Engineers' association, con- 
sisting of ex-chiefs and ex-assistant engineers, was formed on the 28th of 
March, 1883, with the election of the following officers: George B. Harris, 
president ; Zachariah Weaver, vice-president ; H. W. Mathews, secretary ; 
Wendel Bayer, treasurer. 

Anything like a full description of all the fires that have occurred here 
would of course be impossible, and those that are named below are by no 
means the only ones which created excitement at the time or required hard 
work on the part of the firemen before they could be extinguished. Some of 
the mill fires have made a brighter blaze, and some of the burnings of lumber 
yards and wood-work manufactories have entailed more prolonged labor of 
the department, but the\- were not destructive of life nor did they bear away 
w ith them in their ascending smoke the memor\' of old associations. The first 
fire in the little village was on Sunday, December 5th, 1 8 19, when the build- 
ing just east of where the Arcade now is, containing the office of the Gazette, 
was burned; Edwin Scrantom, an apprentice of the establishment, was asleep 
there at the time and would have awakened only to a fiery death had not 
James Frazer, at the risk of his Hfe, burst through the flames and rescued him. 
The first fatality occurred December 21st, 1827, when Thomas M. Rathbun, 
of hook and ladder number i, was killed by a falling chimney at the burning 
of Everard Peck's paper-mill, on South Water street, where Charles J. Hill's 
flouring mill stood in later years. Only three alarms were given in 1836, and 
but two of those were for fires of any magnitude — Lewis Selye's engine 
factory and Jonathan Child's "Marble block," on Exchange street, just south 



214 History of the City of Rochester. 



(if the ciiicil, ( >n the j6tli iif .\iiL;ust, i S40, (icnrL;c ]x IV-njciiiiiii .mil Jnhii 
Ivatdil, both tu-cniLii, were killed by a faliinL; wall at the biiniiiiL; (if the Curtis 
buildint;', nii Main street. Tiie okl Maiisinn Ilnuse, on .State street, built in 
lS2l,\vas burned February 2d, I S44. Ma\' 2d, I S46, tlie old stone block 
built by Her\e_\- ]''-l\- in 1S17 cm the corner of Main and State streets, where 
the l-iurns block was afterwarLl put up antl where the I'Jwood block now stands, 
was ilestroyed, ,iiul the Diiiicciat office, whicli eiccupied a p.irt of the buildintj, 
was ruinetl. In July, 1 S47, Cirace church, on the site of the pi'esent structure, 
was burned to the i^round. 

The destruction of "Chicken row," on the 31st of M.uch, 1S53, where the 
Rocliester sa\inL;s bank now stands, did not anmunt to much of a confla^jra- 
tion, l)ut it remo\ed a notoiious landni,u"k and formed the subject of con\'ersa- 
tion for almost a month, when it was put out of mind b)- the calamity <if the 
burniiiL;, on theJijth of April in the same _\'ear, of the Rochester House. This 
noteil hotel, which in the earl)- da_\-s of the canal was inseparably connected 
with the L;loiies of that gre.it water-way, was a large structure on I^.xchange 
street, e.xtentling from the can.il to Spring street ; in its latter days it was 
kept by E. \V. Bryan as a teinper.uice house and on the final night there were 
ninetv guests sleeping in it, all of whom escaped, but four eniplo\-ees of the 
[ilace — three women and .1 man — were unable to get out and were burned to 
death. Within a year from that time another hotel, the Blossom House (where 
the Osburn House afterward stood), was destro\'ed, January 24th, 1N54, the 
fire beginning at three in the night and lasting till the next afternoon ; the mer- 
cury fell to zero soon after (.la_\-light, the pipes froze stiff, faster than they could 
be thawed, men and machines were almost encased in ice, the free use of litjuor 
made the matter worse ami one company was sent home by M;i\-or Williams 
for its bad conduct. Early in the morning of No\-ember 2ist, 1S57, the Eagle 
bank block, a fine si.\-story edifice, on the site of the present Masonic Hall 
block, burned tci the ground; Patrick Heave_\- and Willi.im Cleator, of engine 
company numbei- 2, were killed b\' a fiilling chimne_\-; the Doiioirat establish- 
ment, occup\-ing the fourth and fifth floors, was again completeh' destro)'ed 
and tile Commercial bank building, next east, was crushed by a falling wall. 

We now come to the most destructive fire, in ]joint of pecuniary \'aluc, that 
ever visited our cit\'. Soon after eleven o'clock on the night of August i/th, 
1,858, flame.s were seen issuing from the li\er\- stable of Heavey & McAnally, 
on Minerva alle)-, and before daylight ever\- building on the south side of Main 
street from .St. I'.iul to .Stone street, including the Third Presbj'terian church 
and Minerva hall, was in ruins, five business blocks and twenty stores being 
thus destro\-ed ; the loss was $175,000, insurance nearly two-thirds of that ; 
water was difficult to get at and the firemen were somewhat fatigued by a long 
walk in procession early in the e\-ening, as well as by a $25,000 fire in Water 
street the night before. On the loth of November, 1S59, the Unitarian church, 



Notable Firks. 215 



on Htzlmijh street, was burned, and just a month later the Second Baptist 
church, on the corner of Clinton and Main streets. The old Bethel church on 
Washington street, next to the canal, which had long been vacant, as the con- 
gregation had built the Central church, was burned on the night of November 
24th, 1861 ; a large tin dome stood above the roof, and as the heated air filled 
its interior it rose like a balloon and soared away to quite a distance, present- 
ing a brilliant and peculiar sight. For a fourth time the department suffered 
a loss in its membership, when John D. Pike, Henry Forscheler and Joseph 
VVernette fell at the post of duty and died while fighting the flames at the burn- 
ing of Washington hall on the 4th of May, 1S67. March 17th, 1868, St. 
Peter's (Presbyterian) church was burned, and on the 19th of December in the 
same year the Democrat office underwent a third cremation, being burned out 
completely in the conflagration that destroyed much of the old Fagle Hotel 
block and extended through from Pindell alley to State street, taking in the 
Union bank building and other propert}^ adjacent. The First Presbyterian 
church, then unoccupied, where the cit\' hall now stands, was burned on the 2d 
of May, 1869, and the Opera House on the 6th of November in the same 
year. 

An ancient memorial of the city was lost when the old Hervcy Fly mill, at 
the east end of the aqueduct, went up in smoke in the early morning of August 
24th, 1870, and the third week in December of that year gave hard work to 
the department by three successive all-night fires — those of the Boston mill, 
the Pool building (in which the Democrat job-room was burned) and the rag 
w arehouse of McVean & Hastings, on Exchange street, where the Daily Union 
building now is. The fire in Stewart's block, on North Water street, January 
1 8th, 1S74, is noteworthy for being that at which the first stream was thrown 
from the water- works h)-drants. July 19th, 1876, a fire on Warehouse street, 
near the canal, consumed five shops and factories ; John R. Marks, not a fire- 
man, was burned to death. Another loss of life occurred at the burning of 
Tower's thermometer works, on Exchange street, in consequence of the explo- 
sion of some material there used ; John Prescott, one of the workmen, was 
caught fast by the flying debris and slowly perished in the flames. One of the 
finest pyrotechnic displays, of late years at least, was at the destruction, on the 
7th of April, 1880, of the "Beehive," an old building on Aqueduct street, 
which was built in 1827 by E. S. Beach, Thomas Kempshall and Henry Ken- 
nedy, and was used as a flour mill by the two first named, one after the other, 
till the death of Mr. Kempshall, in 1865, when it was remodeled inside and 
used thereafter for a great number of manufacturing industries. This will close 
the fire record. 



2i6 1 1 IS rum' i)V tiik Ci'i'v ok Rikiiksi-kk. 



chai'T]<:r xxvii. 



\N|i l.I IKK ATl'kl', 









KIKKAKIKS AM 


llu- Kii 
Kau Kil.r.i 

Kn,|„|_^r|,ll 


M KiiMii 1 1 
y-'l1,r \".. 
— I1ir Mia 


111- M. 


llu- iMaiiklin 111. lit 
„', Chnsliaii Ass.h; 
c Hull. 



i-'l'lR(\_aitial Kilirnry-Tlie 
Uiiinn — ■•■I'lu- I lull" —-ibv 



THI'L fii'st (irL;'anisc(l assnciaticui in this place (or the (hsscniinatii in cit" kiiowl- 
c(1l;c \)y means iif a |)iibhe hlirai)' was the I''r<inkhn Institute, l)nt befure 
that there was ,it least an etlnrt ni.ule in the same i.!irectinn, as is simwn 1)\- this 
extract iVnni the hrst \iilunie uf miscelianei)us records in the county clerk's 
office : — 

'■1. |(inalliaii ( 'iiild, lia\ ini; lieen, at a ineetinn uf two-tiiirds uf mk li persons as liave in 
wailing under their hands sinnilieil their ((inseiU and doire Id assm iatc iheinselvcs together 
for the purpose of pro( uring and erecting a pulilic lilirar)', held at the liouse of John Cr. 
Christopher in said county of Monroe and state of New York, on the second 'I'uesday 
of April i.S:;2. the time and pkii e previously agreed upon bv a niajority of such persons 
as aforesaid, duly eleited rhairuiau. do hereby certify, in conformity to the statute in 
su( h rases made and provided . that at su( h a meeting at the place nn<l on the dav aforesaid 
],e\i Ward, jr., bise|ih l'enne\-, I-'rani is H. ('uming, biseph Spem er, William i'ltkin, Ash- 
le\ Sainpsiui, Wilhaiu Atkiiisnii. Abraham I'hunb. I'lhsha i'.ivlor. Anson ('olem.in, I'aios 
I'omeidN' and h'nathan fluid wereb)' pluralit)' of \(iices duly elected to serve as trustees 
of 'the RiK hester Literary i onipan\-,' in saiil \illage of Rochester for the ensuing year." 

Whether this company- e\er went into active operation cannot be definitely 
ascertained. If it did so, however, it must have been shortdived, for the di- 
rect(U-_\- of 1827 makes no menti(Ui of it, but, on tlie contrary, distinct!)' says : — 

•'There is as yet no public liijrary of general literature nor public seminary of e<luca- 
tion. Measures are in operation, however, f jr prrjsecuting both these (jbjects, which it is 
hoped the present vear will see in a good slate of advancement." 

At that very time the h"raid<lin institute was in existence, for it was organ- 
ised on tile 13th of ( )ctober, 1S26, but its library was scientific, not literary, as 
will be seen Ijy this extract fi'oni its constitution: — 

"The objects whii:h the Franklin institute shall have especially in view shall be the es- 
tablishment of a library for the use of the members, consisting of books on the arts, 
sciences and manufactures, a museum of models of machines, a cal>inet of mineralogy, 
geology, and chemical substances, scientifically arranged; lectures and apparatus tor 
illustrating the sciences connected with the mechanical arts, aiul mutual instruction in el- 
ementar)- sciences as far as [iracticable." 

The origin of the institute was in a course of lectures tielivercd here in that 
}ear by Prof. ILaton of Troy, which must have been well supported, for at their 
close the managers found themselves in possession of a surplus of two or three 
huinlred dollars. This they resolved to devote to the establishment of a pub- 
lic library, which was accordingly opened in rooms on the corner of Main and 
Canal streets (now Water street); this was in the building formerly occupied by 



Franklin Institute. — Atiien/Eum. 



the Eagle bank. The affairs of the institute were conducted by a committee of 
seven, who were chosen annually. The first committee consisted of Rev. Joseph 
Penney, Rev. F. H. Cuming, Levi Ward, jr., Elisha Johnson, Jacob Graves, 
Giles Boulton and Edwin Stanley. At the commencement of the year 1827 
the association consisted of about seventy members and had obtained a small 
cabinet of minerals, a library and several models of machines, and had be- 
gun a system of cultivating knowledge in the arts and sciences by lectures, 
experiments, and such examinations and inquiries as the means of the institute 
would admit of At that day the privileges of such an association were highly 
prized, as the fee of admission to membership was $5, subject to an annual 
tax of $2. 

Out of the Franklin institute grew the Rochester Athenjeum and Mechanics' 
Literary association, generally known by the shorter title of the Athena.'um, 
which indeed was its name at first and until it was consolidated with other or- 
ganisations. The following is from its annual report for 1859: — 

"Shortry after the foundation of the Franklin institute the Rochester Athenaeum was 
organised, in 1829, and, being incorporated in 1830, continued for some years. Its first 
rooms were in the Reynolds arcade. At this time the library consisted of four hundred 
volumes, and the papers received were eleven daily, four semi-weekly, and thirteen 
weekly. After that time it fell into a languishing condition, its books stored away and 
its members inactive. It continued thus until 1838, when, by a union with the Young 
Men's Literary association (which had been founded a short time before), new life was 
infused into it, and the two associations continued for some time to enlist the interest of 
our citizens. In 1844 (their rooms being then in Smith's arcade) the library consisted of 
2,700 volumes. After some time, however, the interest in the association decreased, 
and in 1849 ''^ "''** deemed advisable to effect a coalition with the Mechanics' Literary 
association, which had been organised in February, 1836, and incorporated February 
25th, 1839. This institution was in possession of a library of about 1,500 volumes. It 
had regularly kept up a series of weekly debates, and had also held several exhibitions or 
fairs of mechanical inventions, etc. The diploma awarded to exhibitors on such occa- 
sions is here presented, and was really a creditable production for the time, though as 
you will readily perceive, the locomotive is of rather a primitive construction. Immediately 
after the combination of the two societies, they removed to their rooms (in Corinthian 
hall building), and the first lecture before the association was delivered by Rev. J. H. 
Mcllvaine, on the 28th of June, 1849." 

On the 30th of August a new constitution was adopted — and the first elec- 
tion under it held in Arcade hall on the third Monday of September, 1849. 
Levi A. Ward was elected president to serve for the remainder of the year. 
In January, 1850, Mr. Ward was reelected for a full term. The good work 
done by the Athenaeum in the way of providing lectures during a long series 
of years is well known to most of our readers, who, by the purchase of course 
tickets, kept alive the institution, for the sums derived from the sale of member- 
ship tickets were by no means sufficient for that purpose. In the course of 
each winter, for year after year, the best lyceum orators in the country spoke 
to large audiences, and few of that class who had attained any eminence what- 



2l8 MlSTOKV OF THE CiTY OF ROCHESTER. 

ever failed tube called upon or failed to respond. With regard to the number 
of volumes in the libr.iry any statement that coukl be made would be imperfect 
and unsatisfictiiry. In the time of its j^reatest prosperity the number was not 
far from 25,000, but, as the fortunes of the institution waned, the volumes grew 
fewer and fewer, many were borrowed and not returneil, man_\' were rendered 
worthless b_\- their constant usage, and the number now remaining' stored to- 
gether is about 17,000. The favorable lease under which the association had 
occupied the rooms in the Corinthian hall block expired in 1 87 1, when, rents 
having largel)- increased, application was made to the trustees of the Rochester 
savings bank for the use of the upper stciry of their building, located on the 
corner of Main and Fitzhugh streets. The reciuest was promptly acceded to 
and the association was granted the use of the rooms free of e.vpense, which the)' 
occupied for a few },-ears and then remc)\-ed, first to the court-house and then 
to rooms on I'itzhugh street. Here, in 1877, the usefulness of the association 
came to an end, the books and other documents passing into the possession of 
M. F. Re\-nolds and George S. Riley, the latter of whom at a later day trans- 
ferred his interest in the property to the former gentleman, b\- whom it has beer, 
transferred to the trustees of the I'ieynolds librar)-, i'uv the benefit <>( the cit)'. 
The follow ing are the names of the tlifferent presidents of the y\thenc'Eum asso- 
ciation : I S49 and '50, Levi i\. Ward ; I 85 I , George W. Parsons ; 1852, George 
S. Riley; 1S53, 11 R. McAlpine ; 1 854, Edward M. Smith ; 1855, John N. Pome- 
roy; 1S56, George G. Clarkson ; 1857-58 D. D. T. Moore; 1859, W. V. K. 
Lansing; i860, Ira B. Northrop; 1861, Charles C. Morse; 1862, John Bower; 
1863, Ezra R. Andrews; 1864, Wm. A. Reynolds; 1865, Charles B. Hill; 
1866, De Lancey Crittenden ; 1867, Edward Webster; 1867, M. M. FitzSi- 
mons ; 1868, Theron E. Parsons; 1869, M. H. EitzSimons ; 1870, Tliomas 
Dransfield; 1871, A. M. Semple ; 1872, C. E. Morris; 1873, J. II. Kell\-; 
I S74, Jonas Jones. 

The Central librai')- was established in 1863, by consolidating seventeen 
school libraries into one. Selections from these were made, and in addition a 
(i^w valuable works were purchased, making one thousand volumes, thus form- 
ing a foundation on which this library was built. It was first established in 
suitable rooms in Baker's block, on West Main street, anil in 1S75 it was 
removed to its present commodious quarters in the P'ree academy building, on 
Fitzhugh street. Mrs. \V. II. Learned was appointed the first assistant libra- 
rian in 1S70, and was succeeded in 1 881 b)' Mrs. Katherine J. Dowling, the 
l)resent incumbent. An annual state ajiprojjriation of $879 is devoted solely 
to the purchase ot books, ami so carefull)- and substantially have these been 
selectetl b}" the libr.uy ccimmittee every )-ear, that each classified division of 
volumes has grown in harmon\', requiring additional alcoves annually, until 
this library has to-day 15,000 volumes, mostlv works of fair literar\- value. 
It has ,1 patronage of five thousand readers, and for many )-ears was the only 



^m^ 




Law Library. — The Y. M. C. A. 219 

one open to the public for reference and circulation, and to-day vies in extent, 
variety and usefulness with older institutions of its kind. 

The Law library, though intended specially for the use of the profession, 
contains many works of interest, not, perhaps, to those classed under the in- 
definite head of "general readers," but certainly to bibliophiles and those who 
are able to appreciate the worth of a rare volume. It is a part of the law 
library of the court of Appeals, much of which is in the capitol at Albany, the 
books here being one-half of those that were left after the judges had selected 
what they considered necessary for their own use ; the other moiety of the un- 
cliosen volumes was sent to S\-racusc. The librar\-, which was brought here 
in 1850, has at present more than 10,000 books, the value of which is not far 
from $50,000, and man\' of these are of great worth on account. of their an- 
tiquity and their rarity. 0\er one hundred of them are printed in "black let- 
ter," and some of them arc more than three hundred years old — such as Brac- 
ton's treatise on the laws and customs of England (in Latin), published in 1540, 
and Fitzherbert's abridgment of laws (in Norman French), published in 1565 — 
while there are more than a dozen volumes of reports by Noy, Popham, Little- 
ton and other great lawyers, published in the seventeenth centur)-. The libra- 
rian is L. R. Satterlee. 

On March 17th, 1854, the young men of Rochester banded themselves in 
a Young Men's Christian association, for mental and moral improvement. This 
society struggled through a few years of many discouragements until finally it 
was disbanded. In the year 1864 the young men once more felt the need of 
some societ}^ where they might get spiritual improvement, and help their fel- 
low-men. With this purpose in \-iew the association was reorganised, with G. 
\V. Parsons as president and George H. Dana as corresponding secretary. 
From the lacK of zeal and energy the association lived only about six years. 
In 1875 the association was once more organised. This time, with good man- 
agement, it steadily increased, both in membership and in the extent of work. 
Of this organisation Horace McGuire was president, N. B. Randall correspond- 
ing secretary, and F. L. Smith general secretary. In 1879 George C. Buell was 
elected president, and has served the association as such to the present time of 
writing. From 1875 D. L. Ogden, H. J. Reynolds, F. R. Wardle and F. De S. 
Helmer have been the general secretaries. Mention has been made of the good 
management of the present organisation ; with zeal, tact and tenacity added to 
this, the work of the association has been brought before the public in such a 
manner that it is recognised as a public benefaction. To give an idea of this 
growth, the following statistics will speak for themselves: In 1880 the average 
attendance at the reading-room was 250 per week. In 1884 three hundred is 
thus far the average of one day. The year 1 880 saw but four meetings, which 
were attended by both sexes, and very thinK'. The present year (1884) all 
meetings but two were for young men only, with an average attendance of 



History of tup: City of Rochester. 



twice the number in fcirmer years. Evening classes, in different English 
brandies, are \ery well attentled, aiul great interest is exhibited. President, 
George C. Huell ; \ice-president, I'mf. A. H. Mixer; recording secretary, A. 
N. h'itch ; treasurer, C. F. Pond; general secretai-y, 1''. PJe S. Ilelnier; assist- 
ant secretaries, C. W". l-'urenian and lulward S. .Sinimcuis. 

The object of the \'oung Men's latlmlic associ.itinn is to cultixate a lo\e of 
nioralit)-, law and good citizenship among the _\'outh nf Rdchester, to combine 
the (.-lewiti'in of the mind with the (_le\elnj)ment of the both' b\' the alternation 
nf literary exercises with physical impiovement. The urganisatiim was eftected 
on the 25th da\- nf M.ircli, 1S72, b_\- the electidU nf the fnlldwing officers: 
President, Right Re\ . \\ J. McOuaid, 1). 1),; first xice-president, Charles 
FitzSinions ; second \ice-[)residcnt, John ( )(_lenbach ; treasurer, William Pur- 
cell ; corresponding secretar}-, V. A. Shale; recording secretary', John C. 
O'Brien. The association was incorporated the 3d of the following month, A 
nmnth before the organisation l^ishop McUuaid hail purchased, in his own 
name, but realK' as trustee fi.)r the future societ\-, the ground on the corner of 
West Main street ami Montgomer)- alle)', then occupied by the I'lxchange 
Hotel, for $:;o,000, the owner of which, C. B. Woodw.iril, refused an offer of 
$5,000 mo|-e befoic the papers wei'e dr.iw n up. ( )u the 4th of April the bishop 
transferred the [iropcrty to the association, and one _\ear later, when the old 
leases had expired, the erection of a buikling was begun, which was completed 
before the next ( )ct"ber. It is a sightl}' edifice, costing nearly $40,000, 
se\-enty-se\en and a half feet in front, eight)- feet deep, with a wing twent\'-six 
b_\- forty-two feet, and is f )ur stories in height, the upper floor being usetl as a 
gymn.isium and occupied by the .Athletic club, the one below that fir the 
purposes of the organisation, including the exercises of the Literary L'uion, and 
the other floors for offices and stores; its architect was A. J. Warner. There 
h.ive been few changes in its directorship, and its present officers are the same 
,is given aboxe, except that Timoth)- Whalen is now the seccuul \ice-president 
and Dr. Richard Curran is the treasurer. 

( )ne of the most pojnilar Catholic societies in Rochester at the p.resent 
time is the Rochester Literary Union, of which the following sketch was fur- 
nished by ¥.. J. Kell_\- : It was organised in the spring of 1875, with tweiit)-- 
five charter members. Its main object was to unite the Catholic >'oung men 
of the cit\' without distinction as to nationalit)'. The\- unanimously elected as 
their first president, William Purcell, who for two \-ears labored with the great- 
est zeal to make the organisation what it is at the present time, the representa- 
tive Catholic association of the cit_\'. Mr. Purcell was succeeded by James Fee, 
who during his term of office tlid much for the inipro\'ement of the association 
and b)- his liberality on man\' occasions e\inced the interest he took in the 
Literar\- LTnion. He was followed b)- William C. B.u'ry, whose administration 
was most successful. Mr. Barr)- h.is been succeeded b)- Patrick Mahon, Pat- 



The Cluk." — Furtnigiitlv Cluis. 



rick Cox, Patrick H. Magill (who scarcely had assumed his duties when he was 
stricken by death, mucli to the sorrow of the association), Patrick Cauley, Bar- 
tholomew Keeler, and Matthew Swan, the present incumbent. The Union has 
had to record the death, during its existence, of six members, who in their life- 
time were most active in their efforts to promote the welfare of the society. 
They are as follows : Thomas F. Alaher, Edward Maher, Edward Downey, 
Patrick Mahon, Patrick H. Magill, Timothy G. M. Fahy and Professor Francis 
H. Kennedy, who passed away much regretted by the association. 

"The Club" is the comprehensive and non-descriptive title of a literary 
organisation of high standing, which for thirty years has been in the habit of 
meeting in alternate weeks, except during the warm weather, at the house of one 
member after another, to Hsten to a paper read b\- one of the club, each in 
turn taking his part as the contributor for the evening, and the others taking 
uj), in regular order, the discussion of tlie article after its reading. The subject 
selected for treatment is in each case at the choice of the author, but naturally, 
as a general rule, in the line of his tasks, his thoughts or his studies at that 
time, and the names of the members will, of themselves, give to the readers 
of this chapter a fair intimation of the nature, at least, of the topics upon 
which the different discourses are founded. A preliminary meeting, for the 
formation of the club, was held at the house of the late Lewis H. Morgan, on 
the evening of July 13th, 1854, the first literary session being on the 7th of 
the following November. For several years past the club has been frequently 
called "the Pundit," but this appellation is disclaimed by those belonging to 
it. The following are the names of all who have been members, the first .six- 
teen being of those who are at present actively connected with it, the others 
of those who have died or withdraw^n from membership : — 

President M. B. Anderson, Prof A. C. Kendrick, Prof. A. H. Mixer, Dr. E. M. 
Moore, F. L. Durand, F. A. Whittlesey, Theodore Bacon, Prof. S. A. Lattimore, Presi- 
dent A. H. Strong, Prof. W. C. Wilkinson, Dr. W. S. Ely,. Prof. W. C. Morey, Prof. 
Howard Osgood, Oscar Craig, Dr. E. V. Stoddard, J. Break Perkins, Calvin Huson, jr., 
Rev. Dr. J. H. Mcllvaine, Lewis H. Morgan, Prof. J. H. Raymond, E. Peshine Smith, 
Prof Chester Dewey, Judge Harvey Humphrey, Prof J. N. Pomeroy, S. D. Porter, Dr. 
W. W.Ely, S. P. Ely, G. H. Ely, Prof S. S. Cutting, President E. G. Robinson, Rev. 
Henry Fowler, J. W. Dwindle, L. A. Ward, Rev. Dr. G. D. Boardman, Prof H. A. 
Ward, Dr. H. W. Dean, Judge H. R. Selden, Rev. Dr. Calvin Pease, G. H. Mumford, 
Judge G. F. Danforth, Rev. Dr. E. D. Yeomans, W. F. Cogswell, Robert Carter, Prof 
R. J. W. Buckland, Judge E. Darwin Smith. 

F"ollowing the example of the club described abo\e, a few persons in 1881 
agreed upon the advisability of establishing a similar institution, and the mat- 
ter took shape a few months later, when the first session, without a preliminary 
meeting, was held on the 23d of February, of "the F"ortnightly" club, which 
formed its organisation by the single act of electing a secretary. Dr. Dewey, 
who has acted in that capacity ever since. While the Fortnightly has no or- 
ganic constitution and no by-laws of any kind, its customs are the same with 



lIis'i'oRV OF iiiF, Cnv OF Rochestp:r. 



those of the older bod)-. Its meetings are held every alternate Tiiesda\-, witli- 
out exeeptinn, IVnin the middle nf October tn the midtlle of May. ami at each 
an oriLjinal jiajier is re.uL The first members wei'e C. V.. hitch, M. W. L'ooke, 
Judge !•■. A. Macomber, Dr. C. A. Dewe)', Dr. Porter h\irley, Rev. N. M. 
i\Iann, Rnlx-rt Mathews, Re\-. Mynm Adams, Dr. C \i. Rider, J. 1'. Vanuim, 
Re\-. Dr. Ma.\ Lantlsberg, W'm. 1'". IV-ck. Since the beginning Judge Macom- 
ber has withdrawn and \V. 1'".. Iloyt ami Dr. Da\id Little have been elected in. 

There is another club of a nature simihir to th.it of the two just mentioned, 
the membership of which embraces persons of both sexes, but, as it has pre- 
ser\'ed its anon)-niity during all the years of its existence, nothing more can be 
said about it. The l^rowiiing club is another literary coterie, but its purpose is 
the discussion of the works of stand, iret I'.nglish poets, r.ithei' than the reading 
of original pajjers. 

The Shakespeare club was organised December 15th, 1865, m.nnl_\- through 
the efforts of Rev. l'~. W. Holland. Tw ent_\'-eight persons were enrolled as 
members at the first meeting. The a\ eiage atteutlance at present, liowever, is 
ab<iut sixteen. Meetings are held ever)' Tuesd.iy. hum the first ot Xo\ember 
until the first of Ma)-. The officers are : Tresident, James L. lAngle; secre- 
tar)-. L)e L. Crittenden. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

.\SSOCI.\TIo\S— SCIFN'IIFK . So(.I.\l., I'ol.mi .M., FTC. 

The Acailcmy c,f Science - i'lie Rcchesler Clul.— The KocheMer Wlii.t riul)— The Furek.n Club 
— The Abehii-c1 Club — The .Mutual Clul> — The Celtic Clul) — The Commerci.al Travelers' Cluli — 
The Irish National i,eai;ue — The Civil Service Reform .Association — The Lincoln Club — The River- 
side Ruwini^ Club — The Canoe Club. 

TliV. Rochester Microscopical society was organised January 13th, 1879, by 
a few gentlemen interested in scientific studies. The question of organ- 
ising an acadeni)- of science was consideretl ; but it was deemed best to begin 
with that department in which the most interest was then manifested, rv'.r., mi- 
croscop)', and afterw;u\l extenil the scope of the societ)', if desired. The soci- 
ety grew rapitll)', and at the end of two )-ears w;is the largest organisation of 
the kind in the United States. March 14th, iS,Si,tlie suggested change was 
effected, the scope of the societ)- extendetl, its n.ime changed, and its constitu- 
tion and b)--laws re\-ised. Sections have been formed in several departments, 
and considerable work is being d(-)ne. The societ)- was incorporated May 14th, 
1S81, as the Rocliester Acadeni)- of Science. The incorporators w-ere the offi- 



Academy of Sciences. — Rochester Cluh. 



cers of the academy for i88i: Rev. Myron Adams, president; H. F"ranklin 
Atwood, vice-president; Charles E. Rider, treasurer; Henr}- C. Maine, secre- 
tary ; Adelbert Cronise, corresponding secret.iry ; Samuel A. Lattimore, Wil- 
liam Streeter and Cyrus F. Paine, trustees. 

The object of the organisation is to promote scientific stud)- and research, 
and especially a thorough knowledge of the natural history of that part of the 
state of New York in the vicinity of Rochester, and to make permanent collec- 
tions of objects illustrative of the different branches of science. The following 
sections have been formed, since the organisation of the academy: .Vnatomy, 
astronomy, botany, entomology, conchology, hygiene, ichthvology, infusoria, 
literature, microscop)-, photography, taxidermy. I^ach of these sections is or- 
ganised with such officers as the members may deem proper, and regular meet- 
ings are held. The meetings of the academy are held in a large liall in the Ar- 
cade, which has been de\'oted to the use of the academy by the owner, Morti- 
mer F. Reynolds. The membership of the academy is nearly 300. Good 
progress has been made in the \-arious departments of research. Collections 
have been made b\- the sections of botan\- and entomology. The section of 
astrononi)- is well equi]5ped with instruments, and some excellent work has 
been done. The orbits of several binary stars have been calculated, the sun 
has been successfully photographed and systematic observations have been 
made. The section of botany has nearly completed a collection of the flora 
of Western New York. The section of microscopy has done much valuable 
work. The section of hygiene has organised a system of popular lectures on 
hygienic subjects that have proved very valuable. The section of anatomy has 
conducted lectures illustrated by dissections. The photographic section has 
done excellent work, both in field-photography and in micro-photography.^ 

The Rochester club was formed in i860, James Terry being the first presi- 
dent, and the rooms occupied at the beginning being over the present Bank of 
Monroe. A few years later a change of location was made to the EUwanger 
& Karr_\- block, on State street, and in 1877 a further move was made to the 
luxurious apartments that constitute the third floor of the Rochester savings 
bank building. The membership of the club, which was incorporated in 
1869, is about 150, the number having been only slighUy increased for several 
years, as the club has been a strong one from its inception. The present offi- 
cers are: A. M. Bennett, president; H. H. Hathaway, \ice-president ; E. B. 
Jennings, secretary, and Levi F. Ward, treasurer. 

In October, 1882, a few gentlemen who were well inclinetl to whist formed 
an organisation called the Rochester Whist club, for the purpose of playing the 
game and improving themselves in it, the name adopted being descriptive of 
the general object. Rooms were taken in the Cox building, on the corner of 
Main and Water streets, but in a short time the membership had increased to 

1 The sketch of the Academy of Science was kindly furnished by Henry C. Maine. 



224 IllSldlvV l)K TlIK ClIV OK ROCHESTER. 

siicli an extent — parti)- b_\' the absorption of the old Audubon club — tliat 
larmier accommodations were needed aiul the association, in March, 1S83, moved 
tn the Howe buildinL;, on North l'"itzlui,L;h street. In the course of the last 
year a further expansion became nioie and more essential, and finall)-, in the 
earl}' part of this year, a secontl chaiiLje was made, the club takinij a lease of 
the tpiarters occupied up to that time by the Windsor club, which then dis- 
solveil. The suite of commndious ,uul ele^jant apartments, occup_\'inL; the whole 
front and other portions of the third floor of the I'dlwauL^er & Harry block, 
consists of se\en rc.xmis, which include a reception inom, a reading;- room, a 
billiard-room, a caril-room, an eatiiv^-rooni, etc. The club, in its purposes and 
its pursuits, has loni^ since outijrown the oriL,'inal desii^ns of its founders, but 
the old name is ret. lined .uid under that title it was incor[)orated at the beL;in- 
niuLJ of this year. It iiumljers, ,it present, about one hundred members. The 
officers for the\-earare: John Iv Morey, president; William Mud_L;ett, \ice- 
prcsident ; Homer J.icobs, secretary, and Willi.im K. Witherspooii, treasurer. 
The Phienix club was organised in 1872 as a society for the promotion of 
Social intercourse cUid .innisenu'nt .uiioni^ the Jews. It erected a costly build- 
ini; on North Clinton street, and was in ,1 Hourishiny condition until 1882, when 
it was deemed advisable to ilissolve the club, antl the buikliuL; was sold to the 
(.)dd l'"ellow's. A number (jf the firmer members of the PlKcnix club then 
banded together and formed the luireka club for the same purposes. They 
purchased the firmer Barton resilience and transformed it into a luxurious 
club-house. A large hall and a bowling-alle}' were added to the buililing, 
ami the societ}' is now in a prosperous condition. Ihe officers tor this _\'ear 
are: J. W. Rosenthal, president; A. J. Katz, vice-president; Benjamin Munk, 
secretar\- ; treasurer, J. Michaels. 

The Abelard club. — ( )nl\- Knights Templar are eligible to membership 
in this club, which was organised in 1S72 and incorporated in 1875. It num- 
bers more th.m one hundred .uul is one of the most influential (irg.uiisations of 
the kind in the cit\'. It has three rooms, well furnished, on an upper floor of 
the Powers block. The officers of the present }'ear are : Charles T. Crouch, 
president; Alfred H. Cork, vice-president; P. S. Wilson, secretary, and N. S. 
Phelps, treasurer. 

The Mutual club was organise<l on the 22d of February, 1881, anil rapidly 
increased in membershi]) till it attained the number of sevent}'-fi\e. It differs 
from all social clubs in this cit)' in that the wives of the members are eligible 
to election, and the majorit)-, perhaps, of those ladies have availed themselves 
of the privilege. C)ne exening in each week is devotetl to a reunion of the 
members of the club, of both sexes, at the rooms, of which there are four, in 
the Powers block. The present officers are James Sargent, president ; J. W. 
Archer, vice-president; J. '/.. Cidver, secretar\', and H. W. Wilcox, treasurer. 

The Celtic club, whose name shows the nationalit\' of its members, is of a 



Post A, C. T. A. — Irish Mutual League. 225 

social character, though joining with that an effort for the mutual improvement 
of its constituents. It was organised ten years ago, and its rooms have always 
been in the Powers block. The present officers are : J. M. Murphy, president ; 
Edward Julian, vice-president ; J. J. O'Byrne, recording secretarj-"; William 
Gleason, treasurer, and Michael O'Connor, financial secretar)-. 

Post A, Commercial Travelers' association. — The good-fellowship and 
geniality of temperament that have always characterised the members of this 
association led them to foi'm themselves into a social organisation, on the I3th 
of Januar)' of this vear, both for the recreation of those who reside here, and 
for the entertainment of those of the brotherhood who might be stopping here 
on business. Rooms were at once taken on North P"itzhugh street, near West 
Main, and the readiness with which the local " travelers" joined the new insti- 
tution showed the desirability of its existence. The officers are : Abner B. 
Wool, president; H. M. Fuller and J. C. Bertholf, vice-presidents; John W. 
Ta\'lor, secretary and treasurer, and W. H. Horton, recording secretarj-. 

The Monroe county branch of the Irish National league of America, hav- 
ing its headquarters in Rochester, came into existence April 29th, 1883, on 
which day the principles set forth two days before by a con\-ention in Phila- 
delphia, called to cooperate with the Irish National league of Ireland, were 
adopted as the principles of the new organisation. The objects which the Irish 
National league was formed to attain for Ireland are national self-government, 
land law reform, local self-government, extension of the parliamentarj- and 
municipal franchises, and the development and encouragement of the labor and 
industrial interests of Ireland. The principal purpose of the league in America 
is to earnestly and actively sustain the Irish National league in Irehuul, with 
moral and material aid in achieving self-government for Ireland. The original 
societ}' from which the local society sprang was the Monroe County Irish Na- 
tional Land League Relief association, which was organised on Sunday, Feb- 
ruar}- 1st, 1880, at a meeting held in this cit\' to form a permanent organisation 
to assist Ireland materially in the famine then prevailing in the island, and to 
keep up agitation against the system of land tenure, and political evils imposed 
by England on the country, until those evils shall be removed. Any person 
was eligible to membership who professed sympathy with the movement, and 
paid ten cents a week into the treasury. 

The officers of the society during the first year were: President, William 
Purcell ; vice-president, A. B. Lamberton ; corresponding secretary, Patrick 
Mahon ; treasurer, Patrick Cox ; financial secretary, Martin Barron ; recording 
secretary, George F. Flanncry. Dr. J. W. Casey was elected president for the 
years 1 88 1 and 1882, but declined the third term, and was succeeded by H. P. 
Mulligan, who, in 1S84, had as his successor Bartholomew Keeler, the incum- 
bent at date of writing. No salary whatever is paid an)- of the officers. The 
society, in addition to weekly meetings, at which European and American pub- 



226 History of the City of Rochester. 

lie men have spoken in behalf of the purposes of the league, has also printed 
and ilistrihnteil flee in Ameriea and I'hinipe thousaiiLls of documents relating 
to the agitation in which it is eiigagetl. The money wliich it has collected and 
sent to Ireland amounts at this date to $12,000. The last declaration of con- 
sequence made by the league previous to the writing of this sketch was to 
pletlge itself to pay salaries to those Irish members of pai'liament who are 
faithful to the interests of Ireland, but whose own means are not enough to 
suiijiort them while attentling e\clusi\ely to legislati\'e duties. ' 

The Civil Sei'vice Reform association was organised on the 26th of ( )cto- 
ber, 1882, ha\'ing for its immediate object the passage of laws opening .ippoint- 
ment in the ci\'il service of the LInited States to th<ise who might satisfactorily 
pass a com])etiti\e examination. It was coiistituteil in affiliation with the more 
general association in the city of New Voik. Shortly after its formation Con- 
gress passed the so-called " I'entlleton bill," by which the princi[)al object of 
the association was accomplished, ami a little Liter the legislature of Xew York 
enacted a simil.u- law with regard to this state. The society subsecpientK' be- 
came a member of the National Ci\il Ser\-ice Reform league, and l)r. E. M. 
Moore was chosen as the re])resentati\e vice-president and member of the ex- 
ecuti\e conmiittee of the league. At its hrst meeting the associaticin chose the 
follow ing- nanieil officers, who have been twice reelected, anil who are the 
present iucumlients: I'resiileiit, Dr. !•".. M. Moore; x'ice-presiilents, C. \i. l''itch, 
(jilman 11. Perkins, J.mies L. Angle, Max Landsberg, Louis h'.rnst, Patrick 
Pariy, A. S. M,mn ; secretary Porter h'arley ; treasurer, h". \V. hdwood ; ex- 
ecutive conmiittee, I'heodore Bacon, L. P. l\.<iss, J. P. \'ainum, I). 1). Sull}-, 
John Fahy, S. P. Mo,,r.', Wm. F. Peck. 

The Lincoln club is, to a great extent, politic, il in its nature, but its actix'i- 
t_v is not c<inhned to election campaigns, n<ir do part)' i)olitics engross its 
attention, tor lectures, pri-jiared by its members ,md b)- outsiders, are frequeiitl)' 
delivered before it, and one of the principal objects of the club is to fmiiliarise 
its members with the princi])les of ci\'il goxernment. The first meeting was 
held in ( )ctober, 1879, and w.is .attended by some twent)' members. Pomero)- 
P. l)ickinson was elected to the presidency, an office which he held two )-ears. 
'Pile membership iiid'eased so rapidly tli.it in 1880 the club rooms on State 
street were found iuade<juate, and a move was m.'ide to the supervisors' room 
in the court-house, which the_\' occupied until l'"ebruar\-, 1S82, when arrange- 
ments were matle for the use of the large hall on the corner of West Main 
street and Plymouth a\emie. which tliev still occupy. The officers for the 
\'ear are: President, Willi, im K. Werner; \ice-presitlent, W. l\ Kislingbur_\- ; 
recording secretar)', C. C. Werner; corresponding secretar)', J. I'. Talliiiger; 
financial secretar)-, F'retlerick A. F'rick ; treasurer, William II. Higgins. 

The Riverside Rowing club is e.xclusively amateur, and was organised 



IThe skelch uf ilic Xati.m.il le.iijuc was kimllv fumislu-d liv Kclmona Redmond. 



Rochester Canoe Cluh. 227 

September 7th, i86g, for the promotion and encouragement of social and 
friendly intercourse, ph\-sical culture, and impro\-emcnt in the ai't of rowing. 
The club-house is on the river, at the foot of Griffith street. At the annual 
meeting held Wednesday, April 2d, 1884, the following officers were elected 
for tlie ensuing year : President, Robert Mathews ; vice-president, F. W. Kl- 
wood ; captain, D. D. Sully ; secretary, James Montgomery ; treasurer, Thomas 
H. Husband ; executive committee, Frank C. Fenn, A. K. Perkins. 

The Rochester Canoe club. — The idea of forming a canoe club in this city 
originated with George H. liarris and M. B. Turpin, who, after man)- attemjHs, 
succeeded in gathering together a few persons interested in aquatic sports and 
perfecting an organisation. At a meeting held September 29th, 18S2, a con- 
stitution was adopted, and the f illowing officers were elected : President, Geo. 
H. fiarris ; vice-president, M. B. Turpin; secretary and treasure!', J. M. An- 
gle; captain, A. E. Dumble ; first officer, F. \V. Storms. The object of its 
originators, as expressed in article second of the constitution, is "to imite ama- 
teur canoeists for purposes of health, pleasure, exploration, historical research, 
and for the preservation of maps, drawings, iletails and objects of interest to 
canoemen." The club is in a \-er\- prt)sperous condition, having a large and 
enthusiastic membership, many canoes, and commodious cpiarters at the New- 
port House, on Irondequoit ba)'. The officers for the year are : Captain, F. 
W. Andrews; mate, Edward Gilmore ; jiurser, J. M. Angle. 

There are of course a legion of other clubs and societies of various kinds in 
this cit\', which might be mentioned in this chaptei'. Many of them are de- 
scribed or alluded to in different parts of this work — such as the chapters on 
" Rochester's German Element" ami "the k'ine Arts in Rochester" — render- 
ing unnecessary a recapitulation of them here ; in the case of others the most 
painstaking inquiries on the part of the editor were met with e\-asions which 
seemed to indicate a wish for obscurit}'; while others, still, appeared so transi- 
tory in their existence, or so circumscribed in their scope, as to exclude them 
from a work of this nature. 



HiSTdKV OF THE CllV (IF ROCHESTER. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

iiii'; I'.Rii'; ( AXAi.. 

ll, DHoii, — Vat;iie I<1l-.i^ of ( ;,,iivfi lunir M..rri-. — ll.liinlr (\,m<j]:\i..n ,,f ji-^sf I lawk-y — l.ei^is- 
lalivc Aclion in I.SoS — Ik- Will CliiiK.n A|)].car-. — Canal ( ■..iniiiissi.nu-i ^ A|.|H.inlL-il in iSio — My- 
n.n ll.)lK-y an.i lli^ ( Irral Scriicrs — liii|inilanl Mi-ctiii.i; al I ■niianilai.Ljiia — 0|>|.osiiii)n at All.any — 
Work IVi^uii July 4th. 1S17 — Tlu- Canal 1 onipKu-.l ( ktohcr 24tli. I.S25 —Tin- Cian.l ( Vldaation — 
I'ailar-enit-iU of i1k- Canal — Cii-al Convrnlion ni llii- Cily — Canal Slali-lio — 'I'lu- Ci-nt-sn- \alK-y 
Canal. 

WIK) i)ri)])(isc(l. the V.vic canal)' The answer ti> that question, apijarentl)' 
so easy to be L;i\en. is ini])ossil)lL- of attainment. Like nian_\- other of 
the L;reat e\ents in the worUl's histoi'v, the project of the lu'ie canal w .is not a 
(letinite, episodical enterprise, but a L;ro\\th, a development from intangible, 
almost inaj.)preciable bcL^inninj^s in the mimls of men. The time i)f its concep- 
tion is, naturalU', etiuall)- indefinite, but if an}- period must be set let it be that 
i>f the last \-ear of the last eentur\-. TakiiiL; that as the date, Gon\erneur 
^^>rris ma\- be said to be the oriL;inator of the idea, but his thoughts were so 
xague in the matter that he himself wnuld ha\-e been the last person to claim 
the re.d parentage of the scheme. In 1 Soo, wjiile on a tour to Niagaia falls, 
he became impressed with the naxigable capacities of the country and wrote to 
a l-'.urcppean correspondent : " ( )ne-tenth part of the expense borne by Britain in 
the hist campaign would enable shijis to sail from London through tlie Hudson 
river into Lake Lrie." In 1S05 he spoke to Simeon De Witt, then surveyor- 
general of the state, of the jiossiliility of tapping Lake Erie, but the probabilit}- 
is that he h<ul in mind a project for building a series of locks around Niagara 
falls, thus enabling x'essels to jiass into Lake Ontario and get from there into the 
Hudson b\- im[)ro\ing the natural watercourses between the mouth of the Os- 
wego ri\ei' and the Mohawk, h'om whence a serie.s of short canals should take 
them into the I ludson. 

Jesse Hawie)-, afterwaril a resident of Rochester, was the first to place the 
subject conspicuoush- and clearly before the people, in a number of essays that 
appeared in 1 807— 08 over the signature of " Hercules" in a Pittsburg paper and 
in the Gcucscc Mcssfiigcr, published at Canandaigua. In these he marked out 
a route nearh' the same as that subsecjuently adopted, except that he proposed 
to use the Mohawk river as one of the connecting links. While these articles 
of Mr. Hawley's awakened public interest in the subject, it is doubtful if they 
were the immediate cause of legislation. lienjamin Wright, of Rome, N. Y., in 
a long letter to the Xew York Observer in i 866, claims the honor of tliat for 
his father, Judge Wright, a member of the Assembl)' in 1808, who, he says, 
being interested in an article on "Canals" just then published in Rees's Cyc/o- 
pcdia, engaged Joshua I'orman, a member from Onondaga count}', in the work, 
the result being that on tlie 4th of l'\-bruar}-, 1 80S, Mr. Eorman introduced a 
resolution, which Mr. Wright seconded and which was adopted, that 



The ICrie Canal. 229 



"A joint committee be appointed to take into consideration the propriety of ex- 
ploring and causing an accurate survey to be made of the most eligible and direct route 
for a canal to open a communication between the tide-waters of the Hudson river and 
Lake Erie, to the end that Congress may be enabled to approjjriate such sums as may i)c 
necessary to the accomplishment of that great national object." 

For the expenses of this survey an appropriation of $600 was made, and 
in the folldwing June Surveyor-General De Witt appointed James Geddes to 
do the work. In opposition to the spirit of Mr. ]''orman's resolution, and in 
spite of the fact that Joseph l^llicott, the agent of the Holland Land company, 
had in letters to the surveyor-general traced a practicable route from Lake 
Erie to the Genesee river, with the assurance likewise that it could be extended to 
the Seneca river, the instructions to Mr. Geddes were such as to distinctly 
favor the route involving the navigation of Lake Ontario for a great propor- 
tion of the distance. Mr. Geddes in 1809 made his report, which seems to 
have detailed almost every conceivable plan but the right one, and to have 
favored, for this part of the state, a ridiculous system of communication "up 
the valley of Mud creek and across the country to the Genesee river, thence 
uj) Black creek to the Tonnewanta swamp and down the Tonnewanta creek to 
the Niagara river and up the same to Lake J^rie." The way in which the 
work was done may be seen from his statement that "almost everything re- 
specting this space has been sup[5lied by conjectures formed from appearances 
on the map." Nothing further was done in the matter by the legislature till 
1810, when a resolution was adopted appointing "seven commissioners to ex- 
plore the whole route for inland navigation from the Hudson river to Lake On- 
tario and to Lake Erie." 

De Witt Clinton now comes to the front as the most earnest advocate of the 
canal policy, and his speech in the Senate in fa\'or of that resolution was the 
beginning of a line of conduct which earned for him the enduring title of " the 
father of the Erie canal." The commissioners thereby appointed were Gouv- 
erneur Morris, Stephen V^an Ren.sselaer, De Witt Clinton, Simeon De Witt, 
William North, Thomas Eddy and Peter B. Porter. The commissioners did 
their work with thoroughness, Mr. Clinton going through this region, fording 
the river about where the jail now stands and going down to Hanford's Land- 
ing to lodge for the night. In 1811 the members made a report, drawn up 
by Mr. Morris, "proposing a project which, although the signature of all the 
commissioners was attached, was entertained seriously by no other member of 
the board." It was, in effect, Mr. Hawley's original plan, "to bring the waters 
of the lake, on one continued uninterrupted plane, with an inclination of six 
inches in every mile, to a basin to be formed near the Hudson, from whence 
there was to be a descent by a great number of locks." A bill was immedi- 
ately passed increasing the number of commissioners by adding Robert R. Liv- 
ingston and Robert Fulton and authorising them to apply to Congress for 
cooperation and aid, on the ground that it was a national work. This applica- 



2W HiSlOkV OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



tion was transiniltcd to Congress in December, 1811, b}- President Madison, 
but it was fruitless, and an apjieal to different states resultetl in best wishes from 
Some, disap[)ro\al from otliers and nmne) fmni iinne. In 1 S i 2 the cnniniis- 
sioilers made a second report to tile legislature, and a liill was passed author- 
ismg them to borrdw U\c millicns oi dollars for the cunstruction of the canal, 
but the war with I'.ngl.md, which broke out at that time, so engrossed the niintis 
of pe'iple that nothing was done and in 1 S 1 4 the bill was repealed — a fortu- 
nate measure, as every cent fiui-roweil on account of the canal was obtained of 
our cn\n citizens, instead of ha\ing the loan pi. iced abroad at a discount. At 
the close of iSi; ,1 l.irge public meeting was held in New York, as an out- 
come of which Dc W itt Clinton, .is chairman of a committee then appointed, 
di'.iughtL-d the document known .is "the Xew N'ork Meniori.il," which caused 
petitions fi\()r<ible to ilie construction of the canal to be poured in from all 
([u.irters upon the legislature. 

.Still th.it body, axerse to action, tlid nothing in 1816 except to create a 
bo.ird of c.inal coinmissioiiei's whose duties were "to construct canals from the 
IIikIsoii ri\er to Lakes I'.rie and C'h.implain." The board consisted of .Stephen 
Van Rensselaer, iJe Witt Clinton, Joseph IvUicott, Samuel \'oung and M\'ron 
Iloll<_\'. The last named gentleman then resided in Lx'ons, but a few years 
after he mo\ed to this neighborhotid and ideiitifietl himself with the interests of 
Rochester, though he li\-etl outsitle of the cit\- limits in a beautiful place on the 
east bank of the ri\er, just north of the Ridge ro.id, which for many years after 
his death was known as the " Holle)' farm." One of the most pure-minded and 
piil)lic-spirited of our citizens, he devoted his life to the enlightened service of 
his fellow-men, and his efforts in beh.ilf of this great medium of commerce, 
w hicli place him beside De Witt Clinton as one of the benefactors of the state, 
were onl_\- a portion of the good deeds which he did for the commonwealth. 
On the 8th of Janu.ir)-, 1817, .1 meeting was held at Can.indaigua, of citizens 
from most of the towns of ( )ntario county (which then included part of the site 
of Rochester.) l-"ew unoffici.il meetings ha\e been more imposing than that 
one, from the ch.iracter, t.ileiit and eminence of those attending it. Colonel 
Troup was the ch.iirm.m. Colonel Rochester the secretary, and the first address 
vv.is made by Gideon ( jranger, then lately postmaster-general. After that John 
Cireig offered a series of resolutions, which were unanimously adopted, drawn 
uj) Ijy Mr. Holle}' ami exhibiting with great force the transcendent advantages 
th.it wouli-1 result from a direct iKU'igation between the Hudson and Lake Lrie. 

To tile action of this meeting may be ascribed, in great part, the wise and 
liberal policy that was finally ailopted by the legislature, but before that was 
accomplished the most exasperating opposition had to be overcome. Governor 
Tompkins urged the subject upon the attention of the two houses, and a law 
was passed in April authorising the commencement of the canals. The strug- 
gle against it in the Senate was verv bitter and it would have been defeated 



TnK Erie Canal. 



but for Martin VanBuren, who, though a violent political opponent of Mr. Clin- 
ton, had the sagacity to perceive the advantage which would accrue to the 
state, to his party and to himself b>- the ado])tioii of the measure anil who 
therefore spoke strongly in its fa\or. 15ut the danger was not yet over, for the 
members of the council of revision were divided on the subject, IJeutenant- 
Governor Taylor — who was then acting governor, as Governor Tompkins had 
become vice-president of the United States in the previous month — being in- 
tensely hostile to it, so that it required the vote of Chancellor Kent, who 
changed his mind at the last moment, to ratify the act of the legislature and 
thus make it into a law on the 15th of April. It was a splendid victory for New 
York's great statesman, who could afford to disregard the jeers that both before 
and after that were thrown out against "Clinton's big ditch." The bill which so 
narrowly escaped defeat was, after all, not so complete as it should have been and 
merely authorised the commissioners to connect by canals and locks the Mohawk 
and Seneca rivers. It established a board of commissioners of the canal fund, 
with power to contract lo.uis, the interest on which was to be paid out of a fund 
consisting of a small tax on salt made at the springs belonging to the state, 
part of the duties accruing from sales at auction, donations of lands from indi- 
viduals or companies to be benefited by the canal (such as tracts of 100,000 
acres from the Holland Land company, 1,000 from Gideon Gsanger, 1,000 
from John Greig, as agent of the Hornby estate, etc.), the proceeds of some 
lotteries, a tax on steamboat passengers and a future tax of $250,000 on lands 
lying within twent3'-five miles of the canal. The last-named tax was never 
levied, the steamboat tax was not collected and no assistance was ever derived 
from the lotteries. Work was begun on the 4th of Jul)', 18 I 7, on the middle 
section, from Utica to the Seneca river, which was all that the commissioners 
had power to do at the beginning. As the labor progressed, it became a mat- 
ter of uncertainty, first, as to whether the canal should be completed at all ; 
second!}-, as to whether it should go by the overland. I'oute or by the Oswego 
route, as it was called, that is b}' \\a\' of Lake Ontario, with locks around 
Niagara falls: or, thirdh', where it should cross the Genesee, if it crossed it at 
all. A limited appropriation was granted by the legislature in 1 8 19, enabling 
the commissioners to extend their operations over lines not previously surveyed 
and let out, and Mr. HoUey took advantage of that to send an engineer in July 
of that year to Rochester to decide as to where the Genesee snould be crossed 
and to survey the line eastward from that point to Montezuma, w-hich was the 
end of the middle section. This was done in September, as has been noted in 
another chapter, and it effectually settled the question as between Rochester, 
Carthage and Black creek for the crossing of the river, but it did not at all de- 
cide the fate of the overland route. The canal board was understood to be 
divided on the question, and a meeting was held in this city at the counting- 
roe)m of John G. Bond to give expression to the popular feeling on the subject. 



HlSTOKV OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



A i),i[)ci' which was there ih-<i\\n up b_\' lums Pcmicroy was ciicuhitcil tar and 
vvielc, with the siL;natiires of Kosweil H<irt, Ira West, Charles J. Hill, John (i. 
Bond, Samuel J. Andrews, Heiijaniin Bhissom and se\eral nthers. It was 
headed "Canal in l)anL;er," ,uid besides ur^inL;' the completinn of the wurk on 
the niirthern mute it ad\ <.>cateil the electinii of (iox'enior Clinton and his friends 
to the legislature. It may ha\'e h.ul efleet in both ways, for Daniel D. Tomp- 
kins was defeated by a small majority at the polls in his effort to "change back" 
and to surrender the \ice-[)residency for the go\'ernorship which he had pre- 
viously resigned, and "the Rochester hand-bill" was alwa_\'s thought to Ikivc 
had much to do with his discomfiture. In ( )ctober, i.Snj, the middle section 
was hnishetl. and the commissioners then, by a majoiaty \'ote, ga\'e out con- 
tracts from Rochester to Falm}-ra. In spite of that the danger was not entirely 
past, for when the legislature met in 1S20 a desperate effort was made by the 
friends of the Oswego route to ^to[5 work upon the western section until the 
eastern section was completed and the Champlain c.ui.d also was finishei.1. The 
scheme failed, antl Irom that time the success of the overland route in a con- 
tinuous line fi-om the Hudson to Lake ka'ie was assured. 

As the work iirogressed. all the towns along the route took ad\-antage of 
the new mode of ti'ansportati<in ojjened to them, fVir water was let into the 
different sections and even parts ol sections as fast as thev were completed. 
Rochester was among the foieniost in using the channel, especiall}- for the ship- 
ment of llour, as ma\' be seen b\- the statement that from April 26th to May 
Gth, 1823, 10.000 barrels of it were shipped from here for AIban\- and New- 
York. It must, howe\er, have been taken off at some point west of Alban\-, 
for it was not till November of that year that bo^its from here entered the basin 
at that pilace, along with the first boats that passed through the Champlain 
canal, then just completed. The task of cutting through the mountain ridge 
at the [loint where Lockport now stands, and constructing the atlmirable locks 
which h.u'e gi\'en its name to th.it city, w.is a formidable one, taking up all of 
1824 and most (.if 1825. ( )n the 24th of October in the latter \-ear the guard 
gates at LockiJort were raised, the long kwel east of that place was filled and 
the grandest work on this continent, up to th.at time, was finished. The ex- 
pense of constructing it was a little o\er se\-en millions of dollars. Its entire 
length was originally ^6^ miles, of which the western section, from Montezuma 
to Buffalo, embraced 158, with twenty-one locks and a fall of 106 feet. Of 
the various commissioners who held office tlmang the work, not all were "act- 
ing commissioners," and Myron Holley, who had b\- his speeches, his writings 
and his votes tlone more than all the others to secure the adoption of the 
course that was substantiall}- the same as that originally jiroposed by Jesse 
Hawle)-, was \ery jiroperK' the one who had almost the entire charge of the 
work on this section. C)f the nine engineers employed on the whole canal, 
three were residents of this cit)- in 1838, if not before, I'is.: Nathan S. Roberts, 



The Erie Canal. 233 



»avid S. Bates and Valentine Gill. The second named, Judge Bates, died to- 
ard the close of that year, after having been the chief-engineer of all the 
mals in the state of Ohio (at least of all those constructed up to the time of 
is death) and of the ship canal around the falls at Louisville, Ky. 

Of course a monster celebration had to take place on the completion of the 
ork, and to make the knowledge of it as nearly instantaneous as was possible 
I those da\-s large cannon were stationed at short distances all the way from 
uffalo to Sand\- Hook, On the morning of the 26th of October the first sig- 
al gun, at our neighbor cit\-, announced that the mooring lines had been cast 
fif from the leading boat of the flotilla that was to bear Governor Clinton, the 
inal commissioners and other prominent citizens from Lake Lrie to the 
letropolis of America and the waters of the Atlantic ocean. Instantl)' the 
jxt gun responded and then the others, in succession so rapid that in one 
Dur and twent_\- minutes the final report gave the news to listening ears in 
le streets of New York. The opening ceremonies at Buffalo were attended 
yr a committee from this place, of which Jesse Havvley was the chairman 
id that gentleman made on the occasion a brief and appropriate address, to 
hich Oliver Forward responded on behalf of the citizens of Buffalo. The 
iumphal procession stopped at all principal points on the line of the vo)-- 
3-e, which ended on the 4th of November, with a crowning celebration 
: New York. The proceedings here, on the 27th of October, were ushered 
by a drizzling rain, but in spite of that eight companies of handsomely uni- 
rmcd militia turned out at two o'clock in the afternoon and formed in line on 
le towpath, with an immense concourse of spectators scattered over all avail- 
jle points. As the bi.iats from the west appeared in sight they were greeted 
ith a fusillade of musketry from the companies, and when they reached the 
]ue(.luct thev found the entrance guarded b)- the boat Young Lion of the 
"est. Those on board of this sentinel craft hailed the Seucea Chief, which was 
the van of the procession, and a colloquy took place, in these words: — 

" Who comes there ?" 

" Your brethren of the west, from the waters of tlie great lakes-." 

" By what means have they been diverted from their natural course ? " 

" By the channel of the grand Erie canal." 

"Bv whose authority and by whom was a work of such magnitude accomplished ?" 

" Bv the authority and enterprise of the patriotic people of the state of New York." 

•' All right ! Pass." 

The Young Lion then gave way and the Seneca Chief wTii, allowed to enter 
hild's basin, at the end of the aqueduct. As the boats passed into the basin, 
ley were greeted with a salute from heavy artillery under command of Cap- 
in Ketchum, and from field-guns commanded by Captain Jacob Gould. The 
ochester and Canandaigua committees of congratulation then took their places 
ider an arch surmounted by an eagle, and the Seneea Chief, having the com- 
ittees on board, being moored, Gen. Vincent Mathews and John C. Spencer 



234 History of tiie City of Rochestkr. 

offered the congratulations of the citizens of the respective villages. Apprci- 
[)riatc reply was made, and then, disembarking, a procession was formed, which 
marched to the h'irst Presb_\'terian church, where Re\'. Joseph Penne>' offered 
pr,i\-er, and Fimntlu- Childs pronounced an able and eloquent address. The 
compan\- then marched tn the Mansion House, kept b\' Christopher, and enjoyed 
a sumi)tuinis dinner. Gen. Mathews presided, assisted by Jesse Hawley and 
Jonathan Child. .Anicmg nian_\' toasts were the following : By his excellency — 
"Rochester. — in iSio I saw it without a house or an inhabitant. In 1825 I 
see it the nucleus of an npulent and pDpuhms city, ancl the central point <if nu- 
merous and transcendent blessings." And b\' the lieutenant-governor — " The 
\'illage of Rochester, — it stands upon a rock, where the most useful of streams 
la\es its feet. Its age ])nimises tn attain the acme of greatness. " At half-past 
se\'en the \isitors reembarked, and the stpiadron departed joined b\" the Young 
[Jon of /III West, with the following citi/.ens of Rochester as a committee, for 
Xew \'i.irk : l-Llisha B. Strong, Le\'i Ward, W'm. B. Rochester, Abelard Re\-nolds, 
Elisha Johnson, General \\. S. Beach, A. Strong, and B. F. Hurlbut. Of this 
number none are now li\ing, Mr. Rex'nolds being the last to pass awa_\', after 
being the sole sur\i\or fir man)- ve-M's. 

l^ven at the outset the canal w as considered to be too small for the business 
that was likeh" to be done through it, and, as time wore on, the inadequacy of 
its original dimensions, which were forty feet in width b)' four in depth, became 
apparent to all. ( )n the Jist of September, 18^55, a meeting was held at the 
court-house in Rochester, at which the ma_\-or, Jacob Gould, presided, with E. 
Darwin Smith as secretary, when a memorial and a series of resolutions, drawn 
up b\' M_\ron llolle)-, were adopted, favoring the enlargement. These were, as 
had been directed, forwarded to the canal board, which, at its meeting a month 
later, decidetl on increasing the dimensions to sevent}' feet b\' se\'en, but to do 
it b\' means of the surplus tolls alone. This was felt to be too slow a process, 
and another meeting was held here on the 30th of December, 1836, presided 
o\-er by James Se\'mour, with S. (i. Andrews as secrelar)', and addressed by 
Dr. Brown, General (~iould and Henr\' O'Rielly. As the outcome of this a 
canal convention was held here on the l8th of Januar}-, 1837, one of the largest 
conventions that e\er took place in Western Xew York, with Nathan Dayton, 
of Lockport, as jiresident, with a long array of \'ice-presidents and secre- 
taries. After stirring speeches from a great number of eminent men, urging 
the procurement of ,1 loan anticipating the re\-enue, .so that the work could be- 
gin at once, the following persons were appointed as a central executive com- 
mittee at Rochester, to t.dce all proper measures for placing the subject full\- 
before the people, and b\- memorials before the legislature: Henry O'Rielh', 
James Seymour, Jonathan Child, E. Darwin Smith, S. (j. Andrews, Thomas 
H. Rochester, Horace Ga_\-, I""rederick Whittlese\-, Orlando Hastings, Everard 
Peck, A. M. Schermerhorn, Thomas Kempshall and Joseph Field. This com- 



The Erie Canal. 235 



nittee, in conjunction with one at Buffalo, presented a bill to the legislature, 
uithorising the expenditure of half a million dollars annualh-, in addition to 
ihe surplus revenue, for the enlargement and the impro\-ement of the canal, 
3ut it was rejected. 

In 1838, however, the legislature, mindful of the wishes of the people by 
»\hom it had been elected, passed a bill appropriating four millions of dollars 
annuall}- for the purpose. This gave ample means for the desired improve- 
ment, and for this great increase of the effectiveness of the canal, by means of 
which boats can carry four hundred tons, whereas at the outset one was thought 
to be heavily laden if it had forty tons, the state is more indebted to M\'ron 
Holley than to any one else. The need of a new and larger aqueduct to take 
the place of the old one in this city was more keenly felt than anything else, 
and work upon it was begun the year before this appropriation bill was passed. 
The structure, though not much larger than the old one, except as to width, is 
(ar more substantial, and of more elegant workmanship. It cost $600,000, and 
the material, which is of gray limestone, mostly from the Lockport quarries, is 
of so durable a nature as almost to defy the tooth of time. In preparing the 
foundation for the abutments and piers, and to give a free passage for the floods 
of the river under the new arciies, 30,000 cubic yards of rock were blasted and 
removed out of the bed of the Genesee river. 

It will not be necessar\- to recount further the history of the canal, to tell 
of the many good things done for it, and of the many bad things done to it 
and by means of it — of how its waters have flowed along, burdened with cor- 
ruption, jobbery and peculation, but all the time have borne u])on their bosom 
a freightage so rich as to more than compensate for all the treasure taken 
wrongfully away from it, or lost b\- the neglect of those who should have pre- 
served it from the ravages of time, and the encroachments of selfish or design- 
ing persons. Of all the manufacturers along its banks, there were few indeed 
who did not divert the water for their own purposes, and those few paid to the 
state an amount of money so small as to be not worth consideration in com- 
parison with the loss to which the canal was subjected. The quantity of water 
thus taken is incalculable, certainly flowing up into the billions of gallons an- 
nually, and, as it was generally drawn off at a time when the dryness of the 
season so affected the water-courses that nothing could be gained from those 
sources, the result was that boats were frcquentl)- stranded and delayed for 
days at a time. 

From the ver\- beginning the citizens of Rochester took the liveliest inter- 
est in the canal, in other ways than those detailed above. In 1827 the regula- 
tions of the village charter forbade masters of boats to suffer any horn or bugle 
to be blown within the village limits on the Sabbath, and a few years later a 
Sabbath-keeping line of canal-boats was started, which received much en- 
couragement and aid from Aristarchus Champion, who, in connection there- 

16 



HlSTdRV OF THE ClTV OF RoCIIESTF:R. 



with, put ill operation the "Pioneer," or six-day line of stages. Statistics of 
the _\'ear 1 834 show that our citizens then owned stock in tlic various trans- 
portation Hues on tht' can.il to the .imount of $74,000 and that about one-sixth 
of the ti'lls paid throu^lidut tiie state were received at tiiis point. Rochester 
has had but one canal commissioner since the time of M^-ron Holle\- — John 
L). hay, whose adniinistratii m clurini; his first term L,^'U'e such satisfaction that, 
after beini;- elected in l^Uj, he was chosen again in I S70. To all citizens of 
this generation a skx-tch of the I.u'ie canal would seem incomplete withinit a 
mention of Henr_\- L. l''ish, whose ef't'orts to preserve and protect it from h.irni 
and wastefulness ha\e been unremitting and untiring, both in man\- public 
cai>acities and b_\' fre(|uent contributions to the local press. 

The following-figures will be of interest : The cost of the first construction 
was $7,143,789, <if the enlargement $44,465,414, making a total of $51,609,- 
203. When it was enlarged the line was straightened somewhat, shortening 
the length b_\' twehe and a half miles, so that it is now three hundred and fifty 
and a half miles long, with sevent_\'-two h^ks. whose total lockage is nearly si.\ 
hundred and hfty-h\e feet. The maximum burden of boats is two hundred 
and f)rt\- tons. ( )f wh.it was done on the canal in the wa_\- of freightage fifty 
_\'ears ago the following comparative table will conve)- some impression : Total 
tolls for 1833, $1,290,136.20; fir 1834, $1,179,744.97; for 1835, $1,375,821.- 
26; for 1836, $1,440,539.87 ; of these the amount collected in Rochester wa^, 
in 1833, $168,452.37; in 1834, $164,247.28; in 1835, $176, 170.33 ; '" 183''. 
$190,036.59. With a unifirmit}- of progression almost unbroken, the tolls 
continued to increase for twent_\'-fi\'e )'ears after the opening of the canal, but 
the decline then began, and although it was gradual at first it eventuall)- dropped 
to so low a point that the abolition of tolls and the introduction of the free 
canal s_\steni last }'ear kept but little money from Ci.)ming into the state treas- 
ury, while the change w.is generally beneficial to the boatmen and those in the 
firw.irding business. In 1865 the tolls received at this point were $102,350.- 
85, in 1870 the\- were $33,018.37, in 1875 $6,240.92, in 1880 $1 1,797.82, in 
1881 $7,192.27 ami in 1882 $5,070.04. A few words w'ith regard to the im- 
{)ortance ot keeping in operation the ICrie canal, as a means of transportation 
from the west to the .Atlantic sea-board, will not be out of place. The state- 
ment has often been made that the expense of preserving the great waterwa)- 
was greater than any income which could be derived from it, and that true 
polic)', therefore, dictated its abandonment. No conclusion could be more fil- 
lacious. The object in the mind of its creators was not to [)ut money into the 
treasui)- but to benefit the people, and this it has e\'er done, ne\x-r more ^' ' 
than in those }'ears when the aggregate of tolls was rapidly decreasing, ne\er 
more so than at this present time, when the canal is free ami the state deri\'es 
no income at all from the commerce between its banks. If every boat were to 
be rotting at the dock and no mo\-ing craft were henceforth to disturb the 
tr;in(|uillit\' of its waters, the necessit)' of its retention would still be paramount, 



The Genesee Vaelev Canal. 237 

and our legislators should turn a deaf ear to every proposition for its close. 
As long as it is in existence the farmer can get his produce to the great mart 
of this hemisphere at a living rate of transportation, or sell it here at a 
price that will enable him to support his family in comfort ; let the Erie canal 
become a thing of the past, competition dies, and the rates of transportation 
are at the merciless whim of railroad corporations, which would crush out 
all incentive to agricultural production and paralyse half the industries of 
our city. 

While the Erie canal was in process of construction, and after its completion 
as far west as this point had opened the channel of communication between 
Rochester and the state capital, the necessity of connecting the great water- 
way with the fertile section of countrj' through which the Genesee flowed be- 
came evident to the minds of all who had commercial relations with the farmers 
of the happy valle}'. To more than those, for Go\-. Clinton, ever mindful of 
the interests connected with the great enterprise inseparably associated with his 
name, became impressed with the idea at an early daj^ and strongly advocated 
it in a message to the legislature in 1824. Of course nothing was done about 
the matter at that session, or at any other till 1828, when a survej' was ordered, 
which was made under the direction of Judge Geddes. For some reason it 
was not satisfactory, and the affair was dropped till 1834, when another act 
was passed, authorising a re-survey, which was made under the direction of 
Frederick C. Mills, who gave as the estimate of cost $1,890,614.12 for a canal 
to extend from Rochester to Olean, on the Alleghany river, a route of one 
hundred and seven miles. . On the 6th of May a law was passed for its con- 
struction, but no contract was let till 1837, when two miles were given out in 
June, and twenty-eight were let in November. The work progressed very 
slowly, so that it was not till 1856 that the canal was finished and opened to 
Olean. The business which was expected to be done by this line was never so 
great as had been anticipated, owing, perhaps, to the. tardiness of its completion 
and equally to the decline of the milling interests here and the impetus given 
to the manufacture and sale of western flour soon after the canal went into 
operation. The Rochester engineers engaged upon the work were Frederick 
C. Mills, Henrj^ S. Dexter, J. B. Stillson, Daniel Marsh, S. V. R. Patterson, 
George D. Stillson, Burton W. Clark and Daniel McHenry. Many contractors 
residing here have from time to time undertaken to keep the canal in repair, 
but it has not been either pleasant or profitable to them, the heavy freshets and 
other causes combining to make the labor greater than the emolument. Finally, 
after {iragging along at a loss to the state and almost everybody connected with 
it, the canal was abandoned by the authorities at the close of navigation in 
1878; offers were soon made to purchase it and after the consideration of all 
propositions it was finally sold to the Genesee Valley Canal railroad company, 
the deed, signed by Alonzo B. Cornell as governor of the state of New York, 
bearing date the 6th of November, 1880. 



HiSTORV OF THE ClTY OF ROCHESTER. 



CHAITI'.R XXX. 







riiK 1-1 


iRCI'S ( 


F NATLKF. 






Tck-.ra|, 
IV'lr-ra|.li 
•■iiel in k. 


1 — ( 
Cm,,,! 
>1h-1 


■)■ — Iiisui-a 


— riic 1 


Ricllv Fines — Trail 
■IrpiiMiR- — Cas aii.l 
ini.;, Ik-R-, I'asi an.l 


fninialinn in 

FlLHtlic Fi-h 
I'l-rsflll. 


— ( 



B1'".I'"()R1^ the iK'iTictin;^- of the Morse system in I 844 there was Httle confi- 
(leiiee felt th.it the' eleetric telei^raph would ex'er be of any practical ini- 
uorlance for business pui'poses; in fact, it was impossiljle to ^et capitalists to 
iiurchase stock in an enterprise so no\-el and extraordinar_\- as the teleL;ra]ih 
was then consideretl to be. Now, \\ lun the entire Ljlobe is encircled b\' tele- 
L;raphic lines, which bi-ini; into intimate relations the ( )ld .nul New wt>rlds, it is 
curious to note that fortv \ears at^n there was but one lighlnini; line in opera- 
tion b\" which the important news of the day was flashed from the Atlantic 
coast to the .\lleL;hany mountains, to the fir-awa)' Mississiiipi valley. This 
line, which ultiniatel_\- connected all sections of the United States within a radius 
of S,ooo miles, was projectetl, or;.;amsLd and constructed by Henr_\' O'Riell)-, 
of this cit\', to whose earnest and untiriiiL; eflorts is largely tlue the success of 
niodern telet^raiih)-. The lines which he then built, one after another, and 
which were in their continuit\- the kmL^est range of lines in the world, were 
st\led by him the ".Atlantic, Lake and Mississippi range," but were popularly 
known as the "O'Rielly lines," a name originall_\- given in derision, but gener- 
erall\- acceiUed in good faith. H_\- that term they are alluded to in the south- 
ern newspapers of 1846 and 1 847. In the construction of these lines Mr. 
()'Riell\- was pecuniarily assisted by a few friends in Rochester and elsewhere, 
prominent among whom were .Samuel L. .Selden and Henr_\' R. Selden, both 
of whom were afterwartl his counsel in siiccessfull\' resisting the attempts of 
the Morse jjatentees to \-iolate the contract which the\- had made with him, 
and to obt.iin an injunction against hinr These lines were afterward consoli- 
d.iled, and, with the aildition of some others, formed the basis of that gigantic 
monopoly, the Western Union telegraph compan\'. 

The first office opened in this cit_\' for the transmission of messages was 
that of the New \'ork, .\lban_\- & Huffalo telegraph company which began 
business in this city in the winter of 1844-45. The first press dispatch 
received here was sent on the 1st of June, 1846, and appeared in the Dcuioirat 
of the ne.xt da\'. It came from Albany', and consisted of a long and quite full 
rejiort of the proceedings of the constitutional convention then sitting in that 
cit)-. The first location of the office here was in the basement of Congress Hall, 
but it was soon removed to the Re\-nolds arcade — first to the north end of the 
west galler\-, then to number 8 on the ground floor, and finalh', toward the 
close of 1850, to number i I, where it remains at the present writing. At this 
time the manager of the company was George E. Allen, of Utica, and the first 



2VS HiSTOKV (iK TllK ClTV OF R ilKsTER 



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CHAPTKR XXX. 

niK K( iR(i;s (IK XA I 'kK. 

111.- ii'KkII Klnc^ — I'rausformatior. iiM'i the W 
1'Ik- IVIcpl ■ -- r.as und Klocliic l-ijiht — Co;; 
< Mniiwiiiii- -re, )';iitnnM I'lxsonl. 

B]':i'"()Rl<: the pLrfcctiiiL; <>f the Mursc s\ :n in 1844 there \va< little > 
(leiice felt that the electric teleLjraph ;!(! ever be of any practic 

pnrtance fur Inisine^^s purposes; in fact, ' mssiblc to get ' apitah.. 

purchase stock in an enterjirise. so no\-el ) :,- > ■.lii' 1 . as tiie tele;, 

was then coiisideretl to be. \o\\, wlicM tlie jntii' ;:.;ircled by 

L;raphic Hues, which brinjj; into intini.ite . ':'i' •11- '; ' e\v world 

curious to note that firty _\ears ii'^o the ae liglUniiiLj line in i . 

tion b\' which the important news of • . . flashed fr<?in the At 

coast to the Alleghan\- mountains, ti . r-a\v;'y Mississi[)pi valley, 

line, which ultimateK- connectetl all sei .n 1- ui' the United States within a v 
<if 8,000 miles, was projected, origan isf ' and cbiistnicted by Henry O'K 
(if this cit\', to \\hose earnest anil untiring efforts is largely due the succ, 
modern telegraphy. The lines whic'h lie then built, one after arwtht 1 
which were in their continuit)' the - st range - 

st\ied b_\- hiui the "Atlantic, Lake \Fissis:sippi . 

known as the "O'Rielly lines," a 1 ■ riginally gi^eil 

erally ;iccejited in good faith. H ' erm the}- rirc :•.'• 

em newspapers of 1846 and 18 

()'Kiell_\- was pecuniarih' assistet 1 : . ; 

prominent among whom were S.imuel 1 .. Selden and Henry, R. S' 
of whom were afterward his co;M';ii mi -,; , esslii'li- ]■■ 'istin," ih.e 
the Morse patentees to \'iolat 
and to obtain an injunction ag 
dated, and, with the addition 
m(inoiiol_\', the Western Uni( 

The first office opened ' .iisniission of ni' 

that of the New York, Al 
iiusuiess in this city in t' 

recei\-ed here was sent on ! Ju.'.c, :. n iiie ZA / 

(if the ne.\t da\-. It cann .r.iny. and ig and r\\\\u 

report of the proceedings ot lu^ . ii.-'itiiti'jn.d cu;»ve.i'i.iuii i; 
cit\-. The first location of the office here was in the br.'^ement 
but it was soon removed to the Reynolds arcade — first to ^,. i" ; i 'c ■ 
west gallery, then to number 8 on the ground floor, and finally, towaio 
close of 1850, to number I i, where it remains at the present writing. At this 
time the manager of the company was George E. Allen, of Utica, and the first 



*%^ 



'P: 




yy^^vi) Qyt/'iJ^ 



7 



Telegraph and Telegrai'M Companies. 239 

3perator was a young man b\- the name of Barnes. Mr. Allen remained in 
charge of the office until 1S52, when he was succeeded by S. S. Pellett, who 
had formerl}- occupied the position of line repairer and assistant operator. Mr. 
Pellett resigned in December, 1852, and was succeeded by A. Cole Cheney, 
who remained until May, 1881, when A. J. Stoddard became the head of the 
office. In November, 1883, George D. Butler, who had been connected with 
the office since 1865, was appointed manager, to fill the vacancy caused by the 
resignation of Mr. Stoddard. In i860 the New York, Alban\' & Buffalo tele- 
graph company was consolidated with the Western Union, and some three 
years afterward the instruments were removed to quarters on the third floor, 
over the east gallery, as more room was required to transact the increased 
business of the company. A few years later the Atlantic & Pacific, which had 
an office here for about a year, was absorbed in the omnivorous company, 
which a short time afterward also swallowed the American Union, another of 
our short-lived concerns. In 1881 the Western Union passed into the control 
of Ja)- Gould. During the past few years the business has grown to enormous 
proportions, having increased during the last year over thirt\--threc per cent. 

The American Rapid telegraph company opened April 1st, 1 88 1, in the 
Reynolds arcade. In October last this compan\' was consolidated with the 
Bankers', Merchants' & Southern telegraph company. The whole system, em- 
bracing about 20,000 miles of line, extends from New Orleans east and north 
to the New England states, and westward to Denver, Colorado. When the 
company began business six wires only were in use; now twenty- two are in 
constant operation, together with a district system of calls, with signal boxes 
throughout the city in many of the principal business houses. Eugene J. Chap- 
man is manager. Four day and one night operator are employed, besides 
fifteen messenger boys. 

The district telegraph is a \aluable cit}- institution. It went into operation 
on the 1st of August, 1883, has now connection with several hundred boxes, 
and employs forty or fifty boys, who maj- be summoned at any moment, be- 
sides which signals may be sent for a carriage, a physician, the police, or the 
fire department. Its office is in the Arcade. 

The first office opened in this city for the transmission of oral messages 
was that of the Bell telephone company, which began business in January, 
1879, in rooms on the south side of Main street bridge. About the same time 
the Edison company opened a similar office in the tower of the Powers block, 
which was under the management of George A. Redman, but it kept open only 
about a year, as their rights were purchased by the Bell company, and the two 
lines consolidated in June, 1880. The first officers of the Bell company were 
as follows: General manager, Edward J. Hall, jr.; secretary and treasurer, 
Barlow C. Palmer; local manager, Alfred Hall; general superintendent, J. M. 
Culberson ; consulting electrician, B. F. Blackall. The officers for the present 



240 lIisT(jkv OF THE City of Rochester. 



year are as follows : Manager, William Mallett ; superintendent, B. F. Black- 
all. The office is on Main street bridge. 

It is impossible to determine with an)- certainty the exact date of the intro- 
duction of illuminating gas into this city. A few private generators were in 
use before the organisation i>i the Rochester Gas-light company, which came 
into existence on the 24th of March, iS4<S, and began the manufacture of gas 
on the I ith of December in the same year. The first officers of this company 
were as follows: 1'resii.lent, Lewis Brooks ; secretary, Levi A. Ward; engineer, 
Henr\- CartwTight; directors — F. F. Backus, Joseph Field, I'. Whittlesey, 
William Pitkin, Lewis Brooks, S. C. Jones, Joseph Hall, L. A. Ward and D. 
R. Barton. The first consumer was C. A. Jones. The present officers are: 
President, Patrick Barr\- ; vice-president, Thomas C. Montgomer}- ; superin- 
tentlent, secretar)- and treasurer. Matt Cartwright. The office and works are 
on the north side of Mumford street, near the ri\'er. 

The Citizens' Gas company, which su|)plies consumers on the east side of 
the ri\-er onl}-, was incorporated in 1S-2, with the following officers: President, 
George J. Whitne\' ; sccretar_\', William 11. Bowman ; treasurer, George E. 
Mumford ; superintendent, Matt Cartw right. The works of the company are 
on the flats below Vincent [ilace bridge, in the northern part of the city. 
Fort_\'-five miles of pipe aix- in use. The present officers are : President, 
Mortimer F. Reynolds; vice-president, George K. Mumford; secretar\-, treas- 
urer and superintendent, William H. Ward ; engineer, James H. Walker. 

A company for the manufacture of gas from petroleum was organised here 
about three years ago, and came into existence under the name of the Munici- 
pal Gas comjKuiy. Most of the directors ha\'e always been non-resident. 
About twent)'-eight or thirty miles of pipe have been laid in the city. The 
office is now on State street, and the present officers are: President, John P. 
Townsend ; secretar\', Charles F. Pond ; treasurer, John P. Scholfield ; super- 
intendent and engineer, P'rank P. Chase. 

The Brush lilectric light company began business in this city in July, 1881. 
The officers of the company for that year were as follows : President, George 
C. B\iell ; vice-president, William L. Halsey ; secretary and treasurer, George 
E Jennings; superintendent, P'rank K. Gilmore. At the time of the organi- 
sation of the compan_\' the generators were located on North water street, but 
during the past j'ear they were removed to the lower fidls, where better facili- 
ties were offered for obtaining power, which is now equal to 2,700 horse power. 
There are in use at present 475 electric lamps, 295 of which are used by the 
city in lighting the streets. The company are intending to introduce shortly 
the Swan incandescent light. The officers for the year are : President, George 
E. Mumford; secretarj- and treasurer, A. Erickson Perkins; superintendent, 
George A. Redman. 

Under the name of the Rochester Electric light company, the Weston sys- 



The Use of Coal. 241 



tem was introduced here in November, 1881, and has now 160 lights in use in 
stores and places of entertainment in the city. Its present officers are: Presi- 
dent, H. Austin Brewster; vice-president, L. P. Ross; secretary and treasurer, 
F. M. McFarlin ; general superintendent, C. H. Rabcock. The Fuller light 
and the Maxim incandescent light are used in the Powers block, the generator 
being in the cellar of the building, and the power being obtained from the en- 
gines already stationed there. The Edison light is used in the Eastman dry 
plate works on State street. 

The Use of Coal. — With regard to the use of coal as fuel, it is difficult to 
fi.\ a precise time for its introduction, but the following will tell the story as 
accurately as ma)- be : In 1847 Jonathan Child brought Lehigh coal here for 
foundr}- use. In the course of the nc.Kt year Nathaniel T. and Henry E. 
Rochester went into partnership with Mr. Child, and the firm opened a house 
for the sale of coal and iron. The coal was brought here from Philadelphia, 
b\- way of Albany, and mostly in large lumps, for manufacturing purposes, 
but the debris that was left after they were disposed of was sold to house- 
keepers to be used as fuel in stoves. This soon became so generally recognised 
as adapted to that end that the firm began the practice of breaking the large 
pieces into smaller ones of a suitable size and selling them for heating pur- 
poses, and in a short time they were known as regular retailers of Lehigh and 
Blossburg coal. In 1850 Roswell Hart opened an office for the sale of coal, 
exclusiveh', and was therefore the pioneer in the business, as not connected 
with any other branch of trade. At the outset he sold only bituminous coal, 
but before the j-ear was over he brought up by tide-water, from Philadelphia, 
some three hundred tons of anthracite, and toward the close of 185 i it began 
to come here by rail from Scranton and Pittston. There have been, in other 
years, companies here which were engaged in the mining of coal, but the 
on!)- firm now engaged directh- in that is one that is understood to be con- 
fined to the production of bituminous coal. Ma\-ing thus detailed the local 
operations in the material now maiiil_\- used for making fire, let us turn our in- 
quiries to the means provided for insuring against losses b\- that element. 

In the matter of local insurance companies our city has always been behind 
Buffalo, which has had them for many years and now boasts of four. The 
present prosperous company mentioned below is not, however, the only one of 
the kind that ever existed here, though most of the others were abandoned 
within a few years after their incorporation. The first to be formed was the 
Monroe fire insurance company, which was incorporated March 9th, 1825, with 
a capital of $250,000; it must have expired almost immediately, for it was 
"revived" on the 17th of April, 1826, and that is the last that is known of it. 
Equally short lived was the Mutual Protection insurance company, incorporated 
on the 7th of May, 1844, but the Farmers' & Merchants' insurance companj- 
of Western New York was a little more tenacious, for after being incorporated 



242 History of the City of Rochester. 

on the 29th of October, 1850, it was changed to the Rochester insurance corn- 
pan)- on the 20th of March, 1852, and led a torpid existence for two years 
after that. In January, 185 1, tlte Commercial fire insurance company was 
organised, with a proposed capital of $100,000, but it never did any business, 
and the attempts to start two other companies, the Union and the h'lour City, were 
equally fruitless. C)ne company, however, was ver\- successful and continued 
for a long term of years — the Monroe Count}' Mutual, which was organised 
on the 2 1st of March, 1836. A. M. Schermerhorn was its first president, Ly- 
man H. Langworth}' was its last, and Le\'i A. W^ard was its secretar)- and 
treasurer from the beginning to the end. It took no risks in the cit>-, but in- 
sured farm property exclusivel)-, in five-_\-ear policies, the total amount of in- 
surance being nearly $100,000,000. Its affairs were managed with the greatest 
econoni)', as its expenses, including salaries, never came to $500 a year, and 
its integrit}- ma\- be known b}- its freedom from litigation, as it never had a 
contested lawsuit. Its charter would have expired in 1876. but the company 
decided to close up in Februar)', 1865, as some of the great New York com- 
panies had reduced the rates to so low a point as to render the business un- 
profitable and make competition impossible. The secretary was directed to 
pa)' the small balance on IkuuI to the h'emale Charitable society. 

The Rochester German insurance company was organised I'ebruar)- 22d, 
1872, entirely of Germans, with a ca])ital of $100,000, doing a local business. 
Louis Hauer was the first president, .uid Rudolph Vay the first secretary. In 
the earl)- part of 1873 the capital was increased to $200,000, so that the com-, 
pan)' could branch out and do an agency business. About this time Louis 
I^rnst became president. He resigned in 1875 and was succeeded by Frederick 
Cook, who still occupies the office. The comp,m)-'s business now covers a terri 
tory of t\\-ent)- six states and it has over 350 local agents. The compan)-, from 
a very small business, has grown to that extent that its income exceeds $500,- 
000, and its gross assets are an excess of $6oo,ooo, of which $100,000 is in- 
vested in government registered bonds and $200,000 in bond and mortgage 
on real estate in this city, besides which it owns various state bonds, Pullman 
palace car stock and other securities. Its directors are : J. J. Bausch, Louis 
Bauer, Nicholas Brayer, h'red'k Cook, John Dufiier, Sam'l Dubelbeis, Louis 
lu'nst, Fred'k Goetzmann, Mathias Kondolf, John Lutes, George C. Maurer, 
Jacob Nunnold, Chas. Ran, William Vicinus, Albrecht Vogt, John Weis, John 
G. Wagner, Louis Wehn, Casper Wehle, Peter Pitkin. The ofiicers are : Presi- 
dent, I'rederick Coiik ; vice-president, John Lutes; secretar)-, H. I*". Atwood ; 
counsel, Fugene H. Satterlee. 



The Presbyterian Churches. 243 

chaptp:r XXXI. 

the churches (IK KOCH ESTER. 

Earliest Organisation of Religious .Societies in tlie Settlement — The Presbyterian Cluirehes — The 
Episcopal Churches — The Kriemls, or (^)uakers — The Baptist Churches — The Methodist — The 
Roman Catholic — The Unitarian —The (iernian Lutheran, Evangelical and Reformed — The Congre- 
gational — The Jewish — The Universalist — The Second .\dvent — Other Churches. 

IN the following complete sketch of the Rochester churches the editor is 
greatly indebted to severtil reverend gentlemen for the labor that they have 
bestowed upon the various portions of the chapter, and for the research with 
which they have compiled their different articles from sources of information 
that extended over a wide field of reading and investigation. Tht article on 
the Presbyterian churches was prepared by Rev. F. De W. Ward, D. D., of 
Genesee ; that on the Episcopal churches was mainly compiled from a manual 
prepared last year by Rev. Henry Anstice, D. D. ; that on the Baptist churches 
was in great part furnished by Rev. C. J. Baldwin, D. D. ; that on the Metho- 
dist churches was prepared by Re\'. K. P. Jervis, of Victor ; that on the Cath- 
olic churches mainly by Rev. D. Laurenzis, under the supervision of Rt. Rev. 
Bishop McQuaid, D. D. ; on the Lutheran churches by Rev. Alexander Rich- 
ter, on the German Evangelical b}- Rev. Charles Siebenpfeififer, on the Jewish 
churches by Rev. Max Landsberg, D. D. ; in the other cases the sketches have 
been generalh' obtained from the pastors of the different congregations. The 
arrangement of the \arious denominations is in accordance with the order of 
their foundation of a distinct societv in this place — except where the original 
society has become extinct. 

THE PRESBVTERT\N CHURCHES. 

The First is the oldest religious society of Rochester, dating back to 
August 22d, 181 5, the entire population of the place being at that time but 
331. The organisation was effected by a commission appointed by the pres- 
bx'tery of Geneva, consisting of ministers Daniel Tuller and Reuben Parmelee, 
with elders Samuel Stone and Isaac B. Barnum. The membership was six- 
teen. The elders chosen were Oliver Gibbs, Daniel West, Warren Brown 
and Henry Donnelly, with P^lisha Ely as clerk. The first place of worship was 
a plain w^ooden building on State (then Carroll) street, where is now the Amer- 
ican express office. The year 1824 saw completed the new stone edifice on 
the ground where now stands the city hall. The proceeds from the sale of this 
property to the city were put into the commanding and commodious sancttiary 
which graces the corner of Plymouth avenije and Spring street. 

The pastors are as follows : Rev. Comfort Williams was installed January 
17th, 1 8 16, and resigned June 6th, 1821. Comfort street, on the east side of 
the river, perpetuates his name and place of abode. Rev. Joseph Penney, 



244 HisTORV OF THE City of Rochester. 

D. D., a nati\'e of Ireland and L;raduate of Dublin university, came to America 
in iSk), accompanied b>' that eminent instructor Rev. John Mullii,'an, LL. D. 
lie was installed pastm- April 3d, iSjj, ,uul resigned April i6th, 1833. After 
two years as pastor of a Cont4reL;ational church in Northampton, Massachusetts, 
he was elevated to the presidcnc\' of Hamilton C(_illege, which position he held 
during four years and finally returned to Rochester, where after a long and 
lingering illness he died, March 22d, I .S60, and is entombeil with his wife and 
sevenil children in Mt. Hope. Possessed of masculine intellect, large scholar- 
ship, commanding presence, a warm heart and e.\ception:d abilit)' of utterance, 
Dr. l'enne\- has left an inefficeable impression in this city and region. llis por- 
trait, jjainted by the skillful artist (lilbert, ;it public expense, long .adorned the 
w.iUs of the Athen;eum, of which institution, under the name of the h'ranklin 

institute, he was a leading jiatnui. Re\. Tryon I'ldwaids, D. I)., a n.itix'e of 

ll,irtf>nl, Connecticut, graduate of\'aleaiKl Princeton, was pastiu' between Jul)' 

1S34, and Jul}- :!6th, 1S44; pastni- at (iiunernem-, N. Y. Rev. Malcolm 

iN. McLaren, D. D., n.itivc of .\lb. my, gratluate of Union college and Princeton 
seminar)-, held the pastorate from 1S45-47, ;md then .-icceptetl a call to Hro(jk- 

l_\-n, N. V. His last da\-s are passing in Auburn, N. \'. Re\-. Joshua Haw- 

le)- Mclh-aine, 1). L)., n.iti\-e of Lewis, N. V., graduate at Princeton college and 
semin.uN', occupied the [luljiit from I S4S to 1860. After se\eral _\-e,irs as profes- 
sor in his ii////<7 ;//(?/(■/- he .iccepted a c.-iU ti> .Xew.u'k, \. J., where he now re- 
sides, lie is author of a late \-olunie, entitled U'is(/oii/ of Holy Sni/^t/nrs. 

Rev. CaKin Pease, D. D., n.itive of C.uia.m, Coniiecticut, graduate of the Uni- 
versit\- of Vern-iont, of which institution he was for se\-eral ye.irs president, was 
installed as pastor of the i'"irst in 1S61 and closed his life when on ;i visit to 
Hurlington, 1863. A committee < if the chui-ch, coniprising the late Jutlge Gar- 
diner .md others, was, by ,-ippi lintmeilt at the fimeral. His residence in the 

cit\- was brief and his death a gieat .iltliction to the entire conimunit)-. 

Re\-. Casper Maurice Wines, natixe of Philadelphia, Pennsylvani.i, graduate of 
Washington college, Peiins_\-lvania, and Princeton seminar)-, was pjistor from 

1 866 to 1868 and is now an l'2piscopal rector in Cleveland, Ohio. Rev. 

J. Lovejoy Robertson, native of Steubenville, Ohio, and graduate of Northwood 
college, Ohio, commenced his pastorate December 7th, 1870, which he contin- 
ued to 1877. He is now [lastor at Cortland, N. V. Rev. Ch.u-les ]-"dward 

Robinson, D. D., nati\e of Ludlowville, N. V., graduate of Hamilton and of 
Auburn, w.is installed [lastor in |87,S. He has seen ver)- man)- happ)- results 
from his lab(.irs in and out of the pulpit.' 

The officers for I S84 are : Pastor, Ch;u-les E. Robinson, D. D. ; elders — Seth 
H. Terry, George C. Buell, Charles J, Hayden, Charles H. Webb, A. G. Bas- 



il >uriii>; the interini iiriiasiors, iiie imlpii lias huon su|i])lieil liy Professors Coiulit ami Rotjinsoii 

funncr iliisMonaric-s 1 >r. IJtadlL-. of .Syria ; Ih. Wai.l, .,rii„lia; Dr. I.indk-y. of.MVica; Rtiv. Mr 
Rankin, of (l.ina, an, I ullirrs. 



The PKKsnvi'iiKiAN CiiiiRciiKS. 245 



sett, Newell A. Stone, David M. Hough and Henry Goold. Sabbath- scliool 
superintendent, Da\'id M. Hough. 

The Second, 6r " lirick." — During ten \-ears the I'resb\-terians of Roch- 
ester remained in one body and worshiped in the same sanctuar)-. The 
population had advanced from 331 to about 5,000. After repeated and earnest 
consultation it was determined to organise another society to meet the wants 
of the rapitlly advancing population. Thus came into being the Second 
Presbyterian church of Rochester, in November, 1825, having, as the first 
trustees, Timothy Burr, Ashbel W. Riley, Lyman Granger, Richard Gors- 
line and Henrj' Kennedy. The place of worship was the wooden building on 
State street, vacated by the First, when they (the First) took possession of their 
new eciifice. Here were ser\'ices held till the completion of their brick edifice 
on the corner of Fitzhugh and Ann streets, in the year 1828. Man)- re\-i\als 
of religion occurred during the oecupanc}' of that building. It was a Zion, of 
which it could be said of many hundreds "this and that man was born in her; 
and the Highest himself did exalt her." In the }'ear 1859 measures \\ere taken 
to erect an edifice, larger, safer, more commodious and more answerable to 
pressing demands than this of more than thirty years' age. Louis Chapin, 
Charles J. Hayden and William Otis were the building committee, and A. J. 
Warner was the architect. The corner-stone of the new building was laid Jul>- 
3d, i860, with an address by Byron Sunderland, D. D., of Washington, D. C. 
The dedication was June 30th, 1861, the sermon being preached by Samuel W. 
Fisher, D. D., president of Hamilton college. The name "Brick church" was 
given in 1833. Its membership at the commencement was twenty-five, most 
of them bringing letters from the First. The first elders were Timothy L. Bacon, 
Silas Hawley and Linus Stevens. 

The pastors have been as follows : Rev. William James, D. D., nati\e of 
Albany and graduate of Princeton college and seminar)-, was installed Jul)- 24th, 
1826, sermon by Rev. Chauncey Cook, and resigned October 14th, 1830; a 
man of singular pulpit power and piety of heart, the latter causing his exultant 
exclamation on his dying bed (February i8th, 1868) "It is all joy, joy." His 

religious character is resplendent in his published volume Grace for Grace. 

Rev. William Wisner, D. I)., native of Warwick, N. V.; left the practice of law 
and after a course of theological training became pastor of the Presbyterian 
church at Ithaca, N. Y. Leaving that field, where his labors had been emi- 
nently successful, to succeed Dr. James as pastor of the Brick, he was installed 
July 28th, 1831, and dismissed September 22d, 1835. During his ministry of 
four and a half years there were added to the church 202 by letter and 372 on 
profession of faith. Dr. Wisner was moderator of the "general assembly" in 

1840 and died at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, January 7th, 1871. Rev. George 

Beecher, son of Lyman Beecher, D. D., was installed June i8th, 1838, remained 
two years, removed to Chilicothe, Ohio, w-here he accidentally shot himself July 



246 History of the City of Rochester. 

1st, 1^43- His niL-iiiiiirs was written b\' his sister Catherine. Re\. J.imcs 

l^oylan Shaw, 1). 1)., nati\-e of New \'ork city, was une of the fust children upon 
wlinm the late Re\'. l.)r. .Sprini; laid his hand in b.iptisni. ,Vfter a brief period 
at Attica and Dunkirk he accepted a unanimous call to the 1-Srick church and 
was installed pastor February l6th, 1S41, increasing tlurini; these f>rt_\'- three 
years in the lo\e of his attached people and esteem of the entire commimity. 
He was moderator of the general assembly in 1865 and represented the Pres- 
byterian chtu'ch in the established church of Scotland in 1873. 

The officers for 1S84 are: — Pastor, James Bo\'lan Shaw, D. D. ; elders — 
Da\id Dicke\-, Har\e\- C. P'enn, Louis Chapin, Jesse W. Hatch, Truman A. 
Newton, Joel G. Davis, h'dward Webster, George N. Storms, Lansing G. Wet- 
more, Ch. V. Weaxer. 

The Third. — When it was purposed to organise a second Presbyterian 
church the enterprise encountered two serious obstacles. The membership of 
the h'irst was small and there was a natural reluctance to part with even a 
score of their number, but, the organisation being determined upon, then came 
the question of localit)'. Residents u[ion the east side of the ri\-er, then called 
Brighton, presented many and strong arguments in favor of their part of the 
village, lieing outvoted they at once determined upon an organisation nearer 
their own homes. In December. 18.26, a religious societ)' was incorporated 
which ultimately took the title of the "Third Presb\-terian church of Roch- 
ester." The first ser\"ices were held in a school-house on the corner of 
Mortimer and Clinton streets. This becoming too strait for the increasing 
congregation, a building was erected on the same street, size twent\--four by 
sixt\-, the timber standing in the native forest on Monday morning and services 
held on the ne.xt Lord's da_\-. As if to add to its celebritx', within its walls 
originated a movement, which was afterward adopted by the American Bible 
societ)-, of supplying everybod)' in the United States with a cop}' of the Word 
of God; also that honest-heartetl but abiu'tive effort to prevent by law of Con- 
gress the transportation of the mails and to close all post-ofifices on the Sabbath 
day, coupled with the establishment of a Sabbath-keeping line of boats on the 
canal and a "jiioneer line" of coaches on the road. These all had their origin 
in the heart of that stalwart Christian, Josiah Bissell, Jr., with the open purse of 
that prince in the realms of money liberality, the late Aristarchus Champion. 
On the 28th of February, 1827, a formal organisation was perfected by the en- 
rollment of nineteen persons with letters from the F'irst and Second churches on 
the west side of the river. The temporary but honored place of worship ere 
long gave place to one more c<.>nimodious and substantial on the corner of North 
Clinton street, which from pecuniary necessity in 1834 was turned over to the 
Second Baptists, and an edifice was erected in 1837 '"'■ the south side of Main 
street, which was consumed b}' fire in the autumn of 1858. Then came the 
erection of that imposing structure on the corner of Lancaster and Temple 



TnK Preshvterian Chukciies. 247 



streets, at an expense of $38,000, which has been lately sold to the Unitarians 
and land purchased on the corner of East avenue and Meigs, where will soon 
be the fifth place of worship on different sites. From small beginnings we see 
now one of the largest and most influential Presbyterian churches in Western 
New York. 

The pastors and ministers have been as follows : — Rev. Joel Parker, D. D., 
nati\e of Bethel, Vermont, graduate of Hamilton college and Auburn seminary 
was the first installed pastor. His salary was "half of brother Josiah Bissell's 
biscuit, as long as he had one," or, more financially expressed, $150 for the first 
six months and $800 per annum afterward. After three years' faithful and suc- 
cessful service Dr. Parker removed to New York, thence to New Orleans, to 
Philadelphia, again to New York, and finally to Newark, N. J., where he closed 

a life of eminent ability and usefulness. Rev. Luke Lyons took charge in 

1831, but soon left to aid in establishing a new organisation on Court street, 

long ago e.xtinct ; he died in Illinois. Rev. William C. W'isner, D. D., native 

of Elmira, N. Y., graduate of Union college, studied theology under his father. 
Rev. William Wisner, D. D., of Ithaca. After two years of able service he 
assumed the pastorate of the First church of Lockport, which he held for many 
years with results that give him a place of honor accorded to few. Like his 

father, he was moderator of the general assembly in 1855. Rev. William 

Mack, U. D., graduate of Princeton seminary, served the church for three years 

in 1835-37; went to Columbus, Tennessee, where he died. Rev. Albert 

Gallatin Hall, D. D., native of Whitehall, N. Y., was himself a member of the 
Third church, over which he was destined to preside as pastor from February, 
1840, to his death in 1871. Besides being a power for good in the city, he was 

a representative man in the entire Presbyterian body. Rev. George Patton, 

graduated at the University of Pennsylvania and Newburg theological seminary, 
and after fifteen years' ministration at Seneca, N. Y., was installed pastor of the 
Third in the autumn of 1872. 

The officers for 1884 are: Pastor, Rev. George Patton, D. D. ; elders — Thomas 
B. Husband, John Voorhes, Joseph Harris, William F. Cogswell, Edward F. 
Harris, David Copeland and Charles Pomeroy. Sunday-school superintendent, 
S. D. Bentley. 

The Central. — In March, 1836, a colony left the First church, and formed 
a new organisation having these as its characteristic features: First, a mis- 
sionary church, established upon principles of high Christian consecration 
and devotedness ; second, free, and embracing a Bethel interest ; third, open 
for discussion on all subjects of morals, etc., such as temperance, slavery and 
the like ; fourth, its secular as well as religious affairs to be in the hands of the 
church exclusively. In August, 1836, thirty-nine members of the F^irst church 
were organised by the presbytery of Rochester under the corporate name of 
the "Bethel Presbyterian church of Rochester; " in 1841 the name was changed 



HisT(jRV OF THE Cnv uf Rochester. 



to the "Washington street cluirch," and in the spring of 185S to tlie "Cen 
tral Presb_\'terian church," which it now bears. The first edifice was on Wash 
ington street aihi'ining the canal, and tlie present is on North Sophia street 
The preaching of the Rev. Ciiarles G. h'inne}-, in 1842, led to the conversioi 
of three hundrecl and fifty persons, wlio distributeil thenisekes among eigh 
city churches. During the year 1844 ten heatls of famiUes, with noble gener 
osity, left the Brick church for this. The absence of a pastor between 184 
and 1845 li'itl reduced the membership to less than two hundred. 

The pastors and ministers have been as follows: Rev. George Smith Board 
man, D.D., native of Albany, N. V., and gratluate of Union college and o 
I'rinceton seminary, first pastor in 1837, continuing to 1842, when he went t' 
Cherr\- V^alle)" and to Cazeno\'ia, supph'ing various churches to the end of hi 

useful life. Re\-. Milo Judson Hickok, D. 1)., native of New Haven, Ver 

niDUt, gi'aduate of Middlebury college and of Union seminary, came to Roch 
ester in 1845, labored with great ability in the service of the Washington stree 
church ; went ti.i Scranton, I'enn., where he was pastor fourteen \x'ars and be 
ing disabled b\' pai'al\-sis closed his da)'s at Mariett.i. (.)hio. A master i, 

thought, erudition and earnestness. ^ Rev. ['"rank h'iekl l'",llinwood, D.I), 

native of Clinton, N. Y., graduate of Hamilton college and of Auburn aU' 
Princeton seminaries, was installed pastor of the Central in November, 185/] 
remaining to 1865, when ill health drove him from the flock. He is one of th 

secretaries of the board of foreign missions. Rev. Samuel M. Campbel 

D.D., native of Campbelltown, N. Y., and graduate of Auburn seminary ; cam 
to the citv and was installed pastor, March ist, 1866, remaining fifteen years 

when he removed to Minneai)olis. Rev. Theodore W. Hopkins, native c 

Cincinnati, Ohio ; graduate of Yale college and Rochester theological seminary 
pastor elect, but not installed. 

The (officers in 1884 are: Pastor, Rev. Theodore W. Ho[)kins; elders — 
William A. Hubbartl, Heman Glass, Lewis H. Ailing, Charles Forbes, Williar 
Ailing (clerk), Henry Churchill, John N. Harder, David Cory, Frank M. El 
lery, Alonzo L. Mabbett, George W. Sill and Darius L. Covill. Sunda\'-schoc 
su[)erintendents, Thomas Dransfield and Mrs. D. L. Covill. 

Calvary. — Farly in the yeai' 1847 Rev. Richard De Forest purchased 
lot in the southeast part of the cit_\% on which he ..erected a small buildinc 
containing one room. He then went t4vr4>ttgtrme neighborhood, giving in 
formation that a Sabbath-school would be commenced on the next Lord' 
day, followed by preaching in the afternoon. F'orty scholars were present a 
the former and a crowd at the latter. This prepared the way for a formal ec 
clesiastical organisation under the name of "St. Paul street Congregations 
church." Soon after a church edifice was erected on the corner of Sout 
avenue and Jefferson street and dedicated to divine worship November 3d, 185c 
the sermon being preached by President Mahan, of Oberlin, Ohio. Pecuniar 



The Prksijvteriax Chl-rciies. 



249 



j adversities compelling a sale of the [jroperty, it was purchased by L. A. Ward 
j with a view to its becoming Presbyterian, which it has since been. On the i sh 
j of June, 1856, it came into connection with the presbytery of Rochester, with 
j the corporate title of "Calvary Presbyterian church of Rochester." luilarge- 
j ments and improvements have taken place at different times, till it is now one 
■ of the most commodious in the region of this locality. 

j The pastors and ministers have been as follows : Rev. Richard De Forest, 

native of New York city and graduate of Auburn theological seminary, was the 
founder of this church, and pastor while Congregational in polity. Energetic, 
earnest and useful, his name will be ever held in grateful memory. He is 

buried in Mount Hope. Re\-. Charles Ray, a native of Calcutta, India, 

where his parents (Rev. Kdward and Sarah Ray) were missionaries.- He grad- 
uated at Union college and Princeton seminary and was installed as the first 
Presbyterian pastor, in July, 1856, and after two years resigned and has 
employed his learning and labor in various departments and places to the pres- 
ent time. Rev. Bellville Roberts spent four years of earnest effort in the 

pastorate of this church, witnessing many happy results from his faithful minis- 
tration. Rev. Alfred Yeomans, D. D., native of North Adams, Mass., son 

of Rev. Dr. John Yeomans, moderator of the general assembly in i860, grad- 
uated at Princeton college and seminary. His pastorate covered but one year, 
when continued ill-health compelled his resignation. He is now pastor of a 
church at Orange, N. J., as successor of his brother, the late E. D. Yeomans, 

formerlj' of St. Peter's, Rochester. Rev. Herbert W. Morris, D. D., a native 

of Wales, took the pastoral charge of Calvary in 1867, giving to the people of 
iiis cliarge the results of intense study and the accumulations of research, much 
of which is made permanent in \olumes that have few equals in Christendom. 

Dr. Morris resides in Rochester. Rev. Edward Bristol, nati\e of Buffalo, 

N. \'., converted at fifteen, engaged at once in e\'angelistic work in the Lafay- 
ette street church, of which the late Rev. Gros\enor W. Heacock, D. D., was 
the devoted and lifelong pastor ; after twenty-five years in the city missions and 
alms house, he entered upon the work of a general evangelist and finally became 
pastor of Calvary in 1878. 

The officers in 1884 are: Pastor, Rev. P2dward Bristol ; elders — I-". S. Steb- 
bins, J. B. Reeves, Judson Knickerbocker, Thomas Oliver, Frank T. Skinner. 
Superintendent of Sabbath-school, F. T. Skinner. 

St. Peter's. — In May, 1852, Levi A. Ward, a member of the First church, 
commenced the construction of a new church edifice upon a lot of land owned 
bv him on Grove street, opposite his own residence. Grove place. His desire 
was to meet the public demand in that locality and to establish an order of 
worship in which the entire congregation shall more largely unite than is 
customary in the denomination. An edifice was erected at an expense of 
$35,000 and dedicated October 25lh, 1853, sermon b>- Rev. Dr. Mcllvaine, 



250 History of the City of Rochester. 

pastor of the Vh^t, assisted b\' Rev. Dr. Hall of the Third and Rev. Dr. 
V. De Wilton Ward, of Gencseo, brother of the fninder. On the 13th of 
Deeeniber, I 853, a speei.d meetintj of the presbyter}- of Rochester ((). S.) was 
held, when twent\--eight persons, members of difterent churches in the cit}-, 
presented certificates and were constituted "St. Peter's church ot the city of 
Rochester." Its special features <ire a form of worship but no liturL!;)- — no 
printed praj-er except that left b)- Christ himself down and bands are used 
by the clerg\-nien, as is customar_\- in all the churches in Scotland and many 
older ones in America. The deed of the church property- was executed and 
deli\ered to the trustees by the f)umler, March 2Jth. \^6j. The first edifice 
was destro_\-ed b\' fire, March iSth, 1868, b\it was immediately rebuilt at an 
expense of about $50,000. 

The pastors antl ministers have been as follows : Rev. Richard H. Richard- 
son, D. D., nati\e of Lexington, Kentucky, graduate of Princeton college and 
seminar}-, held the pastorate for one and a half _\-ears and holds a similar posi- 
tion in Trentnn, N. J. Re\-. Josejih H. Towne, D. D., presided over this 

church two \-ears. Re\-. John To\\-nsend Coit, D. D., nati\'e of Buffalo 

and giaduate of \'ale and Aiuloxer, commenced his pastorate of St. Peter's, 
June 1st, i860. Three vears passed profitably awa\-, when, upon a visit to his 
firmer parishioiiers at /\.lbion, he was called suddenl}' to the heavenl}- w-orld. 
A tablet to his memor_\- has been [Waced upon the right of the pul[)it, with a 

fitting inscription. Re\-. Pklward Dorr \'eomans, D. D., son of the late Dr. 

\'eomans, moderator of the general assembly in Rochester, was a native of 
North Adams, Mass., graduated at Princeton seminary, preeminent in varied 
scholarship. His pastorate of St. Peter's began in Ma)-, 1863, w-hen he removed 
to Orange, \. J., and died of apoplexy, August 27th, 1868. A beautiful tab- 
let in bronze is within the church. — Re\-. James M. Crowell, D. D., a native 
of Philadelphia, and gra<luate of Princeton college and seminar)-, was pastor 
from Ma)- 5th, 1869, to Deeeniber, 1870. He is now secretar)- of the Ameri- 
can .Sunday school union in his natix'c cit)-. Rev. Herman Camp Riggs, 

D. D., native of Groton, X. \'., graduated at Union, and Union theological 
seminar)-. Came to Rochester from Rutherfird Park, N. J.; was installed 
over .St. Peter's June 8th, 1878. 

The officers in 1884 are: Pastor, Rev. Herman Camp Riggs, D. D. ; elders 
— M. K. Woodbur)-, J. K. Pierpont, E. V. Hoyt, E. E. Sill. T. W. Crissey, 
R. K. White, H. W. Brown, S. A. Merriman ; deacons — M. K. Woodbury and 
H. W. Brown. Sunda)--school superintendents, S. A. Merriman and J. Morgan. 

Westn-iinster. — This first Protestant church west of the I'-rie and Valley 
canals sprang from the union of two Sunday-schools, one started b)- the 
Brick church and the other bv the Central. These had been under the 
superintendenc)- of John H. Thompson, William S. Bishop anil Henr\' Churchill. 
Prom Ma)-, 1861, to Ma)-. 1862. Re\- Anson Cileason, long a missionary 



The Presbyterian Churches. 251 

among the Mohican Indians, labored with characteristic zeal in this field. 
Mrs. L. A. Shepherd was a local missionary of the young people's society 
of the Central in the same localit\-. After considerable time and much effort 
funds were obtained to erect a building for worshij), which was dedicated Jan- 
uary 26th, 1 87 1. The sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Campbell, of the 
Central, which had generously dismissed eighty-two persons to this new body. 
In common with many church edifices of the city, this received substantial and 
timel)- pecuniary aid from the late Aristarchus Chami^ion, who resided in that 
vicinit)'. 

Tiie pa.stors ha\'e been as follows: Kcv. Henry More\\ graduate of Union 
college and Princeton seminary, was installed .April 27th, 1871, and resigned 

in October, 1874; now an evangelist. Rev. Corlis B. Gardner, graduated 

at Rochester, and at Auburn seminary, was installed February 4th, 1875. 

The officers in 1884 are: Pastor, Corlis B. Gardner; elders — B. H. Hill, 
J. B. Whitbeck, H. K. Van Tyne, E. M. Doane, W. F. Parry, W. J. C. Hansen. 

Memorial. — The name of this church suggests the time and manner of 
its coming into being. The funds contributed by the Brick church during the 
memorial years of 1869-70 were devoted to a new organisation on Hudson 
and Wilson streets, in the eastern, as Calvary was in the southern, and West- 
minster in the western limits of the city. A church chapel was built in 1870. 
A church organisation was effected on Januar\- 17th, 1872, by a commission 
of presbytery, fifty-four persons enrolling their names as members, thirty- 
seven by letter and seventeen upon confession of their faith. To meet the 
wants of the growing congregation, the original brick chapel was enlarged 
into the present commodious Gothic structure and dedicated, free from debt, 
August 1 8th, 1 88 1. The entire expense of lot and structure was about $20,000. 
The average attendance is 350, with a constant increase. 

The pastors have been as follows : Rev. Gavin L. Hamilton, installed in 

1870, and continued his labors to the last Sabbath in 1874. Rev. Charles 

Pierrepont Coit, native of Hastings, N. Y., graduated at Rochester university 
and Auburn seminary, organised and built up a church in Binghamton, N. Y. ; 
installed as pastor of the Memorial church January 2d, 1875. 

The officers in 1884 are: Pastor, Rev. Charles P. Coit; elders — Edward 
W. Warner, George H. Rudman, Aaron P. Lawrence, David C. Rudman, 
Stephen W. Millichamp and Wilson F. Smith. Sunday school superintendent, 
Aaron P. Lawrence. 

North Presbyterian church. — A commission of Rochester presbytery or- 
ganised this church on Tuesday evening, February 12th, 1884. Thirty-nine 
persons presented letters from various churches, and thirty-one after the usual 
examinations as to personal experience and purposes. These seventy were 
then constituted the "North ciiurch of Rochester." Three persons were then 
elected and formal!}- ordained elders : Isaac Bower, George W. Davison and 

17 



252 History of the City of Rochester. 

I'rank IT. Clement. This church began as a Sabbatli-scliool, conducted by 
earnest wiH'kers of the Central church, uniler the efficient leadership of WiUiani 
A. Ilubbaril, in I SGt). The fu'st niei.tin;^rs uxre held in a school-room, then in 
a chapel erectei.1 in I S74, and it is expected that eix- U'li'^ an edifice will be 
built to meet the demands nf the increasinj^ con;_;reL;ation and Sunday-schonl. 
The nearest Presb_\-terian place of worship is that of the ]>rick, which is a mile 
and a Cjuarter distant. 

The officers in 1SS4 are: Pastor, Re\'. I'eter Lintlsay, L;ratluate of ^Vuburn 
seminar\', who be;_;an his labors on the third Sabbath of December, l<SS3; 
elders — Alison W, r..nd, C.eur-e W. 1 Jaxidson and l'"rank II. Clement. 

Reformed l'resb\terian church. — An orLjanisation with this corporate title 
dates to the year iS^;, with a meml)ersliip of twenty-nine. The first place of 
meeting was the Migh school buikling, on the cunu-r of leniple and Lancaster 
streets. .Subsequent!}- an edifice w.is erected on the intersection of .Stillson 
ami Main streets, which, after long occupancy, was sold for business jmrposes, 
anil the proceeds put into a sti'ucturc larger ;ind more commodious on North 
St. Paul street, near .Xndrews. 

The pastors ha\'e Ijeeii as follows; Rev. John h'isher, a nati\'e of Ireland, 
and preacher of marked abilit\- ; he li\ed but a short time, and is burietl in .Mt. 

Hope. Re\'. (i. R. McKee was installed in 1835, and resigned in 1842; 

his remains also repose in Mt. Hope. Re\". David Scott, a nati\e <if .Scot- 
land, graduate of the L'niversity of ( ilasgow, came to America in 1S29, suc- 
ceedetl Mr. McKee in I S44, resigned in 1 862, and died at AUeghaii)-, Peiin- 
s\'l\'ania, March 29th, 1 Sj i , alter an honored ami useful life of se\ent)'-seven 

years, Rev. R. D. Sproule, native of ,\lleghan)', I'ennsylvania, graduate 

of Jefterson college aiul Alleghan\' seminar)-, was installed in 1863, and after 
a successful ministi'.ition resigned, aiul is now pastijrof the Presb_\'terian church 
in Prox'idence, R. I. Re\'. John Ciraham, nati\e of New \drk cit_\', gradu- 
ate of the L'nix'ersity ot Peniis_\'lvania, and the Reformed Presb_\'terian sem- 
inar\- ; inst.dled o\er the clunxh June 26th, 1881. 

The ofTicers in 1884 are: Pastor, Re\-. John Ciraham; elders — Hugh Rob- 
inson, Robert Alton, J;imes Cam])bell, Robert Wilson, Abram Rrnisse and 
Robert K. Teas. 

l'"irst L'nited Presbyterian church. — The wa\" being prej.)areil b\^ the 
preaching of Re\'. John Van I'",aton in 1843, on the 2 1st of September, 1849, 
an organisation was [.lerfected uiitler the title of the "First Associate Reformed 
church of Rochester." On the 20th of Ma\-, 1858, the Associate Reformed 
Presbyterian church, and the Associate Presb_\'teriaii church of North America, 
effected an organic union under the corporate title of the "United Presbj'terian 
church of North America," hence the present name of the " P^irst United Pres- 
b}-terian (U. P.) of Rochester." The first place of worship was a school-house 
that stood near St. Luke's P^iMscopal church on P'itzhugh street, then an edifice 



The Presuvtkriax Churches. 



on Troup street and ri\-mouth a\enuc, which, being consumed b\- fire Septem- 
ber 8th, 1850, purchase was made January 1st, 185 I, of the churcli edifice on 
the corner of Court and Stone streets. Worship was there hekl till the build- 
ing was sold and purchase was made fi'om the Free Will Baptists of their build- 
ing on Allen street, near Fitzhugh, which has become too strait, and must ere 
long give place to a larger and more commodious building in order to meet 
the wants of the growing congregation and demands of the enlarging church. 

The pastors have been as follows: Rev. John \'an Eaton, D. D., native of 
Xenia, Ohio, and graduate of Miami uni\'ersity and O.xford seminary, com- 
menced the pastorate of this church of his founding in 1849. Driven awaj' 
by the ill health of himself and family he went to York, \. Y., where he was 
pastor for twenty-six years ; a man of unwonted ability ; his death on March 
5th, 1880, was a cause of great grief to his parishioners and community at large. 
A useful \olume on several of the minor prophets, published since his death, 

illustrates his scholarship and ministerial fidelit)-. Rev. W. P. McAdams 

was pastor three years and then retired to private life. Rev. Thomas Boyd 

occupied tlie pulpit for four and a half \-ears and is now pastor of Bethel and 

Beulah churches in Penns\-Ivania. Rev. James Patterson Sankey, D. D., 

native of Londonderry, Ohio, graduate of Franklin college, located at New 
Athens, Ohio, and Allegheny United Presbyterian theological seminar}-, located 
at Allegheny City, Penn., w'as placed in charge of this church by the presby- 
ter)- of Caledonia, June 30th, 1864. A pastorate of twenty years, with no in- 
timation by the people that he should leave, but wholly in the other direction, 
is the highest proof of his usefulness and of his well-deserved favor in his 
parish and by the entire city. 

The officers in 1884 are: Pastor, Rev. James P. Sankey, D. D. ; elders — 
Robert Sterritt, Thomas Lisle, James Hutchison anil John Ban-ibcr. Sunday- 
school superintendent, the pastor. 

Se\eral ministers and missionaries have gone from the Presbyterian churches 
of Rochester : Jonathan S. Green, Sandwich islands ; F. De Wilton Ward, 
D. D., India; Henry Cherry, India ; T. Dwight Hunt, Sandwich islands; James 
Ballentine, L. Merrill Miller, D. D., Ogdensburgh ; Henry E. Peck, Charles G. 
Lee, Frederick M. Starr, Everard Kempshall, D. D., Elizabeth, N. J. ; William 
N. McCoon, Charles R. Clarke, California ; Henry B. Chapin, Ph. D., N. Y. ; 
Robert Proctor, George Dutton, M. L. R. P. Hill, G. Parsons Nichols, D. D., 
Binghamton ; Horace H. Allen, Daniel Ames, Charles R. Burdick, Peter H. 
Burkhardt, Fllisha M. Carpenter, Nathan M. Chapin, Lemuel Clark, Darwin 
Chichester, Hiram W. Congdon, Philo G. Cook, Henry Cooper, David Dickey, 
Morvatt Evarts, William C. French, D. D., Cleveland, John K. Fowler, Mer- 
ritt Galley, Corlis B. Gardner, Alanson C. Hall, Augustus F". Hall, Gavin L. 
Hamilton, Parsons C. Hastings, Ph. D., Alvan Ingersoll, Thomas H. Johnson, 
George W. Mackie, David E. Millard, p:noch K. Miller, Henry T. Miller, 



254 History of tiik City of Ruciikster. 

David H. Palmer, James H. Thelps, James S. Pierpont, Augustus C. Shaw, 
D. I),, Jnhn Spink, A. D. White, WiJHam C. Wisner, D. D., Edwin S.Wright, 
D.I),, WA.rthin-tnn Wri-ht, Albert Ci. Hall, D. 1)., Hezekiah B. Pierpont, 
Richard De j-'urest, T. Rea\-es Chipnian, Samuel liiyliss, Jon.ithan C(^peland, 
Gavin Lan-muir, D. D., Charles H. Wood, Charles Ra>-, C. M. Torrey, Dillis 
D. Hamilton, George S. Bishop, George Kemp -Ward, John Middleton, P'red- 
erick |, lackson, Willis C. Ga\-lord, Theodore B. Williams, David F. Stewart, 
PIdward C. Ra)', P'.ugene G. Cheeseman, James W. White. ^ 

( )f others not ministers who ha\-e gone as foreign missionaries, Henry A. 
De I-'orest, M. D., Syria; Mrs. Delia Stone Bishop, Sandwich islands; Mrs. A. 
De l-'orest, S_\-ria ; Mrs. Maria Ward (Chapin) Smith, Syria; Mrs. Janet Cam- 
eron, Africa. 

The total membership of the eleven Presbyterian churches of R(jchester in 
the spring of i 8X4 was 4,585 ; total Sunday-school membership, 4,620 ; total 
Contributions to the church boards and miscellaneous charities for the year 
ending A[)ril, 1884, $18,416; congregational, general assembh' and other 
church purposes, $50,423 ; sum total, $68,839. 

THE EFISrorM, CHURCHES. 

St. Luke's church. — The organisation of this parish was eftected through 
the efforts of Re\'. H. U. ( )nderdonk on the 14th of July, 1817. At that 
date the original corporators — S. Melancton Smith, Moses P. Belknap, Wil- 
liam Y. Greene, Jesse Moore, A. G. Dauby, John P. Comparet, Anson House, 
Daniel Hibbard, Jacob Howe, PLlisha Johnson, Jonah Brown, Caleb Ham- 
mond, Jabez Wilkinson, Joseph Thompson, William Atkinson, Samuel J. An- 
drews, John C. Rochester, John Mastick, Silas O. Smith, RoswcU Babbit, P^nos 
Stone, Oliver Culver, John P. Sheldon, Daniel Tinker, Lewis Jenkins, H. Mont- 
"omery, Joseph Spencer and Joseph Griffin — held a meeting in a school-house 

1 Rev. A. G. Hall. D. D.. Rev. W. C. Wisner. 1). I)., Rev. R. De Forest, Rev. Henry E. Peck, 
Rev. C (iaii-liier have been (llie last is) Ruclie^ter city iiaslors. 

_\-„/,.. — The First, liiick. Central and St. I'etei's are four of the most e.\|>ensive ami imposing 
eilifices in the city. The Third, having sold theirs to the Unitarians, are arranging to build upon the 
corner of East avenue and Meigs street. The other four are commodious, equal to the present wants 
of their localities, but will, in due time, give ])Lace to others of larger dimensions and more command- 
ing appearance. 

Rev. George C. Sill, native of Silllown. Conn., came to Rochester in 1S15. was licensed and or- 
dained by the presbytery of Rochester, from 1825 to 1S45, preached in Rochester and neighborhood, 
edited the Rochester Ohsi-n;-r (the first religious newspaper in Western New York), compiled and 
published a verse book of Scripture for Sunday-schools, and died at Lyme, Conn., May 20th, 1859. 

In the year 1830 Rev. Chariest;. Finney made his first visit to Rochester, preaching in the First, 
Second and Third churches, with heaven-endowed power and marvelous results. To this master in 
logic, eloquence an<l fearlessness of spirit Rochester is greatly indebted, under God, for its moral and 
religious eminence. 

.■\s I'resbyterianism was first to occupy the ground when Rochester was but a "clearing." sur- 
rounded bv dense forests, so it has ever held its own in numbers, character and influence, making itself 
felt for g.jod. the city, land ami world over. 



The Episcopal Churches. 255 

owned by Samuel J. Andrews on the east side of the river, when Colonel N. 
Rochester and Samuel J. Andrews were elected wardens ; Silas O. Smith, Ros 
well Babbit, John Mastick, Lewis Jenkins, Elisha Johnson, John C. Rochester, 
William Atkinson and 01i\er Culver were chosen vestrymen. Occasional ser- 
vices were held for the parish by Rev. Messrs. Onderdonk, Norton and Welton, 
in the school-house on the lot adjoining the present church site. In 1 8 1 8 Bishop 
Hobart made his first visit to the infant parish, and in the building then occu- 
pied b}- the First Presbyterian societj- administered the rite of confirmation to 
four persons. In 1820 the first church edifice was erected on lot number 85, 
which was given by the proprietors of the One-hundred-acre tract. It was a 
long wooden structure, in size thirty-eight by forty-six feet, and contained about 
forty pews. The funds for the erection of this building were provided b)' a 
subscription in which the following entries appear : N. Rochester, in lumber, 
$200 ; William Cobb, in blacksmithing, twenty-fixe dollars ; William Ha\-wood, 
in hats, twenty dollars ; Ebenezer Watts, in tinware, ten dollars ; E. Peck & 
Co., in books and stationery, twenty dollars; Jehiel Barnard, in tailoring, five 
dollars; H. Scrantom, in flour, seven dollars; Abner Wakelee, in shoes, ten 
dollars; Jacob Gould, in goods, ten dollars. The following additional subscrip- 
tions were contributed toward the erection of a steeple or cupola ; A. Reynolds, 
in goods or brick, five dollars ; D. D. Barnard, in cider and apples, five dollars ; 
Timothy Bosworth in combs, five dollars ; Ephraim Moore, " in pork out of my 
shop," five dollars. The little church was occupied for the first time on Christ- 
mas day, 1820. Rev. Francis H. Cuming, deacon, first served as rector, hav- 
ing entered upon his duties on the first Sunday of December, 1820, and some 
two months later the church was consecrated by Bishop Hobart. 

In 1823 the growth and prosperity of the church had been such that the 
building could no longer accommodate the largely increased attendance. Con- 
sequently, in September. 1823, the vestry entered into a contract with H. T. 
McGeorge to build a stone church fifty-five feet by seventy-three, at a con- 
tract price of $9,000. The actual cost, however, was $10,400. The old frame 
structure was moved to the rear of the lot and work begun on the new build- 
ing in the latter part of 1823. The church was opened for public worship Sep- 
tember 4th, 1825, and on the 30th of September, 1826, the ceremony of con- 
secration was performed by Bishop Hobart. 

After a successful rectorship of eight years, Mr. Cuming, in March, resigned, 
and was succeeded by Henry J. Whitehouse, who was instituted by Bishop 
Hobart, August 29th, 1830. Dr. Whitehouse resigned. May 1st, 1844, after a 
successful pastorate of nearly fifteen years, and subsequently acquired a national 
reputation as bishop of Illinois. He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas C. Pitkin, 
who took charge of the parish July 14th, 1844. In consequence of ill health 
Dr. Pitkin resigned the rectorship July 12th, 1847. In the following October 
a call was extended to Rev. Henry W. Lee, which he accepted and was insti- 



256 History of the City of Rochestek. 

tutcd b\' Bisliop Uc Lancc_\- on tlie l6th of February, iiS48. While rector of 
tliis church he was honoreil with the titles of D. D. and LL. 1)., and his pros- 
peruus ministry of seven \'ears terminated December 24th, 1854, in conse(|uence 
of his election to the bishopric of biwa, and pre\ious ccjiisecration tu that 
office ( )ctober iSth, 1854. Rev. Benjamin Watson was chosen his successor 
and entered upon his duties on the 29th of the following' April. Dr. W'atson 
ha\'ing resigned Juh' 2^i}. 1859, lie was succeeded by the Re\'. R. H. Claxtun, 

D. D., who was elected rector on the 1st of ( )ctober, anil instituted by Bishop 
De Lancey on the 20th of the followini; h'ebruary. Dr. Claxtoii resigned on 
the 1st of ( )ctober, 1865, to accept the chair of professor of pul])it eloquence 
and pastoral care in the divinity schmil of the Protestant Episcopal church in 
Philadelphia. ( )n the 23d (if .\pril, 1866, Re\-. Henr\- Anstice was called to 
the rectorship and on the second Smiday of Ma_\' entered upon his duties. 
During the first )'ear of his ministry the interior of the church was thoroughly 
remodeled and refitted, the congregation in the meantime worshiping in the 
First Presb\'terian church. Saint Luke's was reopened foi" ilivine service Mcuch 
lOth, 1867, and the institution of tlie rector by the bishop of the tliocese took 
place on the 14th of the same month. The oflicers for the present _\'ear areas 
follows: Rector, Rev llenr\- Anstice, D. D. ; wardens — (i. I L Perkins, James 
Brackett ; vestrymen — J. A. luistman, William P',astwood, E. \V. Williams, 
Clinton Rogers, Lorenzo Kell_\-, Alfred Fly, A. J. Johnson, Byron Hollcy. 

St. Paul's church. - — This, the second Fpiscopal parish in Rochester, was 
organised Ma}' 28th, 1827, at a meeting presided o\er b\- Re\-. Francis H. 
Cuming, rector of St. Luke's. William Atkinson and (jiles Boulton were 
elected wardens, and P'lisha John.^on, Fdisha ]-!. Strong, Jared N. Stebbins, S. 
I\L Smith, Lnos Stone, Samuel J. Antlrews, Daniel Tinker and A. B. Curtiss, 
\-estrymen. Re\-. Sutherl.ind Douglas was the first rector, ha\ing been called 
in April, 1828, and resigning on account of ill health in August of the follow- 
ing year. The brick church edifice, then in process of erection, was completed 
and consecrated b)- Bisho]) llobartin August, 1830. Rev. Chauncey Colton 
became rector in No\-ember of that year, resigning in December, 1831, when 
he was succeeded by Rev. H. V. D. Johns, who preached but t)nce and was 
in turn succeeded by Re\'. Burton Id. Hicko.x. Mr. Hickox remained from 
1832 to 1835, when Rev. Orange Clark. D. D., was called. Dr. Clark con- 
tinued as rector for a period of four years and was followed by Rev. Washing- 
ton \'an Zandt, in 1839, who remained but one year and six months. 

About this time the parish became involved financially, and a mortgage of 
$10,000 was foreclosed, which led to the dissolution, of Saint Paul's and the 
formation of a new corporation to buy the property under the name of "Grace 
church." During the long vacancy which ensued, occasional services were 
supplied by professors from Geneva, until June I 2th, 1S42, when Rev. William 

E. Figenbrodt became rector, remaining until December, 1843. On the 25th 



The Episcopal Ciurciies. 257 

)f July, 1847, the church building was destroyed by fire. Services were held 
n the old High school on Clinton street, until Christmas of that year. The 
^ew church edifice was consecrated as Grace church December 17th, 1848. Un- 
pler the auspices of the bishop the parish had been served for three months by 
Rev. Stephen Douglas and later by Re\-. John V. Van Ingen, D. D. The lat- 
ter was elected rector in 1848. He was succeeded by Rev. Maunsell Van 
Rensselaer, who was elected in September, 1854, and whose term of office ex- 
tended to Easter, 1859. He was followed by Rev. Israel Foote, who entered 
upon the rectorship August 1st, 1859. Dr. Foote, after an incumbency of 
twenty-three years, resigned the rectorship, to take effect April 17th, 1882, and 
was succeeded by Rev. W. H. Piatt, D. D., LL. D., who was called to the rec- 
torship September i6th, 1882. 

The present officers of the church are as follows : Rector, W. H. Piatt, 
D. D , LL. D. ; wardens — A. G. Yates, William H. Sanger; vestrymen — H. H. 
Warner, E. F. Woodbury, Frank W. Elwood, W. C. Dickinson, H. M. Ells- 
worth, James L. Hatch, C. H. Amsden and A. Erickson Perkins. 

Trinity church. — The movement to establish this parish was inaugurated 
in 1S36 by Rev. Henr\- J. Whitehouse, then rector of St. Luke's. Services 
were held by Rev. Vandevoort Bruce, who became rector January 26th, 
1846, in a school-house on Brown square, and later in school number 5 at 
the corner of Center and Jones streets. The corner-stone of a church building 
on the corner of Frank and Center streets was laid June 13th, 1846, and 
opened for divine service on Christmas eve of that year. Mr. Bruce resigned 
the rectorship of the parish Alay 12th, 1847, and was succeeded by Rev. 
Charles D. Cooper, in October of the same year. During his administration 
the debt was entirely paid and the church consecrated by Bishop De Lancey 
February 15th, 1848. Mr. Cooper resigned December loth, 1849, after an 
incumbency of fifteen years, and was followed by Rev. Robert J. Parvin, who 
assumed the rectorship F"ebruary 1st, 1 850, and resigned August 12th, 1852. 
Rev. Addison B. Atkins became rector October ist, 1852, remaining about two 
years, and was succeeded by Rev. George N. Cheney, who took charge of the 
parish October ist, 1854, remaining until May 1st, 1863, when, in consequence 
of impaired health, he resigned. During this year the church was enlarged 
and improved and Rev. John W. Clark was called to the rectorship. He 
entered upon his duties on the 6th of December, 1863, but remained only a 
short time, and was succeeded by Rev. John V. Van Ingen, D. D., who labored 
in the parish until July 1st, 1868. After a vacancy of eight months Rev. 
Charles H. W. Stocking took charge of the parish on the i st of March, 1 869. 
Mr. Stocking remained until December, 1871, and was succeeded by Rev. M. 
R. St. J. Dillon-Lee, January, 1872. He officiated until October, 1873, and 
was followed by Rev. C. J. Machin, who remained until January, 1875. Rev. 
W.W.Walsh assumed the rectorship May ist, 1 875, and is the present in- 



258 History of the City of Rochester. 

cumbcnt. On the 17th of April, 1880, tlic church property was sold and sooi 
after the [)rcsent site of the eliiirch and rectoiy was |:nuxhased. Ground vva: 
broken for the election of a new huuse of worship on the 2],d of June, [880 
the corner-stone beiuLJ laid by Hishop Coxc on the 29th ot Jul)-, antl th( 
church openetl foi' divine ser\ice on the 31st of Jul>- in the followiiiL; year. 

The present officers are as follows: Rector, Rev. Warren W. W'alsh ; war 
dens — Geori;e Arnokl, William H. Cross; \'estr_\-nien — 1 1. W. Davis, 1'. G 
Ranne)', F. S. llptim, John II, Hishop, John A. Van Iiv^en, James II. Kelly 
William Boyd, John G. Mason. 

Christ chuich. — This parish was orj^anised on the 7th of May, 1855, b; 
a number of jiarishioners of St. Luke's, with a tew from St. Paul's. Th^ 
meetiiii; was held in Palmer's block, and the following ofhcers were elected 
Wardens — -Silas (3. Smith .uid David Hoyt ; vestrymen — Andrew J. Bracket! 
D. B. Beach, D. M. Dewe>-, J-hn l-'airbanks, J. M. Winslow, Charles R. Babbit 
Delos Wentworth and LdwcU'd M. Smith. The present site of the church wa 
]Hirchased in lune, 1855, and the buildin;^' erected in the latter part of the sani' 
)'e,ir. Rew llenr)- ^A. Neely was the first rector, .md entered upon his dutie 
October 1st, 1855. Mr. Neel)' continuetl rector until 1862, when he resigned 
becomin;.; chaplain of Ilobart college, afterward taking charge of Trinity chapel 
New \'ork, and subsecjuently being consecr.ited bishop of Maine on the 25th o: 
Januar_\', 1867. Rev. .Anthony Schuyler, D. D., was his successor and entere( 
upon the duties of the rectorship ( )ctober 1st, 1862, remaining until 1 868 
Rev. Walton W. Battershall became rector Januar\- ist, 1 8(mj, continuing in thi 
relation until August 1st, 1874. He was followed by Re\'. Joseph L. Tucker 
I'ebruary 17th, 1875. Mr. Tucker's ministry was terminated b)' his resigna 
tion, to take effect October 15th, 1877. The present rector, Rev. W. D'Or 
ville Doty, was called October 15th, 1877, and assumed the rectorship on th' 
2d of December, of the same )-ear. 

The officers for the present \-ear are as follows: Rector, Rev. W. D'( )r\illi 
Doty, D. D. ; wardens — J. Moreau Smith, D. M. Dewey; vestrymen — J. H 
Nellis, S. V. McDowell, K. W. Osburn, John A. Davis, J. A. Biegler, A. C 
Walker, W. J. Ashle\- and P. A. Ward. 

Church of the Good Sheijherd. — During the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Clax 
ton, of St. Luke's, a mission of that ixirish was established and a building erectei 
in which services were held for the first time Jul}- 31st, 1864. The parish wa 
organised into an independent church b_\' Rev. Henry Anstice, rector of St 
Luke's, March 2gth, 1869. Re\-. Jacob Miller, who had been ministering in thi 
congregation fir tweiit)- months as assistant to Mi'. Anstice, was, on nomina 
tion by the latter, elected the first rector. L'])on his resignation in September 
1869, Rev. J. Newton Spear was called, but he soon resigned on account of il 
health. Rev. James S. Barnes next entered on the field, May 1st, 1870, bu 
left within six months. Rev. P'rederick W. Raikes accepted the charge Decern 



The Episcopal Churches. 259 



ber 15th, 1870, and after a ministry of two years resigned April ist, i<S73. He 
j was followed by Rev. Benjamin \V. Stone, D. D., who after an incumbency of 
I eight years resigned April ist, 1881. Rev. Byron Holley, jr., followed inimedi- 
• atelyas minister of the church of the Good Shepherd, remaining in this position 
; until June 19th, 1882. Rev. James Stoddard a.ssumed the care of the parish 
August 1st, 1883. 

The officers for the current \-car arc : Rector, Rev. James Stoddard ; ward- 
I ens — George Cummings, John W. Attridge ; \'estrymen — Thomas Baxen- 
I dale, Andrew Erhardt, J. N. Lcl.ievre, Thomas Attridge, George R. Hoare, 
I Edward P. Hart and Wilh'am .Smile\-. 

1 Church of the Epiphan\-. — The parish of the Epiphany is the outgrowth 

of cottage service held in the winter of 1866-67, t>y Rev. Dr. Anstice, rector 
of St. Luke's. The corner-stone of a chapel was laid July 23d, 1868, and the 
first public services therein were held Februar)- 28th, 1869, Rev. W. W'. Ray- 
mond being then the assistant minister of St. Luke's. He was followed by 
Rev. George S. Baker, August 14th, 1870, and to his ministry is largely due 
the growth and prosperity of the enterprise. Rev. C. M. Nickerson succeeded 
Mr. Baker November ist, 1875. The parish was organised into an independent 
parish by Dr. Anstice, September 13th, 1876, and on his nomination Rev. Mr. 
Nickerson was elected the first rector, who remained in the parish until Janu- 
ary 1st, 1 88 1. He was succeeded by Rev. Amos Skeele, who was called 
March 21st, 1881. 

Tlie present officers are: Rector, Amos Skeele; wardens — George E. 
Mumford, John Clements; vestrymen — J. H. Stedman, Jonas Jones, H. C. 
White, E. \V. Trijjp, George H. Perkins, J. C. Smith, W. S. Oliver and Alfred 
L. Davis. 

St. James's church. — The corner-stone of this Episcopal church was laid 
on the 1 8th of Jul}-, 1875. The missionary committee having charge of the 
enterprise were John Morris, John Southall, Charles. S. Cook and William H. 
Wilkins. The first service was held June 5th, 1876, at which time the church 
was consecrated by Bishop Co.xe, and Rev. James H. Dennis began his work 
in the field. The meeting of the members of the congregation to incorporate 
themselves was held August 17th, 1876, at which Rev. James H. Dennis was 
elected the first rector. 

The present officers are as follows: Rector, Rc\-. J. H. Dennis; wardens — 
John Morphy, John Nicholson; vestrymen — E. J. Shackieton, Dr. Hermance, 
J. Cox, jr., E. E. Havill, William Sweeting, E. Baldwin, J. McCullum. 

St. Andrew's church. — This parish had its origin in the work of a general 
city mission supported by the four older parishes of the city in 1866. In 
1867 the parish of Christ church took the mission under its special care, 
and during 1870 it was in charge of Rev. Daniel Flack, then the assistant 
at Christ church, of which Rev. W. W. B.ittershall was rector. A lot was 



26o History of the City of Rochester. 

secured at the corner of Mung-er and Ashland streets, and the corner- stone o 
a permanent structure wms l.u'd on tlie 19th of July, 1S73. Rev. David A 
Bonnar was dieted rector, and [jreached the first sermon in the completed por 
tion of the new eluu'ch. In I'Sj" the church [)roi)erty passed, throuLjh fore 
closure of jud^iiieiit, into the possession of W'illiam ]-!. Dout^das. The bisho] 
and standiuL; committee haxing authorised the formatitin of a new parish in th 
field former]}' occupied b_\' .St. Clement's, the orL;<uiisation of St. Andrew's wa 
effected February Jth, 1879. The first rector of the parish was Re\'. A. 1; 
Crapsey, who was elected June 1st. I S79. The edifice was consecrated b' 
l^isho]) Co.\e Ma)' I 6th,. 1 SSo. The officers at present are as follows: Rectoi 
Re\-, y\. S. Crapse\- ; w.u'dens — William li. DouL;las, John J. Luckett ; \estry 
men — Ilenr)- ,S. Cr.ibbe, Willi, im Dove, Thomas .\. l{\ans, S.muiel L. Selden 
Arthur C. .Smith, h'rederick Suter, (ieorLje Veares. 

FRIENDS OR OU.VKERS. 

A montlil)- meetiuL; of l*"riends was held at I'"armin;j;ton. ()ntario C(uint) 
N. \'., on the 23d of the "eit^hth month," 1821. I'ei-mission was L;rante( 
allow iuL; I'rieuils of Rochester, RiL;a and Henrietta to h(jld a pre])arativ 
meeting at Rochester, and in accijrdance therewith the first meeting wa 
lield at Rochester on the iSth of the tenth month, iS2i,and Isaac Colvin wa 
a[)pointed clerk for the day. The meetings were to be hekl on the first an( 
fifth da\'s of each week under the care of the following committee : Stephei 
Durfee, David Haker, Sunderland Patterson, Nathaniel Walker, Asa Douglas 
and Peter Harris. James Whippo aiul Mead Atwater were designated to pro 
pose some I'riend as clerk. Aldrich Colvin and I'^rastus Spaulding were ap 
pointed to proxide some suitable house for worship and discipline. The com 
mittce above named reported, and I'homas Congdon was appointed clerk 01 
the 20th of the twelfth month, 1821. The committee also reported ujjon a lo 
and in fa\or of building a meeting-house, the total cost for a lot four rods b; 
eight rods, including building the meeting-house, being $1,050, and of buyins 
a burying-ground — \'illage lot 175 Frankfort, si.xty-six feet front b}' two hun 
dred feet deep, owned b_\' Aldrich and Isaac CoKin — which could be had fo 
$80. Har\-e_\- P'rink was appointed clerk for one _\ear. On the 14th of thi 
eleventh month, 1822, the first meetings were held at Aldrich Colvin's house 
The house of worship, to be used also for a school-house, was built on the eas 
side of North I*"it/,hugh street, near Allen, and completetl in the autumn o 
1822, at a cost of $350. 

A division (U' separation took place in the New York _\'earl\- meeting oi 
Friends in the \-ear 1829 — and one branch was st)ded "orthod(.)x" and th( 
other was called b_\- nian\- "Hicksites," and those names still exist. Amont 
the names of earl)- members of the socict)-, prior to the di\'ision, who belongec 
to the Rochester meeting, we find, in addition to those alreadj- mentioned 



The Hai'tlst Churches. 261 

John Russell, Wm. Lawton, Abram Staples, Zaccheus Aldridge, Wm. Rath- 
bone, Silas Cornell, Joseph Cox and wife Dorothy, Ezra Scofield, Samuel 
Fairwell, Darius Shadbolt, Benjamin Fish, Thomas and Elizabeth Hills, John 
Ireland, Hugh Pound, Henry Case, Wm. Griffin, Elihu F. Marshall, Silas An- 
thony, Jonathan Warner, Gilbert Titu.s, Jacob Thorn, Barnabas Coiman, Abram 
Wilson, Lars Lar.son, Wm. Green, Philip Lyell, Oley Johnson, Daniel Batty, 
Job Batty, Seth Macy, Wm. Macy, Jacob Bell, John Edgeuorth, David Bell. 
After the separation the Hicksite branch occupied the original meeting-house, 
while the Orthodox P^riends built a new one on Jay street. The society, as it 
would seem, has accomplished its usefulness and fulfilled its destiny, and the 
names of George Fox and William Penn still remain bright and shining 
lights of the Christian religion. There are but very few of the members of the 
society left here, and those are of ac!\anced years. Mary T. and Pamelia S. 
Frost, sisters of Har\e\' P"rink, who was clerk of the Rochester meeting in 
1822, still reside in the cit\'; they maintain their interest in the society, and 
have a fresh remembrance of the events that transpired in the early settlement 
of Rochester, over seventy years ago. A few days since they visited Lake 
View, the early residence of Erastus Spaulding, who was one of the committee 
to procure a suitable house for worship in 1821. 

THE BAPTIST CHURCHES. 

The P'irst Baptist church was organised in the year 18 18, and was then 
called "the First Baptist church of Brighton." It had twelve constituent 
members, none of whom are now living. The numbers increased gradually 
for the next twelve years, and 161 were connected widi its membership in 
1830. During the winter of 1 830-3 I, when the great revival interest existed 
in this city under the wonderful labors of that eminent divine, Rev. Charles G. 
Finney, some 193 persons were added, and in 1832 some 368 members were 
enrolled. The large emigration to the western .states and the formation of the 
Second Baptist church, on the east side of the river, which followed, reduced 
the membership so that in 1835 only 244 remained. Its numerical increase 
was soon resumed, however, for in 1844 the church contained 530 members. 
From 1866 to 1870 its progress was steady, numbering at last 760, the largest 
figures reached in its history. In the year 1866, 185 new members were added. 
In 1871 and 1872 three new Baptist churches — Memorial (on Lake avenue). 
Rapids and East avenue were organised, taking many of the members of the 
church, which, with other dismissals, reduced the membership to 545, which 
has gradually increased to the present time, 1884. The church has now en- 
rolled on its membership some 610 members. 

Nine pastors and two temporary setdements have served this church : Rev. 
E. M. Spencer, *i in the year 1819; Rev. Eleazer Savage, 1824 to 1826, three 

> Four of the above list are dead — as indicated by asterisks — and seven are living. Some of them 
are now occupying very prominent positions as presidents of theological seminaries, or as editors or 
publishers of denominational papers. 



262 History ov the City of Rochester. 

}'ears ; Rev. (). C. Comstock, U. D.,* 1827 to 1834, eight years; Rev. Phai 
celliis Church, I). I)., 1835 to 1S48, fourteen years; Rev. J. A. Smith, D. D 
1849 to 1S54, tive _\e,irs ; Re\-. Jacob R. Scott, 1). D.,* 1855 to 1858, thre 
\'ears ; Rev. Richard M. Nott,* 1859 to i865,se\'en }'ears ; Re\-. (i. W. North 
rop. 1). 1)., supphed the pulpit one year; Re\'. lienry \i. Robbins, D. D 
1867 to 1872, si.\ \'ears ; Re\'. A. H. StroUL;, D. L)., suiJiilied one \'ear ; Re\ 
Charles |. Baldwin, 1874 to 1 884, ten years. The clerks of the church ha\- 
been as follows: Myron Stroni;, f.'r four \'ears ; H. B. Sherman, for six years 
E. S. Treat, for seven years ; l)a\ id Burbank, one year ; Ur. H. W. Dean, thre 
years ; ]. A. .Stewart, seven years. The f illowint^ deacons (some of them 1 
honored memor\-) have passed awa_\' : Amos Craves, Ira Sperr_\-, Isaac Tinne} 
Oren Sage, Ge(.). S. .Slielmire, John Watts, John Jones, H. L. .Achilles, Edwi 
Pancost, H. F. Smith, E. F. Smith, Myron Strong, H. X. Eangwurth)-, H. V 
Dean, A. G. Mudge. 

The present deacons are: .\l\ah .Strong, William N. Sage, E. R. Satterle- 
J. (J. I'ettingill, S. A. ICllis, .\. H. Cole, M.itthew Massey, Cyrus F. Paine an 
A. H". Mixer. The first two — Alvah Strong and William N. Sage — ha\ 
been members of the church nearl)' fifty-four )'ears. The i)resent board of tru: 
tees consists of lizra R. Andrews, presitlent ; Z. F. Westervelt, G. D. Hal 
J. \V. Warrant, C. A. Morse, B. P. Ward, Eewis Sunderlin, A. E. Barton an 
T. De Puy. Charles T. Conxerse is the present treasurer. Between $300, OC 
and $400,000 have been contributed for bene\'olence antl building of hous( 
of worship during the past fifty years. 

The Sabbath-school superintendents have been : M_\-ron .Strong, one j-eai 
Rev. I'-. Savage, one )-ear ; Re\'. Zenas h'reenian, two _\'ears ; H. E. Achilla 
two \-ears ; I'.llery S. Treat, one )-ear ; George Dawson, one year; Edwin Pai 
Cost, se\en years; William N. Sage, ten years; James T. Griffin, two }'ear: 
A. R. PritchtU-d, five \'ears ; E. R Satterlee, three years; A. G. Mudge, si 
years; .S. A. I'^llis, four years; A. II. Cole, ten years. 

The church first met after its organisation in a small school-house (numbi 
I ) located where Rochester I~ree academy now stands. It was then remove 
to the old court-house and sometmies met in the jury room. In 1827 tl 
church, being a feeble band and considered of no political importance, was turni. 
out b\- the sheriff' in obedience to the directions of the board of supervisor 
The membeis remo\ed to Col Hiram Eeonard's ball-room over a stable in tl 
rear of the old Clinton House and there remained until 1828, when they pu 
chased of the Rochester Meeting- House company a wooden structure on Sta 
street, in which previoush' the P^irst and Second Presbyterian churches he- 
worshiped. This was located near where the American express company's bulk 
ing now stands, on State street. Five members of the church — Deacon Ore 
Sage, Deacon Myron Strong, Zenas Freeman, H. E. Achilles and Eben Griffii 
— gave their notes for $1,500 for the purchase and then spent about $1,000 



The Baptist Churches. 263 

'improving the same, and the church there remained until they moved to their 
ibuilding on Fitzhugh street in the year 1839. 

The first building on Fitzhugh street was built of stone, at a cost of about 
$18,000. It was considered a model of beauty, as well as of convenience, at 
that time. But opinion changed very much in subsequent years. That build- 
ing was enlarged in the year 1852, by extending it thirty feet and adding gal- 
leries, at an expense of some $i 0,000. It remained in this shape till the year 
1868, when the necessity for more room for the Sabbath-school and social 
meetings of the church was so manifest that additional land was purchased, and 
the rear part of the present structure was erected, at an expense of $53,034.- 
75. In the year 1875 the foundations of the front building were laid, and 
during the following \'ear the entire building was completed, at an expense of 
$74,836. 1 1 , which, with cost of ground and rear part, makes the entire amount 
$140,000 invested in the present building. This is a model of beauty, and 
one of the finest church structures in the slate. 

The Second Baptist church was organised March 12th, 1834. For two 
years prior thereto the subject had been variously agitated among the mem- 
bers of the F"irst Baptist church of forming another church, on the east side of 
the river. It was not until the 26th day of February, 1834, that the project 
was fully begun, and on that date letters of dismission were granted to fifty- 
six persons, who formed the constituent members of the new church. At this 
time a proposition was made by the Third Presbyterian church to sell their 
house of worship, located on the northeast corner of Main and Clinton streets, 
where the Washington hall block now stands. It was a stone and wooden 
structure with a steeple and belfry. The first meeting of the new church and 
society was held on April 8th, 1834, when the following trustees were elected : 
H. L. Achilles, S. Lewis (first class) ; Daniel Haight, John Culver (second 
class); D. R. Barton (third class). On the 17th of April following, in accord- 
ance with the previous arrangements, the Third Presbyterian church transferred 
their meeting-house to the new church for the sum of $6,600, nearly the whole 
amount being subscribed by about twenty members. On the night of Decem- 
ber 10th, 1859, this house of worship was consumed by fire. 

After much consideration the site of the present church edifice, on the cor- 
ner of North avenue and Franklin and Achilles streets, was purchased April 
lOth, i860, for $5,400, the present edifice being erected thereon at an ex- 
pense of $40,000; it is capable of seating 1,200 people. It was furnished and 
dedicated in 1862. In the interim, service had been held in Palmer's block 
(East Main street), and part of the time in the Third Presbyterian church. In 
1848 the church sufifered a loss of several members, in the organisation, by 
Rev. Charles Thompson, of the Tabernacle Baptist church, which was then 
organised, and by whom an edifice was erected on St. Paul street, near An- 
drews, where the Jewish synagogue now stands. The organisation did not 



264 Hisrokv OF TiiK City of Rociiestkr. 



prove strong enough to live, and, after a brief struggl(^^ the church was sold to 
the Hebrews. In N(i\enil)er, 1S71, ninety-eight members were lost by the 
terming nf the h'.ast a\'eiuie liaptist church, which had been coinlucted as a 
nussiiiii school for several ve.irs by the Second Haptist church. The Secund 
liaptist church has now <i membership of 642 members. ]\e\-. S. W. l)uncan, 
1). 1)., is the present pastor. Of the ccmstituent members only three sm'\i\-e — 
Mrs. Sarah M. Barton, Mrs. Uorcas Miller and Mrs. Mmeline Sheik, .ill resi- 
dents of this city. The ortlinance of ba[)lism was first administered Jidy ijtli, 
|SJ4, l-'.benezer Titus ,ind Martha, his wife, being the candidates. 

'l"he church has had ele\ en pastors, anil of these but four are now li\ing — 
Rev. (i. 1). Ho.u-dmaii, iJ. I)., of I'hil.idelphia, Pa.; Rew T. iuhvin Hrown, I). 
1)., of Pro\idence, R. 1.; Re\'. J. II. (lilmore, [)rofessor in the Uni\ei"sit)- of 
Rochester, and the present p.istor. Rev. Dr. Duncan. The first pastor was 
Re\'. i'don Cialusha, who took the pastor.ite in Ma\' f.illowing the organisation 
of the church, f)r a period of three \'ears. He died at Hrockport January 4th, 
1856. Re\'. hdisha Tucker was installed the second pastor, January ist, 1837. 
lie resigned in I.S41, remo\ed to New York, and died in I 853. The third pas- 
tor was Rev. V. R. llotchkiss, who came from I'ultene)-, Vermont, April 26th, 
1842, antl remained until October 1st, 1845, when he accepted a call to a 
church in l*"all River, Mass. Re\-. Ch.ules Thompson became the fourth pastor 
of the church, January i8th, 1846, and remained but a short interval, when he 
(.)rganised the Tabernacle church ot Rochester. The fifth pastc}r was Re\'. 
Henr\' Da\is, who i-emained but a X'ear, fi'om 1 849 to 1 850. Rew tj. \V. 
lloward, D. D., commenced his labors as the sixth pastor of the church in the 
autumn of 1 85 I ; after a pastorate of six years he removetl to Chicago, and 
then to \ew Orleans, where he died in 1863. Dr. ("i. D. Hoardman assimied 
the pastorid charge in ( )ctober, 1856, occupying the s.ime for eight \-eai-s, when 
he was calleil to jireside o\ er the I'irst liaptist church of Philadelphia, where 
he is still successfully ministering. Re\'. Joseph II. (dhnoi-e was installed as 
the ninth pastor on ( )ctober yth, 1865, but resigned in i 8r>7 to accei.)t a pro- 
fessorship in the university The tenth pastor was the Rev. V. I'Ldwin Hrown, 
D. I )., wh(i came from the Tabernacle l?aptist church of Brooklyn, and assumed 
the pastoral charge on \o\-ember 1st, 1869. He resigned in February, 1882, 
to accept a call of the h'irst liaptist church of Pro\-idence, R. I., which now 
enjoys his successful ministr\-. His term ot ser\-ice, covering a pei'iod of thir- 
teen years, is the huigest single pastorate in the hist(U'_\- of the church. 

The present and eleventh pastor is the Rev. Samuel W. Duncan, D. D., 
formerly pastor of the Ninth street B<iptist church of Cincinnati, Ohio, who 
accepted the unanimous call of the church in June, 1883. In 1836 Rev. Jirah 
D. Cole supplied the judpit during the past(.>r's absence, h'rom Ma}- 1st, 1864, 
to September 30th, 1865, Re\-. V.. Ci. Robinson, D. D., now [)resident of Brown 
universit)', and fornierl)' of the Rochester theological seminary, was a stated 



The Baptist Churches. 265 



supply. Among the early members of the church was Rev. E. Vining, " whose 
beautiful and useful life had so impressed itself upon his brethren, that the Mon- 
roe Baptist asssociation erected by special vote and contribution, a tombstone 
in Mount Hope cemetery to mark his resting-place." Among those who 
have been members of the church, and at times assisted in its pulpit services, 
are Rev. E. G. Robinson, D. D., Rev. Dr. Buckland, (who supplied the pulpit 
in 1S74-75); Rev. Dr. S. S. Cutting, Rev. Eleazer Savage; also, among the 
present members. Rev. Dr. Howard Osgood and President M. B. Anderson, 
EL. D. There have been ordained to the ministry from the members of the 
church Rev. George Otis Hackett, August 24th, 1844; Rev. Niles Kinney, N. 
W. Benedict, D. D., and Rev. Wayland Iknedict. Mrs. Louisa Hooker Van 
Meter, a misionary to Hurmali, was alsi> a member of the church, having been 
baptised in 1828. 

The present deacons are : A. Mosely, Thomas Johnston and M. G. Seele)-, 
chosen in November, 1866; Professor Otis H. Robinson, chosen in November, 
1874; D. G. Weaver, Charles H. Stanton, Charles Covell, W. W. Gilbert and 
William H. Caldwell, chosen in November, 1878. The present trustees are: 
C. B. Woodworth, chairman ; James Marden, secretary ; Martin A. Culver, 
Daniel Harris, C. H. Stanton and J. B. Moseley. The following are the present 
church officers: Rev. S. W. Duncan, D. D., pastor; M. G. Seeley, clerk; D. 
G. Weaver, treasurer of general benevolent fund ; Prof O. H. Robinson, 
treasurer of poor fund ; W. W. Jacobs, treasurer. 

The church started with a Sunday-school as an essential element. Its 
growtii has been no less satisfactory than that of the church. On the 6th of 
March, 1834, Henr\- L. Achilles, as superintendent, opened a Sunday-school 
in connection with the new church, and four days afterward the latter was con- 
stituted. The number of scholars is not known ; but in October, 1834, a report 
was made to the Sunday-school Lhiion (which was then in existence in this 
cit\'), shciwing that the school had twenty-three teachers and one hundretl and 
twenty scholars, and possessed a library of one hundred and twenty-four vol- 
umes. In nine years the school had increased to five hundred and seventy- 
eight scholars and fifty-two teachers, and it was then the largest Sunday-school 
in the city, Nathan Britton being the superintendent. At the present time 
there are about three hundred and eighty scholars and forty teachers connected 
with the school. A new library of one thousand volumes was recently pur- 
chased. The present officers are : Prof W. C. Stevens, superintendent ; W. 
W. Jacobs, assistant superintendent ; T. B. Ryder, assistant superintendent ; 
Mrs. M. A. Harris, superintendent of infant department ; Mi.ss Lucy McMaster, 
assistant in infant department ; H. F. Seymour, secretary and treasurer ; Edwin 
O. Banker, librarian; Rev. Howard Osgood, D. D., teacher of Bible class. 

The First German Baptist church. — In 1848-49 several German Baptists 
from New York cit}- and other places came to Rochester and commenced 



266 History of the City of Rochester. 



hoklins^ religious ineetin<^s in private dwellings and in number I scliool-house 
nn l^'it/.liugh street. .-\t first tliesc meetings were conducted by a colporteur of 
tile .American Tract societ)-, and after a time b)' Rev. 1^. Rocs, of Warrensville, 
Penn,, who labored here nine months. After this the services were conducted 
by others at different inter\als luitil October, 1850, when Rev. A. Henrich 
came to this city from lUiffalo, and, because of his efficienc)' and success in col- 
lecting and cementing these scattered elements, he ma_\- be stv'led the founder 
of the first German Haptist church of Rochester. On the 29th of June, 1S51, 
this bod\' was regulaily organised antl i-ec(.)gnised b_v the proper judicatories, 
Rev. A. Henrich being ordained as first pastor. Among the constituent mem- 
bers were John IJoppler, Jacob Bopser, Conrad Stepjjlcr and Joseph Richard, 
all of whom ha\e gone to their reward e\ce[)t the last named. In ( )ctober, 
185S, Mr. Henrich i-emo\x'd to .Anthony, I'enn., and then Re\'. Prof A. 
Rauschenbusch, of the (ierman branch nt the Rochester theological seminary, 
supplied the pulpit for about si.\ months, when Rev. Gerhard Koopmann, then 
of the senior class ol' the theological seminary, accepted a call from the church 
and was their jiastor for a brief time. He was succeeded in 1863 by Rew 
Henry Schneider, who was succeedetl in 1865 b)' Rev. lamest Tschirch. 

In 1851, when the church w a^ oi'ganised, services were held in a h.dl on 
Ann street (now AlUii street). A few years after this, purchase was made of 
the old public school number 10, on Antlrews street, east of North Clinton 
street, for $2,000. In 1870 this stone buikling was taken down and the 
present inviting brick eilifice erected at a cost of $10,000, being worth now, 
lot inclusive, some $14,000. Mr. Tschirch tiid much in paving for said edifice 
by collecting among the German and i\merican Hai)tist churches. He left the 
church in 1874 in a pros[)erous condition, and with (jnly $1,000 debt on the new 
liou^e of worship. l'"rom this time Re\-. Prof H, M. Schafter of the theological 
seminar)- supijlietl the jnilpit for one year. In I 875 Rev. Peter Ritter, the present 
pastor, accepted a call from the church. His labors among the Germans of this 
cit_\' ha\e been abundantly blessed, and about 289 persons have been added to 
the church since he toi >k charge of it, 230 of them by baptism. Through the 
efforts of Mr. Ritter the tlebt of $ I ,ooo has been paid and the mortgage dis- 
charged Jul)- 2d, 1883. In the past eight years about one hundred persons 
ha\e been dismissed b)- letter to unite with other Baptist churches. 

Last )'ear the church bought a large building spot on Sanford street, near 
South avenue, for $1,200, on which there is a chapel. It is well located for 
growth and usefulness in this cit)-. Ser\-ices and Sunda)'-school are hekl there 
ever)- .Sunda)-, also religious nieetings tluring the week by the German stuilents 
of the theok)gical seminar)-. The students also preach and conduct Sunda)-- 
schools in other parts of the cit)' antl suburbs. This church is ecclesiasticall)' 
conr.ected with the Monroe Baptist association, and w-ith the eastern conference 
of (ierman Baptists. Present number of communicants, 289; whole number 



The Baptist Churches. 26-] 

of Sunday-school scholars, nicluding mission, 42cS; Rev. P. Rittcr, pastor; 
George Fischer, Sunday-school superintendent; William Trump, and R. Wid- 
mer, deacons; George Fischer, treasurer; John Strobel, clerk; Wm. N. Sage, 
R. Widmer, Wm. Trump, John Strobel and John Arend, trustees. 

The East Avenue Baptist church grew out of a mission Sunday-school, 
which was established in 1847 by Dr. Giustiniani, for the benefit of the Ger- 
man population of the city of Rochester. This was, at first, a union school 
and met on Cherrj' street. In 1863 it was reorganised as the Bethlehem mis- 
sion school, under the especial supervision of the Second Baptist church, and 
met for years in McClellan hall, corner of east Main and Scio streets, S. G. 
Phillips being its efficient superintendent. In 1870 the Sunday-school removed 
to a commodious chapel on the corner of East avenue and Anson park, where 
a church was soon organised with sixty-eight constituent members, of whom 
fifty-four came from the Second Baptist church. For more than a year after 
its organisation, the pulpit of the new church was supplied by Professors Buck- 
land and Strong of the theological seminary, while Professor Gilmore of the 
university acted as pastor. In i 873 Rev. 1 Icnry L. Morehouse, formerly of East 
Saginaw, Mich., became pastor, and this relation continued till July 1st, 1879. 
After a brief interval the pastorate was assumed (February 1st, i88o)by Rev. 
W. H. Porter, of Ontario, who filled the position nineteen months. Since his res- 
ignation the church has been under the efficient care of Prof T. Harvvood Pat- 
tison of the theological seminar)-, who has both supplied the pulpit and acted 
as pastor. Rev. Henry C. Peepels, of Pittsburgh, Pa., has, however, recently 
accepted a call to the pastorate of the church and enters upon his duties Sep- 
tember 1st, 1884. The church has, also, recently sold its property on East ave- 
nue and purchased lots on the corner of Park avenue and Meigs street, where 
it is about to erect a neat and commodious house of worship. The present 
membership of the church is 366. The Sunday-school, of which Deacon W. 
P. Andrus is superintendent, reports an average attendance of 211. 

The Lake Avenue Baptist church is the outgrowth of a mission school, 
planted by the First Baptist church. It had a precarious existence for several 
years, being without a house of its own and being obliged to meet in halls or 
school-houses. In 1865 a substantial brick chapel was built, fronting on Lake 
avenue, at the intersection of Jones avenue and Ambrose street. In commemo- 
ration of the peace that followed the war of the rebellion it was called the Me- 
morial chapel. The lot on which it stands was the free-will offering of Deacon 
Uren Sage, of the First church, who also contributed liberally to the funds re- 
quired for building the chapel. It continued as a mission thereafter for six 
years. In 187 i a church was organised, having 107 constituent members, most 
of whom took letters of dismission from the First church for this purpose. 
There have been in its thirteen years' history only two pastors. During the 
summer a call was given to Rev. Ebenezer Nisbet, D. D., to be the first pastor. 

18 



26S History of the City of Rochester. 

This was accepted and he entered up<in liis labors November 1st, I 87 I. After 
a pastorate of four x'ears Dr. Nisbet resigned, and A. J. Barrett, of the senior 
class in the Rochestei- theolnL;ical seminai'v, was enL,'agcd as stated sappl\-. In 
March, 1876, Mr. liarrett accepted a unanimous call to the [jastorate of the 
church and fin [uiie 1st of that _\-ear was ordained to the Christian ministry, 
so tliat he has now entered upon his ninth year (.if serx'ice. No \-ear has 
passed without s<inie addition b_\- bajitism, the a\'eraL;"e for the eiL;ht \-ears past 
being thirty-twij a }ear. The present membership (June ist, l884)is46j. The 
brick chapel was found too small to accommodate the church, and in 1882 ]jlans 
wei'c drawn, subscriptions wci'e taken and the work of building commenced. 
A new stone structui'e has been completed, eighty-eight feet b)' fifty-tud. This 
will e\entually be the Sunda)--school I'oom, though now occupied as a clunxh. 
The main edifice is to be built soon, a portion of the money having already been 
subscribed. The Sunday- schoc)! lias h.id a remarkable growtii. When it entered 
tlie new brick chapel, in 1865, it numberetl 128. In 1876 it rep<-irte(.l to the 
association an average of 228. In December, 1876, Deacon D. A. Woodbur)- 
was elected superintentlent. Under his efficient administration the average 
attendance now reaches over 400, 503 having been reached on one Sundav in 
March. The church pavs all its obligations as fast as they mature, it has money 
in the bank .uul is not disturbed by any internal dissensions. 

THE METHODIST El'ISCi li'.XL CHURCHES. 

The r^irst Methodist l^pisco[)al church. — In I 8 16, as some of our surviving 
pioneers remember, the first Metiiodist preaching was heard ringing through 
the forest, and tliat loud singing which in the old times rang out as a slogan, an- 
nouncing where the W'csleyan regiment was rushing into battle, echoed near at 
hand the solemn thunder of mu- u[)per fills. The next vear, 1817, a class was 
organised b)' Rev. Mlisha House, and the society was thus, according to our 
forms, located foi' permanent residence and work. Three vears of class-meet- 
ings, with such .Sunday and week-da\- preaching as could be secured in private 
residences and in the o[)en air, (.levelopeil the little societ_v to such proportions 
th.it a regular legal incorporation was eft'ected on the 20th day of September, 
1820, with Frederick Clark, Xathaniel Drajier, Abelard Reynolds, Daniel Rowe 
and l-'.lam Smith as trustees. In the f )llowing June the FirstMethodist church 
building was commenced, a small brick structure, on the west side of South 
St. Paul street, nearest the southern line of the ground on which the opera 
liouse now stanels. The voung societ_v was not wealthy, and it was not till 
Jul\-, 1826, that the building was fully completed and dedicated. The rapid 
increase of membership from seventy when the church was dedicated to four 
hundred three years later, compelled an enlargement of accommodations, and 
in the fall of 1830 initiatory,measures were taken for the erection of a spacious 
building, in a more central location, and a large lot w^as secured on the corner 



The Methodist I'Iitscoiwi. Churches. 269 

t)f West Main and Fitzhugh streets, where the Baker block now stands. Here, 
jduring the next year, an immense tabernacle, 104 by 80 feet was built of stone. 
It was dedicated and occupied in the fall uf 185 1, barely fi\-e years after the 
"east-side" dedication. Hut a sad fate aw.iited the great "half-acre." It had 
been used by its congregation but little more than three }-ears when, one cold 
night (the 5th) of January, 1835, it was totall_\- destroyed by fire. Though 
the society, already deeply in debt, was left with no insurance, it was heroic- 
ally resoK'ed to rebuild immediately, and within a year the house was so far 
restored that a large basement was ready to be used for worship, Sunday- 
school, etc. In January, 1839, this second house was dedicated by Rev. Dr. 
Levings, of the Troy conference. 

These current \-ears, w ith all their financial difficulties, were yet in a high 
degree prosperous. The congregations and the Sunday-school were large. It 
ivas estimated that a great re\'i\-al daring the incumbenc}- of Rev. Glesen 
Fillmore, 1830 to '32, resulted in about nine hundred conversions. Nine hun- 
dred members were reported in 1834. The average number of members after 
the separation of the East-side church in 1836 was about three hundred. We 
had a strong officiary, including such men as Nehemiah Osburn, Ezra Jones, 
Willis Kempshall, Elijah K. Rlythe, Samuel Richardson, James Henderson and 
Dthers, and the business of the church was faithfulh- and well conducted. Soon 
ifter the dedication of the reerected church, the trustees sold to the city a 
large strip from the church lot, on the north side, as a site for fire engine house 
number 6, and at length, after a long conflict with that malignant anti-Christian, 
[}iant Debt, it was found necessary to sell out and abandon the old corner. In 
1854 a lot on the same side of Fitzhugh street, about midway between Main 
iind Ann streets, was purchased, and the next year the present edifice was 
jrected. During this transition the congregations assembled in the old city 
hall building, on the site now occupied by Powers Hotel. Early in 1856 the 
basement room of the new church was dedicated and occupied thenceforward 
for nearly five }-ears for auditorium and all other purposes. Since the dedica- 
tion of its audience room, February 7th, 1861, the society has enjoyed a good 
degree of prosperity, spiritual and financial. Faithful men have mini.stered in 
its pulpit. Its Sunday-school, so long conducted by James V'ick, of fragrant 
memory, has been among the foremost in the cit>-. Its offerings for the vari- 
Dus organised charities of the church have been liberal. Pastor Muller com- 
puted that up to his day the society had paid for ordinar)- and extraordinary 
expenses and donations, from the very date of its first election, not less than 
$4,400 per annum. This must be considered a very honorable showing. The 
membership, notwithstanding ail reductions by death, removals and colonisa- 
tions, has grown to 529 at the last conference report. The church edifice has 
been several times repaired, repainted and refurnished — most notably in 1871, 
during the pastorate of Rev. William Lloyd, when a new organ was purchased, 
and a sufficient subscription raised to pay off all existing indebtedness. 



History of the City of Rochester. 



The cnnipletc list nf pastnis, with dates nf their aj-jpointmeiit, is as fcillows: 
1820. Orcn Miller; 1821, Reuben A\-les\vnrth ; 1822, lilisha House; 1823, 
Micah Seager; 1824, Uana l'"ox ; 1825-26, John Dempster, D. D. ; 1827-28, 
Zechariah Paddock, I). D. ; 1829, Gideon I.aning; 1830-31, Glesen I'illmore, 
D. 1).; 1832, Robert Burcli ; 1833, Glesen iMllmore, I). 1).; 1834, I'.lijah Hc- 
bard ; 1835-36, John Copeland ; 1837, Wilber Hoa<,' ; 1838, Jonas Dodge; 
1839, Glesen Fillmore, D. D, ; 1840-41, Thomas Carlton, D. 1).; 1842, Moses 
Crow, D. D. ; 1843, Samuel I,ucke\-, 1). D. ; 1844-45, Schuyler Seager, D. D. ; 
1846-47, Jolm Dennis, D. D. ; 1848-49, J(.)hn G. (julick ; I 850, John Copeland ; 
1851-52, Augustus C. George, D. D. ; 1853, Henry Hickok ; 1854-55, Jona- 
tliaii Watts; 1856-57, Daniel D. Buck, D. D.; 1858-59, Israel H. Kellogg; 
1860-61, Jabez R. Jaques, D. I ). ; 1862-64, Sanford Van Benschoten, D. D. ; 
1865-67, James I~,. Latimer, D. 1).; 1868-69, George C. Lyon; 1870-71, 
William Lloyd; 1872-74, 1) ii. ^hlller, D. D. ; 1875-76, C. A. Van Anda, 
D. D. ; 1879-81, George C. Jones; 1882-83, Charles W. Gushing. D. D. 

The Asbur)- church. — Tiie Second Methodist Episcopal churcli society 
in Rochester was organised on the 26th day of September, 1836, just six- 
teen \-ears after the first, by the election of William Algood, Jonah Brown, 
Philander Davis, lilihu H. (.irox'cr, John McCioncgal, \\'illi;im G. Russell, 
and John Stroup as trustees. Meetings had been held ,ill ,ilong in the 
old brick church on South St. I'aul street, though the stone church on the 
corner of West Miiln ;uul I''itzhugh streets was the headquarters of the one 
society. The pastor was Joiin Copeland, to whom Rev. Daniel P. Kidder had 
been appointed assistant, especially for the supply of this second congregation. 
The new organisation adopted as its st\-le "the Last Side society of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church in Rochester." Becoming, with his parents, connected 
as a member of this society within ,1 month ;ifter its organisation, the writer 
very distinctly remembers many incidents of its e.irl_\- history. Nathaniel Draper 
was, during much of the time, superintendent of the Sunda)--school. Joseph 
Eggleston was one of its most hearty \-ocal members. His exhortations to 
Christians and the unconverted to "bul-lieve" were frequent and emphatic. 

In the autumn of 1841 it w<is resol\-ed to build a new church, and a lot 
on the southeast corner of M.iiii aiul Clinton streets was purchased with that 
purpose. Work was begun in the spi'ing, and in the autumn of the following 
year, 1842, the basement w.is finished .md occujjied for meetings. At this time 
the new synagogue and the society began to be known as the St. John's church, 
a name which it retained for nearly eighteen )-ears. The auditorium was com- 
pleted and the house dedicated by Rev. John Dempster, in February, 1844. 
A full and carefully prepared business history of the society presented b\- Dr. 
Austin Mandeville, at the farewell service Sunday morning March 9th, 1884, 
recounts the financial difficulties encountered during many years, all of which 
grew from the rash undertaking to build ,1 house before any adequate provision 



The Methodist Episcoi'al Churches. 



had been made for paying the expense of its erection. The result of all was 
that a mortgage necessarily given by the trustees was at length foreclosed at 
law and all title to the property was lost to the society. Greatly discouraged 
by this failure, most of the members withdrew and joined a new society, which 
was organised by a due election of trustees on the first day of February, i860, 
and entitled "the Asbury society of the Methodist Episcopal church of Roches- 
ter." The trustees of this society purchased the St. John's church property 
and changed its name to correspond with their corporate style. In the spring 
of 1866 the building was left for a season by the congregation, which worshiped 
in Washington hall, on the opposite corner. After considering the question 
of sale and new building, or radical repairs, it was decided to remodel and re- 
furnish the old church, which was accordingly done at an expense, including a 
new pipe-organ, of about $14,000. The work was completed and the church 
reopened in Ma\'. 1867. With such advantages the society has hopefull\- and 
very successfully continued its religious work through the past seventeen years, 
with an active membership gradually increasing from 250 to about 400. The 
natural business changes of the city, some considerable disturbance always ex- 
perienced from too much-frequented streets, and the growing desire for a house 
of worship more commodious in its arrangements and more ecclesiastically 
orthodox in its architecture, recently determined the society to dispose of its 
old house and remove to a point a little further east, on the corner of East ave- 
nue and Union street. The sale and purchase have been completed and most 
interesting farewell services were held on P>iday, March 7th, and Sunday, 
March 9th, 1884. 

The pastors of "East-side," "St. John's" and "Asbury" have been : 1836, 

D. P. Kidder; 1837, John Parker ; 1838-39, W. H. Goodwin ; 1840-41, Manly 
Tooker; 1842, Samuel Luckey, D. D. ; 1843, F. G. Hibbard, D. D. ; 1844- 
45, J. M. Fuller, D. D. ; 1846-47, Schu\'ler Seager, D. D. ; 1848-49, D. D. 
Buck, D. D. ; 1850-51, W. H. Goodwin, D. D. ; 1852-53, John Mandeville ; 
1854-55, John Raines; 1856-57, Jonathan Watts ; 1858-59, Thos. Tousey ; 
i860, Thomas Stacey ; 1861-62, D. W. C. Huntington, D. D. ; 1863-64, J. 

E. Latimer, D. D. ; 1865, Geo. Van Alstyne ; 1866-68, D. W. C. Hunting- 
ton, D. D. ; 1869-71, F. G. Hibbard, D. D. ; 1872-73, L.D.Watson, D. D. ; 
1874-75, C. Eddy; 1876-78, D. W. C. Huntington, D. D. ; 1879-80, R. M. 
Stratton, D. D. ; 1881, C. W. Winchester; 1882-83, R. C. Brownlee. 

The North Street church. — Early in 1849 several members of St. John's M. 
E. church, who resided in the northeastern portion of the city, considered that the 
growing population in their neighborhood needed the presence and labors of a 
vigorous Christian organisation nearer at hand than the central churches, and, 
with the concurrence and leadership of Dr. S. Luckey, held several preliminary 
meetings for consultation on the subject. As a result they rented an old build- 
ing on Joiner street, which had been occupied b>' colored people for religious 



History of the City of Rochf:ster. 



niL'ctinL;s, aiul appniiitrd Simd.iy services with tlic .ippriibatidii of tlicii' pastur, 
Rev, I )i-. 15iick. ( )n the Sth day nf April tile jjastor met with them and preached 
in the afternoon, and ai'ranL;e<-l two classes, nnmbering twentv'-eiyht persons, as 
the beL;ininL; of a new societ)-, -\t tlie ensiiinL; conference Re\-. S. W. Alden was 
ap])ointetl by the bishop to take pastoral charyeof the classes, in connection with 
a recentl)' orLjaniseil third Methodist chnrch in the west part of the cit_\'. In 
April following, a hall was rented at the corner of \orth and I.)ela\an streets 
for their nieetiiii^s, and on the 17th day of said month (1S50) Philander Uavis, 
James Ilubbell, A, H. Judsoii, S. H. Moulder and Ji}hn Patterson were elected 
as the first trustees. ,\t tin; conference following;, .i first pastor was appointed 
to " North street church ;" very soon the (piestion of buildin;^ a suitable house 
of worship was considered, and durin;,; the cleliberatioiis ,ind preparatory efforts 
came tlie proposal of Ai'istarchus Champion, a public-spirited member of the 
Cont^reijational church, to donate the sum of $iO,ooo to an_\- church which 
would ayree to raise .m equal sum for buiUlin;.j se\eral small jjreachinLJ-houses 
in parts of the city which were least conveniently located for attendance at the 
central churches. This pi'oposal beintj accepted by iJr. Lucke\-, in behalf of the 
Methodist church, the North-street congregation became the first beneficiaries 
and were thus enabled to erect the building which, completed and dedicated 
the jd day of Noxendiei', 1S53, has been from that d.ite their pleasant home. 
About twelve years later a fine impro\ement was matle in the windows, in fres- 
coing the walls, and in other finishing. Eight years later a new roof was put 
upon the cliurch and the pews were changed to ,1 more modern pattern. 
.\bout the same time a con\enient parsonage (number 4 Concord avenue) was 
finished, and thus the essential furnishings of the society for comfortable life antl 
for aggressive work were happily completed. 

The ]iastors of North street church have been : l<S4y, S. \V. Alden; 1850, 
S. L. Congd(^n ; 1851, S. Van Renschoten (suppl_\-) ; 1852-53, Alpha Wright ; 
1854-55, John Mandeville ; 1856-57, J. N. I^rown ; 1858-59. Nathan Fellows; 
i860, S. Luckey, D. D. ; 1861, M. Wheeler; 1862-63, I. H. Kellogg ; 1864-65, 
A. H. Shurtleff; 1866-68, D. Leisenring ; 1869-71, J- ^- Brown; 1872-74, 
R. D. Munger; 1875-77, ^'- I- Newman; 1S78-80, L. T. Foote ; 1881-82, 
F. T. Green; 1883, R. V Kay. 

The Corn Hill church, — The societ_\- now owning and occup)'ing the 
edifice known as the Corn Hill church, on h'.dinburg street, was originall}' 
composed of about thirtx- members of the Fii'st Methodist I^piscopal church, 
who held religious meetings for some time in the old orphan asj'lum building 
on Adams street. The 8th da_\- of June, 1852, a legal organisation was effected 
by the election of C. H. Hicknell, Geo. Harrison, Heman Lyon, C. C. Lee, W. 
P. Stanton and Henry Wray, as trustees. A small colony from the P^irst church, 
\\hich had organised as the Third Methodist Episcopal church of Rochester, 
and, with pastors regularl)- appointed by the bisliops, worshiped for some time in 



The Methodist Episcopal Churches. 273 

I little tabernacle on Caledonia avenue, was induced to surrender its incorpora- 
:ion and come into the new Corn Hill society, about doubling its membership, 
md arrangements were at once initiated for erecting a suitable church building. 
A. portion of the Champion grant was .ipprDpriated to the society, and its church 
ivas completed and dedicated in June, 1854. Twenty years later (1874) the 
Duilding was remodeled and the front towers added, with other improvements, 
at an expense of several thousand dollars, and on April 26th it was reopened with 
interesting services, attended b)' several of the former pastors. In connection 
ivith the services Henry Wra)- and wife convc\-ed to the society, as a free gift, 
the premises on Tremont street, for some years occupied b_\' the successive 
pastors as a parsonage. Through all the _\-ears of its history the societ)' has 
been eminent for its liberalit}- and its industrious methodical activitv'. The 
Sunday-school (for several years under the vigorous and judicious supcriuten- 
denc}' of N. L. Button) has been large and prosperous. 

The pastors appointed to Corn Hill have been as follows : 1853-54, A. C. 
George, D. D. ; 1855, J. W. Willson ; 1856, J. A. Swallow (supply) ; 1857, S. 
Seager, U. D. ; 1858, J. Ashworth ; 1859,8. Luckey, D. D. ; i860, I. Gib- 
bard, D. D. ; 1861, J. Mandeville; 1862-63, A. N. Fisher; 1864-66, W. B. 
Holt; 1867-69, G. W. Paddock; 1870-71, R. O.. Willson ; 1872, W. R. Hen- 
ham; 1873-75, A. D. Wilbor, D. D. ; 1876-78, A. i\. Fisher; 1879-81, A. 
J. Kenyon ; 1882-83, L. A. Stevens. 

The Alexander Street church. — Through several years ])re\ious to 1850 
religious services were regularl)- held in what was then known as the " Mount 
Hor " or " Sand Hill school-house " in the town of Brighton, conducted prin- 
cipally by Rev. A. H. Jervis, a local preacher from the i^'irst M. K. church 
of Rochester. A congregation was thus gathered and for some time held 
tof^ether and during part of the time a Sunday-school exercise was added. 
After some suspension of these services a meeting was called in the school- 
house on the 1 2th day of October, 1852, to effect the legal organisation of a relig- 
ious society, and Gideon Cobb, B. Langdon, Godfrey Tallinger, Daniel Stock- 
ing and Talcott Brown were elected trustees. The name of Alexander street 
was adopted in view of the proposed location of a church soon to be erected. 
The house, the third aided by the Champion donation, was built in 1853 and 
dedicated by Bishop Janes. Twenty years later (in 1873) it was enlarged and 
greatly improved, and since that date the society has enjoyed a steadily increas- 
ing prosperity. In 1879 a commodious and beautiful parsonage was erected. 
I'he following ministers have been pastors of Alexander street church : 1854, 
Alpha Wright ; 1 855, Thomas Stacey ; 1856-57, Elijah Wood ; 1858-59, John 
G. Gulick; 1860-61, Israel H. Kellogg; 1862-64, John Raines; 1865-66, 
p:dwin J. Hermans; 1867, Henr>- Van Benschotcn, L). 1).; 1868, Andrew- 
Sutherland; 1869-70, De Witt C. Huntington, D. D. ; 1871, John D. Requa ; 
1872-74, John A. Copeland ; 1875-76, Thomas J. Leake ; 1877, A. \. Damon ; 
1878-80, John E. Williams; 1881-83, Lemuel T. Foote. 



274 HiSTOKV OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



The Frank Street church, corner of Smith street, was organised Dec. i6th 
1852, taking as its name "the .Sixth Methodist Episcopal church of the city of 
Rochester." Syhanus J. Bartlctt, Wni. Colhns, Jeremiah Hegeman, James H 
Hinman, Joel 1'. Millner, Melancton C. Whitmore and Samuel S. Wood were 
elected trustees. District school- house number 6 stood upon the corner where 
the church now stands, and the pastor of the Methodist Episcopal "Thirc 
church" had i)ieached and maintained a Sunday-school there. The newl) 
formed society, receixing its share of aid from the Champion donation, deter- 
mined to purchase the schnol-house property and build its church there. Ir 
.Ma)-, 1S54. the work was begun antl the church was dedicated in Novembei 
by Dr. Jesse T. I'eck. [-"or fi\c _\-ears following, the societ}- was tormentec 
and its propert}' threatened b_\' a balance of indebtedness incurred in building 
At times, and much of the time, there seemed no reasonable hope that it coulc 
ever be disposed of The annual conference in I 859 authorised the pastor whc 
might be appointed at h'rank street to visit the churches through the confer- 
ence and solicit aid for his societ}'. This work was done b)' Re\'. Williarr 
Manning until the whole anrount needed was received. Large repairs and im- 
])rovements have since been matle. The societ}' has held its ground with £ 
membership increasing from thirt}- at the beginning to two hundred and fift) 
at the last report. Xo Protestant church in Rochester has a wider urban anc 
suburban district as its legitimate parish than Frank street. 

The pastors appointed to Frank street society ha\-e been : 1853-54, S. B 
Roone\- ; 1855, S. Van Henschoten, 1). D. ; 1856-57, S. L. Congdon ; 1858, T 
H. Hudson; 1859-60, \Vm. Mannmg; 1861-63, R. Hogoboom ; 1863-65,0 
W, C. Huntington, D.D. ; 1866-67, G. \V. Chandler ; 1S68-70, J. Dennis 
D.D.; 1871, C. P. Hard ; 1 872-73, J. J. Landers ; I 874-75, T, J. Bell ; 1876- 
78, T. J. Hissell; 1879, A. F. Morey ; 1880-82, G. \V. Coe ; 1S83, M. C 
Dean. 

The Hedding church. — The same religious spirit which impelled faith- 
ful men in 1849 to initiate the North street society inspired twent}'-twc 
}-ears later a few zealous jjersons to undertake the planting of a mission 
still further north, with intent to reach a large outlying population who were 
not very likely to be drawn together even as far away from their homes as 
North street. After several tentative efforts a chapel was erected on the corner 
of North St. Paul and Scrantom streets, which was dedicated the 24th of De- 
cember, 1876, and named Hedding church. This enterprise, like almost all 
such endeavors, has required much energ}- and patient hopefulness on the part 
of some determined workers to push it through to a measure of success and 
encouraging promise. Hut this end was unquestionabl}- attained when in De- 
cember last the entire indebtedness of the society was cancelled. 

The following pastors have been appointed to this work: — 1876, H. O. 
Abbott; 1878-79, S. C.Smith; 1880, E. M. Sasseville ; 1881-82, I. H. Kel- 
logg; 1883, G. W. Loomis. 



The Methodist Episcopal Churches. 



The Genesee Street church. — In the year 1878 a Christian lady, Mrs. 
A. E. Tanner, gathered in her home on Genesee street the children of her 
immediate neighborhood in a weekly meeting for religious instruction. It was 
was very soon judged best to connect the mission with some responsible church, 
and Corn Hill society assumed the charge, appointing Samuel Whybrew class 
leader, and Harper Day Sunday-school superintendent. In 1879 a lot suitable 
for a church building was conveyed by Mrs. James D. Bashford, to the trustees 
of Corn Hill, it being in large part a donation from her. In 1880 Mr. Whybrew 
added a gift of $100, and the question of building was considered until a corner- 
stone was laid September 14th, 1882. May 20th, 1883, the house was com- 
pleted and dedicated by Dr. J. T. Gracey. The structure is a neat frame building 
in what is sometimes called "Gothic style," having seating capacity for 200 
persons and costing with its furnishing about $2,500. In October, 1883, Rev. 
P. T. Lynn was appointed the first pastor of Genesee street (as assistant of Rev. 
L. A. Stevens of Corn Hill), by whose vigorous management the society has 
been greatly advanced in all its interests. The membership has been much 
more than doubled and the Sunday-school brought up to a high state of effi- 
ciency. 

The German Methodist Episcopal church. — In 1848 the Rev. John Sawter, 
a member of the New York conference, commenced preaching in the German 
language to a small congregation in his own house on Davis street, opening 
also a Sunday-school. The next year a hall was rented on the corner of North 
avenue and Delaware street, and a society was duly organised. Dr. Luckey 
having presented the trustees with a lot (corner of North and Tyler streets), a 
modest chapel was soon erected, where the society worked and prospered until, 
in 1869, it became fully self-sustaining. Before that, in i860, the church 
building had been much improved and a parsonage built (number ^;^ Concord 
avenue). About that date a parochial week-day school was opened, which 
flourished for a season, but it was proved by a short history to be impracticable 
as a permanent institution. The growing congregation, becoming straitened 
for accommodations, determined as early as 1870 to remove and build a better 
church, and lots on North avenue near Hudson street were secured for that 
purpose. The corner-stone was laid August 30th, 1874, and the house was 
completed at an expense of about $1 5,000 and dedicated by Bishop Janes, June 
6th, 1875. Unfortunately the society wore largely involved in debt by their 
ambitious enterprise, and for a season the burden proved very inconvenient. 
In 1880 the East German conference resolved to aid by collections in its other 
churches to discharge these obligations. Nearly one-half of the amount was 
thus secured. 

The pastors have been as follows: John Sawter, John Graw, Jacob Kindler, C. 
H. Afflerbach, A. C. Hertel, F. G. Gratz ; 1859-60, C. Blinn ; 1861-63, John 
G. Lutz ; 1863-65, F. G. Gratz; 1866-68, Jacob Kolb ; 1869-71, Paul Ouat- 



2/6 History of the City of Rochester. 

lander; I 872-73, J. W. Frcund ; i 874-76, Julius Scidcl ; I 877-79, G. Mdyer ; 
i8So-82, I'. Rc_\- ; 1S83, J. J. Ak'ssniLT. 

The African Mclhodist I'^iiscopal church. — A few Christians of African 
descent, meeting in a school-hciuse <in h'urd street in the year iSjj, organised 
a Methodist societ}' in connection with the so-called Zion church. A legal in- 
corporation was first secured in 1836. the trustees being Charles Dixon, Wil- 
liam Italics and Alfred Williams. Their house of worship, on the ccjrner of 
l-'axor and Spring streets, was built in 1 831. Another societ}' was afteiward 
formed, which occupied a small building on J(.>iner sti'cet. But it was found 
impossible to sustain two churches, and the second was abandonetl. The pas- 
tors ha\e been: Isaac Stewart, Henr_\- Johnson, John P. Thompson, 1 )empsey 
Kenned)-, W. S, Hishop, John A. Williams, C. Thomas. James H. Smith, Wil- 
liam Sandford. William Af)bott and Thomas James. 

l-"rom 1820 until 1840 Rochester was within the Genesee conference, from 
1848 till 1872 in the East Genesee conference, from 1872 till 1876 in the West- 
ern New York conference, from 1876 till 1884 in the Genesee conference. 
From 1820 until 1832 Rochester was within the Genesee district, from 1832 till 
1846 in the Rochester district, l-'rom 1846 till 1858 the societies were divided 
between two districts, as indicated below . l-'rom 1858 till 1884 all have been 
in the Rochester district. 

The presiding elders Iku'c been as follows: Genesee district — 1820-21, 
Gideon Draper; 1822-25, Goodwin Stodtlard ; 1826, Micah .Seager ; 1827-28, 
Asa Abel; 1829-3 i , Loring Crrant. Rochester district — 1832, Glesen I-'ill- 
more, D. D. ; 1833, Abner Chase; 1834, Samuel Luckey, D. D. ; 1835, Abner 
Chase; 1836-39. Manly Tooker ; 1840-41, John Copeland ; 1842-45, John B. 
AK-erson ; 1846-49, Samuel Lucke\-, D.I).; 1850-53, John Dennis, D. I). ; 
1854-57, John G. Gulick; 1858, Augustus C. George, D. D. ; 1859-62, Wil- 
liam II. Goodwin, D, D. ; 1863, John M,mde\-ille ; 1864-67, John Dennis, 1). 
D. ; 1868-71, Kasimir P. Jei\is; 1872-75, King D. Nettleton ; 1876-79, John 
N. Brown ; 1880-83, John T. Grace)-, D. D. West Rochester district — 1846- 
47, Glesen Fillmore, D. D. ; 1852-54, John Copeland ; 1855-57, ^Vugustus C. 
George, D. D. Dansville tlistrict — 1848-49, p^reeborn G. Hibbard, D. D. 
Lima district — 1850, P'reeborn G. Hibbard, I). D: 1857, John Copeland. ^ 

Onl)- a sacred and inspired histor)- may presume to end itself in prophec)-. 
But it is essential to a full \-iew of an)- undertaking to understand its status in 
a prospective outlook. It is pro[)er, therefore, to state in addition that the two 
older Methodist societies are in the \er\- initiatory work of building large and 
more elegant churches. vVsbur)- has alread)- removetl into temi^orary chapel 
accomniodations upon the ground where its new sanctuary is to grow, and the 
P'irst (P'itzluigh street) church more than a )-ear ago commenced a subscription 
for such a house of worship as its honor, the proprieties of its environment, 
and perhaps its safety, have made necessary. 

1 Tlie (.jerinnii aiul the .\fiican -^ucielies are not included. 



The Catholic Churcues. 



THE CATHLILIC CHURCHES IX ROCHESTER. 

Rochester was formerly under the ecclesiastical administration of the bishops 
of New York. The first of these was Rt. Rev. John Connolly, who came to 
New York in 1817. There is no evidence that he ever visited Rochester. His 
successor. Bishop Dubois, came to Rochester in 1834 to dedicate the second 
church. Bishops Hughes and McCloskey also visited Rochester officially. In 
1847 the diocese of Buffalo was erected, and Rev. John Timon, a member of 
the Congregation of the Missions, was appointed its first bishop. In March, 
1868, the diocese of Rochester was formed, having the counties of Monroe, 
Livingston, Ontario, Wayne, Seneca, Yates, Cayuga and Tompkins as its limits. 
Rev. Bernard J. McOuaid was consecrated bishop of the new diocese on the 
1 2th of July, 1868, and took possession of his see on the 1 6th of the same 
month. 

St. Patrick's church. — The first priest who exercised the ministry in Roches- 
ter, of whom we have any record, was Rev. Patrick McCormick, in 1818-19. 
He acted under the administration of Rt. Rev. John Connolly, first bishop of 
New York, who took possession of his see in 1817 and died in 1825. Rev. 
Mr. McCormick was succeeded by Patrick Kelly, in i8ig, remaining until 
1823. It was during his pastorate that the first Catholic church was built in 
1 82 1, on the corner of Piatt and Frank streets. The first pastors of Rochester 
did not confine their labors to Rochester and its immediate neighborhood, but 
sought out the scattered Catholics in a territory many miles in extent. Rev. 
Michael McNamara came to Rochester in 1825, remaining as the pastor of St. 
Patrick's, its first church, until 1832. He died at Chili, August 30th, 1832. 
During his administration, the second church, eighty feet by fifty-five feet of 
stone, was built. A wood-cut of this church is in O'Rielly's history. During 
its erection the congregation rented the lower story of D. B. Crane's school 
house, on Buffalo street, opposite the bath-house, for $1.25 per Sunday. 

On the 20th of April, 1829, the congregation was organised as a church 
corporation under the law of 1 8 13. On the same day the following trustees 
were elected : William Tone, John Sheridan, Robert Elliott, Stephen Conroy, 
William Grennan, Patrick Rigney, Patrick Grace, William Morony and Richard 
Storey. In 1832 Rev. John F. McGerry was appointed to succeed F'ather 
McNamara. In 1833 Rev. Bernard O'Reilly replaced Father McGerry, who in 
1834 returned to the pastoral charge of St. Patrick's. In 1835 F'ather O'Reilly 
resumed the pastorship, which he held until 1849, when, as vicar-general of the 
new diocese of Buffalo, he took up his residence with the bishop of Buffalo. 
In 1850 he was consecrated bishop of Hartford. In January, 1 856, he sailed from 
Liverpool in the Pacific and was lost at sea. The first election for trustees 
under this pastor was in 1835, when the following were elected : William Tone, 
Patrick Kearney, Patrick O'Maley, George A. Wilkin, Hugh Bradley, Joseph 
Fluett, Bernard Klem, James McMullen and Garret A. Madden. Only the 



ijS History ok the City of Rochester. 



last naiiu'il still li\cs. I'^itlicr ( )'Kcill\- had Rev. P. Fole\' as assistant pastor in 
|S^4, who ni.ulr .111 attempt to oi'L^anise the con!_jrc!^r;iti()n of St. Mary's on 
the east side of the ii\er. Re\'. Mark Murphy, an eminent Hnguist, was assist- 
ant to l'"ather ( )'l\cilly in 1S40-41. In 1^49 l\e\'. William O'Reiil)-, haxing 
l)een liis assistant from 1S43, succeedeel his brother as pastor of St Patrick's, 
remaininL; until 1S34. Rew Micliael ( )'Hrien was pastor from 1854 to 1859. 
Rev. Martin Kavanai^di lieki the office lor a year and was replaced by Rev. 
M. (.)'Hrien, who continued in office until 1865. 

In May, 1864, the p.istor and Michael Lester .ukI James H. Tone, as trus- 
tees, contracted for the building; <if the present chui'ch, it l.ieing the third stone 
church on the same site. A lar_L;e temporar)- building lia\ ing been erected on the 
lot of the academy, religious services were held in it until March, 18(19. In 1865 
Re\'. James M. liarl)' w.is appc)inted pastor and continued the work begmi by his 
predecessor. On the l/th of March, I 869, the church was so f;ir atlvanceil that 
the c<ingregation moved into it. In No\'ember, 1S70, it was solemnly blessed by 
Most Re\'. John McCloskey, archbishop of New \'ork, now cardinal. Kighteen 
archbishops ami bishops, and oxer one hundred priests were present. In 
April, 1876, Re\ . Mr. l-^arly oH'ered his resignation as pastor and withdrew from 
the diocese. lie was immediately succeedetl b)' Rev. James I*". ( )'Hare, who 
in se\ en _\'ears paid off an indebtedness of $70,000 which he found on the 
church and schoi.il when he assumed office. The la}- trustees for the year 1S84 
are John M W', iters and Dr. Richai'tl Curran. 

The early phases c>f the school connected with St. Patrick's parish are diffi- 
cult to trace, as the reconls .ire imperfect and most of the parties connected with 
it then ha\e passed a\\a_\- oi' aie lingering for the call of the last I'oll. There 
was a school in the basement of the church as far back as 183J, Mr. Hughes 
being one of the ])ioneer teachers, and Patrick Ouin was the pedagogue between 
1843 aiul 1848. P'or ,1 long time the se.xes were taught in the same classes, 
but in 1843 the Sisters of .St. Jose|)h took charge of the female [)ortion of the 
scholars, and since then the girls lia\e been taught separatel)'. In March, 
1857. the new schocil- house on Hrown street w.is opened for the reception of 
boys, under the charge of the " Hrothers of the Christian schodls." Brother 
Roilolphus w.is the first dii'cctor. In the spring of I 87 I the fountlations of the 
new building", ne.xt .idjoining and west of the old one, were laid, and the work 
continueil w itln nit interruptinn, so that in Se|)tember, I 87 I , ample school accom- 
moil.uions were afforded to all the chiklren of the parish. This school, graded 
after the manner of the [lublic schools (sa\e the coeducation of the sexes), is 
free to all the children of the pai'ish, and is supported by the congregation. 
The Christian Hrothers left Rochester in the summer of I 872 and their places 
were supplied, in [lart, by laymen. D. P. Murph)-, James Rowan and Win. 1'-. 
Rj-an had successively charge of the first and second grades of boys till Jul\', 
1882. In the meantime the Sisters of St. Joseph sup[)lied the places of the 



The Catholic Churches. 279 

ther lay teachers. Re\'. D. Laurenzis was superintendent of this school from 
876 to 1882. The school reopened in .September, 1S82, with fifteen Sisters of 
t. Joseph in full charge of all the children, under the guidance and direction 
f Rev. James P. Kiernan as superintendent. There are at present about 700 
hildren in average daily attendance at this school, which continues to be a free 
zhool, and to which neither the state nor the cit)- contributes a single cent, but 
/hich the people of the congregation, for conscience sake, though taxed for 
jne education of their neighbors' children in the public schools, support by 
heir own private contributions. 

St. Joseph's Church (German) is located on Franklin street. The first Ger- 
nan Catholic who settled in Rochester was John Klem, in the year 18 16. 
ie came from Bavaria. He once traveled to New York city to have his child 
laptised and to receive his Easter communion. He died in 1856. The Ger- 
nan Catholics of the city attended, for a time, St. Patrick's church. About the 
■ear 1836 Rev. John Raffeiner visited Rochester. He found quite a number 
if German Catholics in the cit)-. He attended to their spiritual wants and ex- 
lorted them to build a church, especially as St. Patrick's was too small for all 
he Catholics of the city. Soon after Rev. Joseph Prost, a Redem[)torist father, 
lassed through Rochester. He also urged them to build a church. On his re- 
urn from Ohio he found, to his surprise, a church prepared. They had bought 
he negroes' church on Ely street, for $1,600. Eather Prost, with the permis- 
ion of Bishop Dubois of New York and of his superior, remained in the city 
.nd took charge of the German Catholics. After some difficulties with the 
rustees, he left. The church was attended for about two years by several 
)riests, among whom we may mention Rev. J. N. Neumann, then a secular 
)riest, afterward a Redemptorist, and finally bishop of Philadelphia. In 1839 
lev. J. Saendel passed through the city with Indians, on his way to lower 
'anada. He remained in Rochester about one year. He afterward joined the 
frappist order. The old church was called St. Mary's, on Ely street. The new 
hurch of stone on F"ranklin street was begun in 1841, and finished in 1843, by 
he Redemptorist fathers. The succeeding pastors, or rather rectors, were the 
ollowing reverend fathers, all Redemptorists : Fr. H. Tshenhens, 1841 to the 
all of 1841 ; F"rancis Beraneck, 1841-46; Ale.xander Czvikovicz, 1846-51; 
oseph Breska, 185 1-54; John De Dyker, 1854-58 ; Max Leingruber, 1858-60 ; 
rhad. Anwander, 1860-62; Lorenz Ilolzer, 1862-65; George Ruland, 1865- 
'4; Thad. Anwander, 1874-77 ; Peter Zimmer, 1877-79; Stephen Schneider, 
879-80; Jos. Frohlich, 1880 till now. The assistant fathers (in 1884) are: 
lev'ds V. Holscher, J. Saftig and H. Dressmann. There are also three lay 
)rothers. The pastoral residence (convent) was built about 1850; it was en- 
arged in 1876. 

The first school connected with the parish was established by Rev. Joseph 
I'rost, about 1837, with one male teacher. There are now two large school 



28o History of the City of Rochester. 

buildings of brick ; one was bnilt in i<S5i, and tlic otlicr in 1S62. 'Die Sisters 
of Notre Dame wei'e brought to tile city b_\' Mother Ciroline. from Milwaukee, 
( )ctober 15th, 1.S54. They had about 175 in the schoul in the first )'ear. 
Now (in 1SS4) there are about 5(10 chiklren attending St. joseiili's school, 
'i'he boys ,ire under the caie of three ]->rothers of Mary; the girls <ire taught 
by the .Sisters. i'he .Sisters' coiuent is near the church, on Andrews street. 
The Hrothei's' house is lU'ar the pastoral residence, on h'ranklin street. 

.St. Mary's church is locatetl on South street, and is one of the oldest and 
largest pai'ishes in the cit_\', both in territory anti in population. Its boundaries 
aie, on the west, the (.lenesee ri\er; on the north, Andrews street, L'ni\-ersity 
a\enue and l''..ist Main sti'eet ; on the east, the New York- L\'ntral railroad, 
.uid on the south it includes the towns of jirighton and Henrietta. Tlie V.ng- 
lish-speaking people attending this church number about 4,000. It seats 
1,500 comfortabl)-. It is built of brick, in Koni.uiesque st_\-le of architecture. 
The earl}' struggles of this ])ai-ish are well I'enuinbered by the okl inhabitants. 
The first church they occupied was bought hum the Methodists, on St. Paul 
street, ()p])osite I''.l_\-, in 1834. I'ather Carroll was pastor in 1S51. He suc- 
ceeded in placing the jjarish on a firm basis, in spite of the po\ert)' and 
small number of the peojjle. h'ather Creetloii succeeded him, ,nul continued 
the work successfidly for about one _\-ear. Ke\'. Thomas McK\-oy purchased 
the present site on South street, and commenced his laborious work of build- 
ing, which l)ore him to the gra\'e when success hail crowned his eftorts. He 
went to New \'ork to make preparations for the dedication, antl died suddenly 
before returning. Re\'. Daniel Mciore became his successor in iSjS, and Rt. 
Rev. John Timon, bishop of Buffalo, consecrated St. Mary's church on the 
2^d of August in that \-ear. Rev. Thomas Flaherty was appointed [xistor in 
1S61, when leather .Moore's patriotism placed him as chaplain in the army. 
\'er_\- Re\-. h'ather McMannis. vicar-general of Rochester, became pastt)r in 
lS6j. By eai'nest ple.iding with Hishop Timon, he was permitted soon to 
return again to his beloved people of Genev.i, where he has remained ever 
since, multiplying monuments to his zeal for religion and the welfare of the 
peoi)le. h'ather I'^.irh' succeeded Father McMannis, and remained until 1 865. 
h'.ither McCiowan took charge of the church until 1866. In this year, A])ril 
25th, Re\'. Dr. Barker became pastor of .St. Mary's, and remained until he was 
succeeded by the pi'esent incumlx-nt. Rev. J. 1'. .Stewart, on May 7th, 1871. 

The old parochi.il school in the basement of the church was entirel\' imsuited 
to the Work for which it was intended. Bishop McUuaid closed it, and aided 
the pastor in e\er_\- way to suppl)' this necessar)- want. Generosit)' and zeal 
scjon completetl the building. In 1873 the magnificent parochial school oppo- 
site the arsenal, on S(.)uth street, was thrown open to the children of the parish. 
It has eight well-fiirnished ami \entilated rooms, which b)' sliding doors between 
may be formed into large halls. The children are taught bv the Sisters of 



The Catholic Churches. 281 

Mercy. Tlie convent is next north of the church. The Sisters visit, console 
■ind instruct the poor and sick of the city. They train young girls in their 
industrial school and show them how to make a living by sewing or domestic 
ivork, and obtain good girls to do house work for worth}- ladies in Rochester 
and the vicinity. A "children's home," or archc, is attached, for the assist- 
ance of industrious parents who desire their children to be cared for during the 
pay. This fine building was purchased from N. H. Galusha in 1882, and 
^6,000 was spent in preparing it for its present work of cliarit}'. 
j St. Peter's and St. Paul's church (German) is located on the corner of King 
and Maple streets. When the members of St. Joseph's congregation began the 
building of the present St. Joseph's church a number of members on the west 
kide of the river were dissatisfied with the location of the new church. Conse- 
quently, they separated and started a church on the corner of King and Maple 
streets, in 1842. After some trouble the first church, a frame one, was built. 
Simon Zeug and J. loegele were the first trustees. Bishop Hughes, of New 
V'orrc, paid a visit to Rochester in December, 1842, to settle some disputed 
points. They accepted his decision, and in June, 1843, the church was opened 
in harmony with Catholic discipline. The deed of the property was given to 
Bishop Hughes. The old church being too small, the congregation built 
another of brick in 1859. It was dedicated by Bishop Young, of Erie, August 
15th, 1859. This vear (1884) the same church is being enlarged by about 
thirty feet. The first pastor was Re\'. Ivo Levitz, a F"ranciscan father. He 
was pastor from 1843 to 1846. The succeeding pastors were: Rev. Count 
Anthony Berenyi, from 1846 to 1848; Leonard Schneider, 1848-49; R. F"ol- 
lenius, 1849-51 ; Fr. X. Krautbauer (now bishop of Green Bay), 1851-58; 
Stephen Eicher, from May, 1858, to September, 1858; again Father Kraut- 
bauer till April, 1859; Rev. Joseph Sadler (who built the new church), 1859-65. 
The present pastor is Rev. Francis H. Sinclair, D. D., who has been so since 
October, 1865. The assistant pastor is Rev. Aloys Weissteiner. The trustees 
in the present year are Joseph Gradl and George Spahn. The pastoral resi- 
dence of brick, three stories high, was built in 1856. 

The first school connected with the parish was established in the base- 
ment of the old church in 1842. The second was established in the old 
church itself in 1859, after the building of the brick church. The present one 
was built of brick, three stories high, in 1867. The first year there were about 
eighty pupils attending. In 1884 there are 500 children attending the school ; 
the boys are under the care of three Brothers of Mary, the girls are taught by 
four Sisters of Notre Dame. On the south side of the church is the convent of 
the Sisters, a fine brick building. On the east side of the school is the resi- 
dence of the Brothers, a frame building. 

St. Mary's F"rench church is located on Pleasant street, near St. Paul, and 
is generall}- called the "church of Our Lady of \'ictory." The French 



282 History of the City of Rochester. 

Catholics of this city orgaiiiscil in the old German churcii <in El_\" street. T 
ci)ni;rei;ation was foriiieil in I S4S and calleil "St. Mary's I'rench churcl' 
The niw church, (ifhiick. was built by I'"ather 1 )l- RcL;L;e in 1868, on Pleasa 
street. At that time (1S68) the name ot' the church was chani;ed to " O 
Latly iif \'ictiiry," hut the incorpor.ition name retains the did title. Thischur 
on VAy street was attended tlrst by the Redempturist Fathers of St. Josep 
77'.7., i)y Re\ . l-'r. Mason hom 1848 tn 1849, and b\' Re\-. h". \an Campenhan 
h'om 1840 to 185:;. The first resident pastor was Re\ . A. Saunier, 1852-5 
The hi'st trustees w ei'e Antoiiie I.an^ie arul Ambmise 1 )u]><)nt. The succee 
in;j; pastors were : l\e\ . 1'. Hricoh, 1 854-57 (from St. Joseph's church); H. 
Lefevre. 1858-59: A. Tierard, 1859-61 ; C. J. Ahii^ne, 1861-62; P. Matricc 
1862; A. Amatnre, 1862-63: Le Rreton. 1863: H. De Re,i,rge, 1863-69; 
Dole, 1869-78: II. l)e ReL;L;e (administrator), 1878-79: A, Noteba-rt, sin 
1879, the present p.istor. The ])resent trustees are J. A. Reniar(|ue and h'rai 
Forest. The residence, in tlie re.u- of the church, northeast corner, w.is bu 
in t870. It is (if brick, two stories high. 

The chuich of the Immaculate Conception is on Pl}-mouth a\enue. T 
congregation was org.mised in 1849. It had formed a part of St. Patrick 
The first church, a frame edifice, was l)uilt in I S49. It was destroyed by fii 
Another church of brick was then built in 1864. This also was greatly dar 
aged b_\- fire in 1872. In the same x'ear the present church of brick was e 
largeil and fmishetl. The first pastor was l\.e\-. John Fitzpatrick, 1849-5 
The first trustees were James Ha_\es and Patrick Condon. The succeedii 
pastors were: Rew P. Bradle)', 1852: Thos. O'Brien, 1852-58; F. McKeo 
1858-59: Will. Stei)hens, 1859-60: Peter Bede, 1860-66; Patricio Byrne 
1866-75 ; ]\I. M. Meagher, since 1875. The assistant priest is at present Re 
John Hopkins. The i)resent trustees are Will. C. Barry and John Jaeger. T 
pastoral residence, of brick, on the sitie of the church, was built in 1 870. 

The school-house of brick, two stories high, on the north side of thechurc 
was built in 187 1. .About 250 pujiils attended the first \-ear. .\t [^resent the 
aie in .itteiuiance about 450 children. The)- are taught b\- eight Sisters of ' 
Joseph from Nazareth convent. 

St. Bridget's church is between Gorhani and Hand streets. This congr 
gation was separatei-1 from St. Mar)-'s church and organised hi 1854. Tl 
fust cliurch (now school-house), of brick, was dedicated November 5th, 185 
The new church, on Gorhani street, was begun in 1872 and finished in 1875 1 
Rev. James F. O'Hare. The first pastor of the church was Re\'. A. Saunit 
from 185410 1856. The succeeding pastors were : Re\'. Thos. Flahert}', 1 851 
D. D. Moore. 1856-58: Peter Barker, 1858-59; Fr. McKeon, 1859-60: W'l 
I'. Pa_\-ne, 1860-67; Xicholas Byrnes, 1867-71 ; James F. O'Hare, iS7i-7( 
James O'Connor, since 1876. The present trustees are James Fee and M 
chad Stupp. The pastoral residence, of brick, was built in 1857 and enlargi 
in 1880. 



The Catholic Churches. 283 

The old church on Hand street was converted into a school in 1875, and the 
school opened the same \-ear. About 250 pupils attended the school the first 
year. At present there arc about 320 children attending. They arc taught by 
eight Sisters of St. Joseph from Nazareth convent. 

St. Boniface's church (German) is on Grand street. This congregation sep- 
arated from St. Joseph's church and was organised in the \ear i860, under the 
care of the Redemptorist fathers. In the year following the present building 
(a temporary church and school) was opened. It was enlarged in 1870. It 
is a brick building. The first story is used for the school and the residence of 
the teachers. The first pastor was Rev. J. Klein, from i86i to 1865. The 
first trustees were Henry Oberlies, Christ. Rommel, Charles Schlereth, John 
Beikirch, Engelbert Demmer, Lorenz Waldert and Caspar Schwalbach. The 
succeeding pastors were : Rev. J. F. Payer, from 1865 to 1875, and Rev. Her- 
mann Renker, since 1875. The present trustees are M. Bidenbach and J. 
Burkhardt. The pastoral residence is a small frame house on the south side 
of the church. 

The first school-house was opened in 1861 with about 100 pupils, in the 
first story of the present building. Now (1884) there are about 300 children 
attending St. Boniface's school. The\- are taught by three Sisters of Notre 
Dame. 

■ The Holy Famil)- church (German) is on the corner of Jay and Ames 
streets. The parish of the Holy Famih' was separated from St. Peter and 
Paul's parish and organised in 1862. The old church was of brick. It is in 
the rear of the new church. It forms a part of the pastoral residence and of 
the sacristy. The new church, of brick, was built in 1864. The first pastor 
was Rev. Nicholas Sorg, from 1864 to 1866. The first trustees were Peter 
Esse and John Behm. The succeeding pastors were : Rev. Charles Wagner, 
from 1866 to 1867; Rev. Leopold Hofschneider, from 1867 to 1884, and the 
present pastor, Rev. D. Laurenzis, since May 4tli, 1884. The present trustees 
are K. Halbleib and E. De Tambel. The pastoral (temporary) residence is in 
the rear of the church, a part of the old church. 

The first school was opened with the old church in 1862. It was a frame 
building on the north side of the church. The present beautiful building was 
erected in 1882. It is said to be one of the finest school-houses of the city. 
In the first year about 120 pupils attended the school. At present (1884) 
there are 420 children educated in this school by five Sisters of Notre Dame. 

Most Holy Redeemer's church (German) is on Hudson street, corner of 
Clifford. This church was separated from St. Joseph's church and organised 
in 1867. It was under the care of the Redemptorist fathers until 1869. The 
first church, of brick (now school-house), was dedicated July 23d, 1868. The 
new church of brick, with two towers, was commenced in 1876 and finished in 
1877. The first resident pastor is the present one. Rev. F. Oberhalzer, since 

19 



284 History of the City of Rochester. 

1869. The first trustees were J. Leckinger and J. Armbruster. Tlie present 
trustees are James HulTaiid l"~r. Hcrbst. Tlie pastoral residenee was built in 

1870. It is iif briek, two stories liit^h. 

The first school-house was opened in 1868. It formed a jjart of the old 
church. It was enlarged in 1877, when the old church was convertetl into a 
school-house. About 130 pu})ils attended the school the first year. At pres- 
ent there are about 500 children. They are taught by one male teacher and 
five Sisters of Notre Dame. 

St. Michael's church (German) is on North Clinton street. This congrega- 
tion formed a part of St. Josejili's and of Hc)ly Redeemer's parish. It was 
organised in Ma}-, 1873. The Ivetlemptorist fathers of St. Joseph had charge 
o\-er it until 1S74. The church (at present church and school diouse 1 was built 
in 1873-74. It was dedicated in March, 1 874, It is a large brick building. 
It will be turned into a school-house as soon as the new church now in 
contemplation has been built. The first pastor is Re\'. I*'ridolin Pascalar since 
1874, ap[)ointed in the fall of 1873. The first trustees were M. Hoefer, and 
Valentine Krieg. The present trustees are Anthony Englert ami Jos. h'r(")h- 
licher. The first [)astoral residence was a small stone house on Clinton street. 
The new residence, of brick, on the southeast side of the present church, was 
built in 1878. 

The school Connected with this parish was opened in 1S74. h'or this |)ur- 
pose a [jart of the church (the I'ear) and a trame building on Clint(ui street are 
used. About 250 pupils attended the school the first year. At present there 
are about 475 children. The)- are taught b\' se\en Sisters of Notre Dame. 

The church of the Holy Apostles is on Ljell avenue. A new congrega- 
tion is being organiseil under the title of "Holy Aiiostles." The members 
formed apart of St, I'.itrick's cathedral. Re\ . Timothy C. Alurphy, formerly 
of Livonia, has been ajipointed the first pastor of this church, Ma_\- 1st, 1884. 

I'lIK Ui\IT.\RIAN CTILfRCII. 

The h'irst Unitarian Congi-egational societ}'. — An eft'ort was made as early 
as 1829 to found a Unitarian societ_\- in Rochester. The first preaching here 
was a few weeks before, in December, 1828, b\- Rev. William Ware, then of 
New York. He was inniiediatel\- followed by Rev. James D. Green, who or- 
ganised a societ}-. The same \-ear the old wooden building which St. Luke's 
(Episcopal) church had abandoned was [jurchased and mo\etl to the north side 
of Buffalo (now West Main) street, just west of Sophia. It was occupied only 
a year or two, when it was sold together with a lease of the ground it stood on 
for $200, and the societ)' disbanded. In the ne.xt ten }-ears there was liberal 
preaching of a desultory sort, at a place called Masonic Hall on l^.xchange 
street, in a school-house (used also by the "Christians" as a church) on the 
present site of Pl)-mouth church, anil in "Carthage," as the settlement on the 



The Unitarian Church. 285 



east bank of the river near the lower falls was called. This work was chiefly 
done by that heroic and honored citizen, Myron Holley. 

In 1 841 the work of reorganisation was begun in earnest. Rev. Mr. Storer, 
of Syracuse, commenced the work, and a goodly number of noble men and 
women rallied to his call. Dr. Matthew Brown was made president of the 
board of trustees, and George F. Danforth, clerk. The meetings were held 
in the Christian church, before referred to, and a number of ministers were 
heard for a short time who have since won distinction in the denomination. In 
1842 Rev. Rufus Ellis came and remained a year. Under his leadership the 
society built a \-ery comfortable church on the present site of. St. Paul's (Ger- 
man) church, F"itzhugh street, at a cost of about $6,000. Soon afterward Rev. 
1- W. Holland was called to the pastorate and remained until 1848. The 
ministers who followed Mr. Holland were: Rev. Rufus H. Bacon, Rev. W'. H. 
Doherty, Rev. W. H. Channing. Rev. Thomas Hyer, Rev. James Richardson, 
Rev. James K. Hosmer, Rev. Mr. Fitzgerald. The latter had preached only 
one Sunday when the church burned. This occurred November loth, 1859. 
Shortly afterward services were suspended. In 1865 Rev. F. W. Holland 
returned to Rochester, gathered the society together, and raised the necessary 
funds to build a new church. The building was erected on the east side of 
Fitzhugh street, at a cost, including the lot, of about $12,000; and was occu- 
pied until its sale to the United States government in 1883. Mr. Holland re- 
mained in charge three years. Rev. Clay McCauley followed for one year; 
then Rev. E. H. Danforth for six months. In 1870 Rev. N. M. Mann became 
the pastor and still remains in charge. 

Upon the sale of the Fitzhugh street property, the society purchased the 
beautiful and commodious stone church and chapel of the Third Presbyterian 
church, occupying both corners of Lancaster and Temple streets. The build- 
ings have been thoroughly restored and made attractive without and within. 
The society is out of debt, as has been its rule since 1865, and is in a prosper- 
ous condition. The following gentlemen constitute the present board of trus- 
tees (March, 1884): J. A. Hinds, chairman; Porter Farley, secretary; S. L. 
Brewster, Samuel Wilder and C. C. Morse. 

During the early part of 1884 the pastor of the church was e.xcluded from 
the pulpit by an illness which lasted through several weeks. For the first Sun- 
day morning his place was kindly taken by Prof True, a member of the faculty 
of the theological seminary, who preached most acceptably to the congrega- 
tion, recalling (without his mentioning it) the time when Prof Robinson, of the 
same institution — who is now the president of Brown university — occupied 
the desk during an extended vacancy in the pastorate. After Prof True the 
society had the ministration, for seven consecutive Sundays, of Dr. Landsberg, 
the rabbi of the Jewish temple, whose sermons, as well as his conduct of the 
services, will long be remembered with gratification, not only by the regular 



286 History of the City of Rochester. 

attendants (if the church, but b\- the many N'isitors, <if nmre tlian (me creeci, 
who atten(_le(_l tlie exercises. This infurnial union of the two rehgions, and the 
(iccui)anc\- of a Christian pulpit for a loni; time by one of the s.ime race with 
the founder c>f the (/hristian faith, pro(.hice(i a [irofuuK.! impressi(jn, not onl\- in 
tliis cit\ Ijut elsewhere. Remarks unfax'oraliie were made at first, but criticism 
soon sank to silence, as it was seen that this might be the forerunner of the 
establishment of a unixei'sal church. 

THF I.ITHFK.W CHURCHES. 

Zion's P'irst German F,\-angelical Laitheran church. — This is the mother of 
the Lutheran churciies in this cit\-, the othei' three being emphatically her 
daughters. The first official minutes of Zion's I*"irst German I'^xangelical Luth- 
eran church begin in 1S39 and contain as an introduction a short sketch of the 
past histor\' of the church. In 1832 Ke\'. Miiller preached to a few families 
(I'-bersold, Rohr, luigel, .Schwarz, .Schneeberger) in the basement of the Second 
Prcsb\'terian church. In 1833 Re\'. C. 1'". W'elden, now lising in Philadelphia 
us /'its/cr cuicritiis.. came aiul preached occasionall)'. He was followed by Rev. 
W. A. h'etter, (if Rush, where at that time was a German Lutheran congrega- 
tion. Lnder his admini>ti'ation, in 1 836, the corner-stone for a church build- 
ing, where the present church is now located, northeast corner of Grove and 
Stillson streets, was laid. In Ma_\-, 1838, Rev. J. Miihlhiiuser took charge of 
the congregation. The church wds dedicated December 14th, 1838. The names 
of the first officers found in the minutes are: Chr. Traugott, C. Lauer, G-. C. 
Drehnier, J. Schihimaicr, Jacob Maurei', J. l'',bersold, J. Rohr, John Maurer, H. 
Uiener, B. Heidt, G. I^llwanger, R. Ileidt, George Maurer. The list of com- 
municants goes back to ( )ctober, 1 834; of the first catechumens and of the 
marriages to April, 1835; of baptisms to September, 1834. March 15th, I 85 I, 
the congregation resolved to build a new church on the old site. The new 
church was dedicated January 2(jth, 1852; galleries were ])ut in in 1856; the 
church was enlargetl to meet the wants of the ra])i(.lly growing congregation 
in 1872, and is now forty-eight feet wide and one hundred and si.x feet long, 
with a steeple one hundred and twenty-five feet high. In 1883 two doors, one 
on each side of the main entrance, were broken through in the front, with stone 
stall's and iron railings, and the vestibule was changed, a necessary convenience 
for the numer(.ius congregation and a decided improvement in the appearance 
of the building. 

The large old school-house at the corner of North avenue and hTanklin 
street, now used as a iilaning-mill, was sold in I 88 I and a building for school 
purposes erected in the rear of the church. The present teachers of the paro- 
chial school are C. G. Schneider (German, and organist) and Miss Maggie 
Hoppe (English). The commodious parsonage, number 46 Stillson street, very 
near the church, was purchased by the congregation and fitted up with all 



The LiTiiEKAN Churches. 287 

nodern conveniences in 1881. The pastors have been as follows: J. Muhl- 
iauser, 1838 to 1848; J, G. Kempe, until 1862; A. Uebelacker, until 1868; 
•■. von Rosenberg, until 1874; C. V. W. Hoppe, until 1881 ; Rev. A. Richter, 
he present pastor, since July, 1881 The present officers are: Church coun- 
il — Chr. Seel, N. Conrad, J. Traugott, elders; J. Chri.st, treasurer; A. 
khcuer, secretary; M. Schlegcl, F. Bundschuh, J. Kleinovv, R. Kuhn, C. G. 
■vallusch, deacons; trustees — J. G. Wagner, president; F, Schlegel, secretary; 
Rohr, treasurer; Win. Wagner, J. Margrander, J. A. Krautwurst, J. Korner. 
Ve might add that chiefly under the auspices of Zion's church and its pastor a 
Lutheran proseminar)-," for the education of bo)-s and }-oung men as German 
^utheran ministers, was opened in October, 1883 ; now located on South ave- 
ue, bidding fair for the future. A branch Sunday-school was started in the 
outhern part of the city in March, 1884, which numbers already nearly one 
lundred scholars. The services are held under the supervision of the pastor 
)f Zion's church in the chapel of the Calvarj- Presbyterian church, on South 
ivenue, corner of Hamilton place. 

The Evangelical Lutheran church of the Reformation, on Grove street, 
)etween North avenue and Stillson street, the only English Lutheran church 
n the city, received its name from the anniversary day on which it was organ- 
sed, October 31st, 1868. The founder and first pastor was Rev. Reuben Hill. 
[The first services were held in Zion's church, in the evenings when there was 
ho German service. As soon as the organisation was started, services were 
field regularly in the thirtl story of Zion's old school-house on North avenue, 
lit present a planing- mill. The first board of trustees consisted of C. C. Meyer, 
John B. Snyder, John S. Kratz, Wm. Steinhauser, J. W. Maser. The present 
Ouilding was dedicated in the fall of 1873. In 1874 Rev. R. Hill was called to 
lAllentown, Pennsylvania. He was immediately succeeded by Rev. Charles S. 
iKohler, who still continues in the pastoral office. At present the officers are: 
Church council — S. J. Kuenzi, J. W. Maser, elders ; Charles J. Wichmann, 
IP. Schaefifer, secretary ; A. H. Weniger, treasurer ; B. Shorer, Jacob Hoehn, J. 
fSuter, deacons ; trustees — L. P. Beck, president ; J. M. Miller, secretary ; J. M. 
Lauer, treasurer; J. S. Kratz, John F. Dinkey. Sunday-school superintendent, J. 
jM. Miller ; organist. Miss Annie S. Kuenzi ; leader of choir, Wm. J. Steinhauser. 
St. John's German Evangelical Lutheran church is located on the corner of 
St. Joseph street and Buchan park. November 4th, 1874, Zion's church re- 
solved to establish a branch Sunday-school and mission in the northern part of 
the city. In 1873 Rev. E. Heydler was called as assistant pastor of Zion's, at 
the same time to take care of the mission. The congregation was organised 
through. Rev. E. Heydler in August, 1873 Names of the first officers : Church 
council — M. Nothacker, H. Knapp, F. Seith, elders; A. Schnell, M. Lang, C. 
Maas, deacons ; trustees — F". C. Lauer, J. Krautwurst, J. Wellner, F. Schmitt, 
A. Burkhardt. The corner-stone on the lot which was presented b)- the mother 



?88 HlSliiKV OF TlIK CiTV (JF ROCHESTER. 



church was laid June 14th, 1874. The church was dedicated June 21st, li 
and is sixty-five feet b_\' one luindred and nineteen. If inside and outside C( 
plete and finished, it woukl make a buildint,' of very fine appearance, 
spacious and recently enlarged frame building in the rear of the church is 
the use of the parochial school, the teachers of which are: C. F. Frank (( 
man, and organist) and Mrs. H. Hj-sner (English). The present officers ; 
Church council — J. (ilatt, J. C. Hachman, elders; A. Schnell, F. Schmanke 
Gunkler, J. Franz, J. Grab, deacons; trustees, M. Menu, H. Herdle, J. Mi 
C. Bauer. Rev. E. He\''.ller was pastor until 1877. He was followed by I 
J. Miihlhauser. The pulpit is at present vacant. 

The German Evangelical Lutheran Concordia church, corner of Helena 
Putnam streets, was organised in September, 1S77, b\- Re\'. E. He)'dler A 
his death, in i88j. Rev. C. N. Conrad was elected his successor. The chi 
is to be enlarged this \-ear. A large parochial school is connected with it. 
want o{ requested, but not sufficientl)- furnished information, we are unabl 
give the same particulars as of the other churches. 

THE GERM.XN U.MTEU EV.\NGELICAL CHURCHE.S. 

Trinit)-. — Of tlie three churches that belong to the denomination cal 
itself by the name above given, the German United Evangelical Trinity chu 
on Allen street, is the oldest. It began in 1842, consisting of members that \ 
dissatisfied with the e-\clusi\eness of the German Evangelical Lutheran Zi 
church. The first pastor was Re\'. C. T. Soldan, who began his labors in I 
In 1845 Rev. C. Biel became his successor. Then followed Rev. T. F. Illi 
in 1846. After the congregation had assembled in difl'erent places for wors 
the church on Allen street was built, in 1847. i^'^v- A. Barke\' officiated i 
1847 to 1849, when Re\'. C. Haass took charge of the congregation. He 
followed in 1852 by Rev. C. Clausen, who ser\'ed the congregation ovcv e 
years, extending with his predecessors the field and influence of the chu 
In 1 861 Rev. P. Conradi was called to the pulpit. After ten months' ser 
he left his charge and formed a new church, taking a large number of the m 
bers with him. In 1862 Rev. C. Siebenpfeiffer became pastor of the remaii 
flock. Under his pastorate the congregation grew rapidly, so that the chi 
had to be provided with galleries. The parochial school, which heretofore 
always one teacher with about one hundred scholars, employed three teac 
for about three hundred scholars. After 1 870 the church became too sr 
and, the members not agreeing about a site for a new church, being div 
about east or west of the river, a new swarm left the old hive, taking with t 
to the east side the pastor. In 1874 Rev. B. Pick was ordained pastor of 
mother flock till, in 1881, Rev. O. Bueren followed him and in 1883 Rev. 1 
Heuckell, the present pastor. The church was at different times orname: 
and has a parsonage. The church records show that since its foundatior 



The Evangelical Assocla.tion. 



j\.pril last 4,970 persons were baptised, 1,373 confirmed, 1,915 couples married, 
1,590 persons buried and the Lord's supper served to 16,918 communicants. 
I'he congregation is now doing well again and promises to grow and to be use- 
ul. It numbers about 300 families. The Sunday-school was for many years 
■inder the charge of the late Mr. Parsons and after him of Thomas Dransficld. 
t was conducted in the English language, but is now German. Much good 
iras doubtless the result of the labors of the friends of the school. 

The German United Evangelical Salem church is located on Franklin street, 

lear St. Paul street. It is one of the handsomest church buildings in the city. 

t was built in 1873, costing, together with the parochial school and Sunday- 

chool building, nearly $70,000. It seats 1,100 persons. The Salem congre- 

ation was formed in 1873, consisting of a part of the members of the German 

hurch on Allen street and of many families on the east side that awaited with 

^agerness the organisation of a church of this denomination east of the river. 

[The congregation and church were built up under the management of Rev. 

Lharles Siebenpfeiffer, who is still the officiating clergyman. The church has 

peen growing steadily, and comprises now about 450 families and about 200 

{jersons, the number of names in the roll being over 600. During the existence 

bf this church 1,795 children have been baptised, 798 persons confirmed, 606 

bouples married and 838 persons buried. The Sunday-school was for six years 

jconducted byThcvnas Dransfield, who has helped to advance the interests of 

jthe church mater' All}'. Now the Sunday-school is superintended by the pastor, 

assisted by D. S. Poppen. Miss Lottie Weitzel has charge of the infant class. 

There are now 500 Sunday-school scholars. During the first years of the 

church the parochial school numbered nearly 300 children, but since the interest 

in such schools is declining there are now about 100. Mr. Poppen is teacher 

of the school and at the same time the organist and the leader of the choir. 

The German United Evangelical St. Paul's church was started in 1862 by 
Rev. Philip Conradi, at that time pastor of the German church on Allen street. 
He took with him about half of the membership to organise St. Paul's congre- 
gation. In the same year the church building was erected. It stands on Fitz- 
ihugh street and is a nice building in a quiet place. In 1865 Rev. Mr. Hoff"- 
Iman became pastor of the church, and two years later Rev. F. Heinle, who was 
succeeded in 1873 by Rev. A. Grotrian. The pastor who has now, and has had 
since 1883, charge of the church is A. Zeller. The congregation numbers about 
300 families and has a Sunday-school am! a day-school. 

THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION. 

The First church of the Evangelical as.sociation (German) was organised 
about the year 1849 by J. G. Marquardt. The following are the namesof pas- 
tors who have served this church since its organisation : J. G. Marquardt, 1849- 
50; John Schaaf, 1851; Martin Lauer, 1852-53; Jacob Wagner, 1854-55; 



290 History of the City of Rochester. 

Martin Lauer, 1856-57; Levi Jacoby, 1858 ; Aug. Klein, 1859-60 ; S.Weber, 
1861 ; Adolf Miller, 186J-63; I'. J. Miller, 1864-65; Geo. Eckardt, 1866-67; 
Antlrcw Holzworth, 1868-69; M. Lehn, 1870-71 ; G. F. Biiesh, 1872-74; 
Albert Unholz, 1875-77; '*-■ '^- ^^'e'ier, 1878-80; C. A. Wiesseman, 18S1-83. 
Henry Koch, the present pastor, took charge of the parish in March, 1884. 
The present officers are : John Nagel, Fred Klein, John Boiler, George Fisher, 
John Loeffler. The church has a membersliip of 232. Its location is on St. 
Joseph street, at the corner of Nassau street. In connection with the church 
is a Sunda)'-schoi>l, which numbers 200 scholars and thirtx' teachers. The 
present officers of the Sunda)--school are: J. Boiler, su[)crintendent : George 
Fisher, \ice-su[5erintendent ; Frnst Me\-er, secretar)- ; John Loeffler, treasurer ; 
Theoilore Fisher, librarian. 

THE (;ER.\I.\X reformed ClUKOH. 

In 1 84S several German Roman Catholics establishetl, under Rev. De L. 
Giustiniani, a free German Catholic congregation. I-'or a short time they were 
accustomed tn meet in Miner\a hall. In March, 1849, Rev. Frederick Bogan 
became the pastor nf the ccmgregation, fillowed by Dr. Winkelmann, and he, 
in turn, was folhiwed b_\- Re\'. William Wier. In 1S50 they bought a church 
in Court street for $2,200, but the_\- left the church in the same year, for the 
Scotch Presbyterian society purchased it fmm this congregation. Then, under 
severe circumstances, the society erected .1 church on Cherry street. On the 
I2tli of March, 1851, the)- reorganised themscKes aiul were incorporated by 
the name of the (ierman Mission church, under Re\'. Robert Kohler. In 1852 
the name was again changed to the German Reformed Immanuel church, and 
the society connected themsehx's with the (ierman Reformed church in the 
United States. In 1867 the congregation sold the church on Cheriy street 
and erected a lU'W one on Jefferson street, now called Hamilton jilace. The 
following are the names of the succeeding pastors, with the date of their ordi- 
nation: J. J. Stern, March 16th, 1S53; A. Schroeder, September 15th, 1854; 
T. Grosshiish, December, 1857; Mr. Brasch, in 1865 ; Mr. Claudius, in 1867; 
C. Kuss, in 1869; H. C. He_\ser, in 1874; Carl Gundlach, October 6th, 1878. 
Mr. Gundlach is the [present incumbent. The Sunday-school superintendent 
is Nicholas Kraus. There are 230 members of the congregation. 

THE C(>N0REG.\TI0N.\L CHURCHES. 

The first societ)- of this denomination was organised- in November, 1836, 
under the title of the " Free Congregational church," with Rev. John T. Avery 
as the first pastor, so far as is known, his name appearing as such in 1838, when 
O'Rielly's history was published. It ma\' be presumed that this organisation 
soon after ceased, for the directory of 1841 makes no mention of an_\' Congre- 
gational society' as then in existence. On the 30th of August, in that \'ear, 



The Jews. 291 

owever, the State street Congregational society was organised, its meetings 
eing held in Teoronto hall, and of this Rev. Shubael Carver was the pastor in 
,845, if not before. In 1847 Rev. Henry E. Peck assumed the pastorate of 
|ie little congregation, preaching in the small upper room of the Teoronto block 
>r more than a year, when, in 1848, a church was erected nearly opposite, by 
ne society, assisted by a few benevolent outsiders. Mr. Peck preached in the 
ew church for less than four years, when he was elected to a professorship in 
)berlin college and on the nth of January, 1852, his resignation of the pas- 
>ratewas accepted. The succeeding ministers at the State street church were 
Ir. Miner and Mr. Harper, under the latter of whom the last service was held, 
n the 30th of August, 1856, on the occasion of the funeral of Deacon Leon- 
rd Hitchcock. The church was then abandoned and the building .has since 
een used as a warehouse. 

Another Congregational societ)' was organised here in 1847 and held its 
rieetings on the corner of South St. Paul and Jefferson streets, with Rev. Rich- 
rd De Forest as the first pastor, after whom were Rev. \Vm. Dewey and Rev. 
D. Francis. The last-named was there in 1855, and the church societ}- be- 
ame e.\tinct a very few years later. 

Plymouth church. — In September, 1852, a subscription was begun for the 
rection of a new church edifice in the city of Rochester, to be located at the 
orner of Troup and Sophia streets (now Plymouth avenue). After a consid- 
erable sum had been pledged, a meeting of the subscribers was held in Feb- 
uary, 1853, when it was decided to give to the edifice the name of "the Ply- 
nouth church of Rochester," and to devote it to Congregational worship. In 
(une, 1853, a building committee was appointed by the subscribers, consisting 
)f A. Champion, E Lyon, F. Clarke, \V. A. Reynolds and W. Churchill. The 
:orner-stone of the building was laid September 8th, 1853, and the society was 
ncorporated by act of the legislature passed April 15th, 1854. A. Champion, 
F. Clarke, E. Lyon, C. J. Hill, W. W. Ely, A. G. Bristol, E. H. Hollister, C. A. 
Purr and E. Darrow were constituted the first board of trustees. The church 
iwas dedicated August 2ist, 1855. Rev. Jonathan Edwards was the first pastor, 
>iis term being from February, 1856, to November, 1862. Rev. Dwight K. 
jRartlett was the second pastor, from February, 1865, to February, 1873. Rev. 
Myron Adams is the present and third pastor, having begun his service as such 
in May, 1876. In the summer of 1877 extensive improvements were made in 
the church building. The roof was substantially slated, and the interior deco- 
rated, recarpeted and upholstered. The present trustees are : D. C. Hyde, S. 
F. Hess, L. P. Ross, W. S. Ely, B. H. Clark. \V. S. Osgood, J. W. Robbins and 
j. Farley, jr. 

THE JEWS OF ROCHESTER. 

According to estimate there are about 2,500 Jewish inhabitants in the city 
of Rochester. It is impossible now to ascertain when the)- first settled here, 



292 History of the City of Rochester. 

but it is kmiwn that some few made this citj- tlieir home as early as 1840. 
tlie year 1848 the necessity was first felt of organising a society to supply tl 
religious wants. Twelve foreigners, all natives of Germany, met in a house 
the corner of Clinton street and Clinton place and formed a Jewish congre 
tion. Their names arc : M. Rothschild, Joseph Wile, S. Marks, Joseph K; 
G. Wile, Henr\- Levi, Jacob Altman, Joseph Altman, A. Adler, E. Wollf, 
Weinberg and J. Ganz. For si.x months the _\'oung society held its meetii 
at the same place, until a hall was rentetl for that purpose at the corner of M 
and I'~ront streets, where a [)ermanent organisation was formed and cal 
Bcrith Kodish 1 Hoi)- Covenant). A burial lot was purchased by the society 
Mt. Hope, on Ma\- 23d, 1848, antl the first board of trustees was elected 
October Sth, of the same \-ear. The first president was Mayer Rothsch 
The congregation was incorporated on ( )ctober 1 6th, 1854. In the \-ear li 
the site of the present temple \\ as purchased of Louis Deane. The buildi 
formerh' a l-Saptist church, was adapted to the wants of the congregation ; 
was thus used until I 876, when the building now in use was erected at an 1 
pense of $25,000 and dedicated on September 15th, 1876. The first rabbi 
the congregation was Mr. Tusky. He was succeeded by Dr. Isaac Mayer fr 
1856 ti> 1859. Then Dr. Sarner was elected, who held his position but n 
months. From i860 to 1863 there was no rabbi; in the latter year Dr. Gi 
burg recei\'ed a call and remained till 1868. After another intermission 
two \-ears and si.\ months Dr. Ma.x Landsberg, the present rabbi, was engag 
on December 26th, 1870. He entered up(.)n his functions in March, 18 
and has filled his position e\'er since. 

The congregation Jlcrit/i Kodcsh was at first strictl)' orthodo.x. The f 
move in the wa\' of reform was made in 1862, when an organ was purchas 
and in 1863 the first slight alterations were made in the ritual. In 1869 it ' 
resolved to introduce family pews in place of the old ss'stem b}' which 
sexes were kept strictly separate during the services. When the change \ 
made M. Greentree, with a few others, resigned, and in 1870 founded the C' 
gregation litr: Knaiioii ((jreen Tree) and erected a building on Franklin pa 
From this time the Bcrith Kodcsh made constant and rapid progress, materi; 
and spiritually. It counts one hundred and thirty members with their famil 
and one hundred and fifty-four children visit the Sabbath-school for religii 
instruction, of which the rabbi is the superintendent, while a number of yoi 
ladies and gentlemen from the congregation ser\'e as teachers. Since Dece 
ber, 1883, a new ritual has been introduced at the services, almost entir 
consisting of Fhiglish prayers, and Bcrith Kodcsh is the first Jewish congre 
tion in this countr\- in which services were conducted mostl}- in the vernacu 

The other Jewish congregations in Rochester, all strictly orthodo.x, are 
following: Beth Israel (House of Israel), founded in 1879, which owns a bu 
ing at 54 Chatham street; Bene David {^on?, ^A Da\id), organised in 18 



The Universalist Churches. 293 



whose place of worship is at 5 Hermann street ; Beth Aiiloin (Eternal House), 
a number of members who seceded from the Etc Raaiwn in 1883 and worship 
at the former Free Methodist church, corner of Atwater and Leopold streets, 
and Ets Chayim (Tree of Life), under which name the remaining members of 
Etz Raanon reorganised in 1883, and continued to worship in the former 
place on Franklin park. 

THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCHES. 

The First Universalist. — Universalist meetings were held in Rochester 
before it became a city, and the first ministers of this faith were Rev. Messrs. 
Sampson, Henry Roberts, Wm. Andrews, T. P. Abell, Russell Tomlinson, 
Jacob Chase and Charles Hammond. Early meetings of this society were 
held in a church which it purchased on the corner of Court and Stone streets. 
After this property was sold, the Sabbath-school was held in the basement of 
the Universalist church until the arrival of Rev. G. W. Montgomery in 1845, 
when the services were resumed in Minerva hall, which were continued until 
the erection of a church on Clinton street. This building has been recon- 
structed and enlarged and was dedicated March 22d, 1871, Rev. Dr. Saxc 
preaching the discourse. Among the founders and early members of this 
church were Joseph Wood, Isaac Hellems, Schuyler Moses, J. J. Van Zandt, 
J. F. Royce and N. Bingham. Rev. Dr. Montgomery was installed pastor of 
the church in December, 1 845, and officiated for eight years. Rev. J. H. Tuttle 
served the church six years and was succeeded March ist, i860, by the present 
pastor. Rev. Asa Saxe, D. D. The present trustees are L F. Force, N. S. 
Phelps and Mrs. E. B. Chace, with S. E. Brace treasurer, and Heman W. 
Morris clerk. There is a Sunday-school connected with this church number- 
ing about four hundred, of which George H. Roberts was the first superin- 
tendent, who was succeeded by the late J. J. Van Zandt and he by the present 
superintendent, William E. Cook, who has held the position for fifteen years. 
This church established a mission Sunday-school in the ninth ward in 1873, 
which has since developed into the Second Universalist church. Location, 
South Clinton street, near Main. 

The Second Universalist church has grown from a mission Sundaj--school 
established by the First church in the fall of the year 1874. The mission 
school was held in McDadc's hall for a few years, then, having outgrown that 
room, its present neat and commodious chapel was erected by the munificence 
of James Sargent and others. Rev. L. B. Fisher was called to be the first 
pastor of this church, beginning his work in October, 1883. On January 13th, 
1 884, a church organisation was formed, with forty five members and the fol- 
lowing board of trustees : A. M. Brown, F. H. Cross, James S. Graham, 
Thomas Gliddon, Charles Howlett. 



294 History of the City of Rochester. 

the aiivext christiax church. 

( )n June 22d, 1S43, the first Advent meetini; ever held in Rochester con- 
\-ened in a larye- tent erected on the east side of the river, north of Main street, 
near tlie stone- ware |)otter_\-. Mlder J. V. Mines conchicted the services, which 
resuhed in the gathering to;4etiier of several liundred believers. He was 
assisteil in maintaininLj the ser\'ices, under the name of Ad\-ent meetini^s, from 
that time, b\' I'lldei's Fitch, Barry, Galusha, Pinne)- and others, until 1850, 
when Inkier J. 11 Cook was called as pastor, who remained until 1853 From 
this time the interest fluctuated until 1S67, when I-llders I'ratt and Grant 
orLjanised the "h'irst Christian church of Rochester," with a membership of 
two hundred and hdder H. L. Pratt as pastor. He retired in 1870 and the 
pulpit was supplied with such men as W'm. h'enns, H. L. Hastings and other 
able and talented ministers. In 1871 holder J. H. Whitmore was called to the 
pastorate, which ])osition he held until April, 1874. Daring his ministrations 
tlie definite-time-agitators gained a footing and created a division, which nearly 
destroyetl the societ}- and caused the resignation of the pastor. Under the 
ministry of his successor, Elder ]'.. V. Sergisson, the interest revix'ed somewhat, 
and it continued under Mrs. L. M. Stoddard, who followed him in 1879 and 
who acted as pastor for about three \'ears. During her ministr)' the church 
removed to the hall it now f)ccu[)ies, o\'er I 55 l'2ast Main street, corner of North 
avenue. After the resignation of Mrs. Stoddard, Flders Dr. Porter W. Taylor 
and W'm. Ingmire acted as pastors until March 25th, 1883, when the present 
incumbent. Polder George W. Wright, assumed the pastorate. The church at 
the present time numbers one hundred and seven members, and, as an evidence 
of its prosperit}-, is negotiating for a lot upon which to build a church edifice. 
Honorable mention should be made of A. G. Andrews, who was present at 
the first tent meeting held in 1843 cUid who remains to-day an active member 
of the church in Rochester. 

THE REFORMED CHURCH IN .\MERIC.\. 

The P'irst Reformed church of Rochester, X. Y., was organised in 1852. 
Its denominational connection is with the Reformed (Dutch) church in America, 
which is Presbyterian in doctrine and government. Its pastors were : Rev. A. 
B. Veenhuizen, of Fast Williamson, N. V.; C. Wust, of Lodi, N. J.; A. Krie- 
kaard, of Grand Rapids, Mich.; P. B, Bahler, lately deceased. Rev. Peter De 
Bruyn, the present pastor, has ser\'ed the church f >r the past ten years. The 
statistics of 1884 show a membership of nearly three hundred, a Sunday-school 
of two hundred and sixty scholars. During the year $456.69 were contributed 
for benevolent and religious purposes, while the sum of $2,759.94 was brought 
up for regular congregational e.xpenses. The services are mostly conducted in 
the Dutch language, since the majority of the people are native Hollanders. 



I The CiiRiSTAUELPiiiAN Church. 2q; 

It — —■ ~ 

I pThe society is prosperous and united, and hopeful for the future. The chutch 

ind chapel are located on the corner of Harrison and Oregon streets. 
There is another church here nanietl the Kbenezer church, the society 
elonging to the denomination or sect known as the "True Dutch Reformed," 
ut the building, which is on Chatham street, is not now open for service. 

TnE CHRTST.MlEI.PHI \\ ClirRCH. 

The Christadelphian Ecclcsia, or " called-out-ones" took upon themselves 
:his distinctive name March 6th, 1870. At that time they numbered about 
"orty-five members. They increased in numbers to upward of sixty. Some 
lave died and some have moved away, so that at the present time those who 
:laim to be Christadelphians number about forty-seven. Those out of the city 
,vho continue to meet in Rochester make the number still over sixty. They 
:Iaim to be a revival of that sect every where spoken against in the first cen- 
;ury, and they acknowledge no authorit\- in matters of faith and practice other 
:han that of the "mind of Christ" expressed in the "written word." They 
;laim to be called out to " God's kingdom and glor)-" and to be associated with 
Christ at his return, in the readjustment of human affairs by giving to the 
.vorld a righteous administration. They believe in one God, the Father, whom 
ID man hath seen, and who onl)- hath immortality underived and inherent, and 
n one Lord Jesus Christ, his son, who through his sufferings, death and resur- 
rection opened up a "new-made way of life" to all who believe and obey his 
requirements. They believe that in the "fullness of time," which they regard 
is not far distant, a theocracy will be established upon the mountains of Israel 
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and those who shall be associated with 
him as kings and priests of the age ; that all believing Jews will then be re- 
ktored to their land, and that Jerusalem, rebuilt in splendor and glory, will be 
fthe metropolis of the world. They meet every first day of the week to break 
pread and drink wine in remembrance of Jesus, the captain of their salvation. 
JThey have no paid ministers. Any members that arc qualified to interest and 
'instruct are expected to do so as opportunity offers, and are appointed for that 
and other leading duties, and are called "serving brethren." These, at the 
time of organisation in 1870, were James McMillan, Orrin Morse, Augustus 
Sintzenich and J. C. Tomlin, secretary. The serving brethren at the present 
time, besides the writer of this sketch. Dr. J. H. Thomas, who delivered free 
lectures every Sunday evening, are Charles Morse, George Ashton, J. Walsh, 
E. Eames and J. Tomlin. 



296 HlST(_)RV Ol- THE ClTV OF' ROCHESTER. 

CIIAPTICK XXXI I. 

IHK KAKIA S(I|(H)|.S (iK Kdl /H KS I |;K. 1 

lluMali M. Sh.ini;'- Sdi..,,l, in iSi ; — I .iinUr.l I'^hKalioiial Kc^. mrri-^ — Mc.it^criR-ss of Male 
A|i|ii-u|,riati(ui — dl.l HislriLt Xuniln-i- 1. ami Kirst Male TL-aLiiOL- —Mill Street a TashioiiaMe i^)uartei- 
of Rochester — Maria Allyn's Schonl in 1S20 — Fairehil.! and Filer's Latin and Eiit;lisli Seh.iul - l.y. 
man Colili', Seli.i<.l, Spelliiii;-!:.",!. ami 1 )ieti..nary — 'I'lie Manual Fal.ur Scli.ml — 'l-he Rnehester High 
Sehi.ol — The Sch....K ..f Misses lUark and Miss Seward, West Side. if the River— R..ehester hemale 
Aeadeniy — Seward Female Seminary — Other InMitutinns uf Learnili-;. 

Till'", settlement nf families and the frirm.ition itf society in Rochester, be- 
L;iniiin:^' about 1 S 1 o, progressed so rapidly that in 1X13 tlie need of schools 
for the chiklren was apparent. The welfare of the \'oiin_<,r town, as related 
either to scliools or churches or to associ,itions for moral, social and material 
advancement, wa^. not ne^dected. Church organisations and public worship 
began with the first settlement, and church buildings were erected in 1816 and 
181 7. The Rocliester Female Missionary society was formed in 1818; the 
Monroe County Agricultural society in 1821, the first x^ear of the establish- 
ment of the county, and the Monroe Cotinty Bible society was organised 
the same \-ear. The Rochester P'emale Charitable societ\' and the Rochester 
Sunda_\'-school Union were formed in 1822; the Franklin Institute, a literary 
society, in 1826, and the Rochester .Athenaeum, also a literary society, in 1829. 
The first school — properh- the forerunner of all organisations for the intel- 
lectual and moral advancement of a commtmity — began in 1813. The first 
teacher was Miss Huldah M. Strong, sister of Mrs. .Abelard Re\'nolds, and who 
in 181G marrictl Dr. Jonah l^rown. The location of the school, as stated in an 
article on schools published in the Monroe county director}- for 1869—70, was 
in Enos Stone's barn, transformed to a school- house. Subsequently the school 
was removed to a room ov'er Jehiel Barnai'd's clothing store, near the corner 
of I^uftalo street (now West Main) and Carroll, now State street. There is not 
much doubt that these are the facts as to the matter, as Mrs. Abelard Rey- 
nolds in former times, as is well remembered, often spoke of the school as 
having been commenced in a barn. At its opening it numbered fourteen or 
fifteen pupils. It was a small number for the great following it was to have 
of schools and school children in Rochester. It was not long, however, before 
its numbers increased, and its usefulness and final success gave great satisfac- 
tion to the citizens. 

In looking back by the aid of history to that time, now seventy-one years 
ago, we perceive that it was not only an earl\' period in educational work in 
Rochester but also in the entire state of New York. School funds and state 
aid to schools and colleges were then extremely limited. Until the \'ear 1795 



1 This article was prepared by Mr. George S. Riley. 



The First School in Rochester. 297 



very little attention and no legislative aid whatever had been extended to edu- 
cation in this state. Although a beginning was made in that year, it was a 
small beginning; $50,000 annually, for five years and no longer, was appro- 
priated b_\' the legislature. Up to 18 I 2 all that legislation had effected for the 
advancement of education was the formation of a school fund, the gradual ac- 
cumulations of which had in 1812 — which was the year Rochester began to 
grow — amounted to onlj- $151,000, j'ielding but $24,000 annuall}' to be 
divided among the then forty-si.x counties of the state. 

The first school in Rochester, therefore, had to be wholly and voluntaril)' 
maintained by its citizens ; and it is creditable to Rochester at that time that 
'the school received a good degree of local public attention and substantial 
support. Most of the young children of the place, of both sexes, and of all 
sects, were gathered in the school. Not long after its removal to Jehiel Bar- 
nard's store the school-room was inadequate, and one teacher insufficient, for 
the needs of the rapidly growing town. During the autumn of 181 3 the citi- 
zens resolved to establish a school district and build a school-house. The build- 
ing was completed soon afterward. Its dimensions were about eighteen by 
twenty-four feet and one story in height. Its location was on South Fitzhugh 
street, where the Free acadeni)- now stands. From that time schools and 
school-teachers rapidly increased. In 1815 or earl\- in 1 8 1 6 the population 
had so increased near the high falls of the river that a school-building was 
erected at the corner of Mill and Piatt streets. Schools were also opened on 
the east side of the ri\er, and there was no faltering in providing schools and 
school-buildings wherever needed. There were then superior men in Roches- 
ter, many of whom afterward attained widespread reputation for ability and 
philanthropy, and they early perceived the need and earnestly advocated the 
policy of liberal appropriations by the state for educational purposes. The 
conjoint efforts of like public-spirited gentlemen in other parts of the state, and 
later like efforts of the advocates of free schools, finally established a state 
policy in reference to the support of schools and created a public interest in 
education greath' in contrast with the inattention and illiberality of former 
times. The expenditure of the city of Rochester in 1883 for education ex- 
ceeded $200,000, and the expenditure of the state of New York the same j'ear 
exceeded twelve and one-half million of dollars. 

The building first and specially erected in Rochester for school uses was 
known as " district school-house number i." Its construction was aided by 
the generous gift of its site, as narrated in the article on "public schools." 
Aaron Skinner is said to have been the first teacher in the new school-house, 
and the first male teacher in Rochester. Thomas J. Patterson, formerly mem- 
ber of Congress from this congressional district, has stated that he came to 
Rochester in his boyhood and resided with his kinsman. Dr. O. E. Gibbs, and 
attended school in the winters of 1813-14 and 1815, and that his teachers 



History of the City of Rochester. 



were Mr. Dodge and Caleb Hammoiul, then a medical student here. A rela 
tive of the late Moses King states that Mr. King, who surx'ivetl till l88i, alway 
claimed to be the first male teacher in Rochester. If the last-named thre 
gentlemen were not employed as teachers here anterior to Aaron Skinnei 
they all, doubtless, taught schools in Rochester about the same period. Mi 
King unquestionabl)- taught the first school in I""rankfort — as the northwef 
quarter of the town was then and is now called — and it is recorded in a 
earl\- histor)' of Monroe county that "in 1.S16 a spelling-match occurred on 
Saturda)' aftenioiin in the olil first school-house. The teacher was Ur. Ham 
mi.md, then a stuilent with Di's. Elwood and Coleman. The school was joinei 
by the Frankfort school taught by Moses King. The scholars chose sides 
standing as the spelling proceeded, but whoever spelled a word incorrecth' hai 
to take a seat. Two boys, brothers, were the last up and kei)t the floor ti 
dark, when to the younger was adjutiged the [irize." 

Among those who at later periods were teachers in old " district number I 
were General Jacob Gould, in the winter of 1819-20; Mr. Bailey, about 182: 
and afterwartl Mr W'ikler, f)rmerl\' a Vermont lawyer. There were als 
employed there, though it is not probable that they could now be named i 
correct successive order as to the jjeriods of their services, Thomas A. Filei 
D. B. Crane, Zenas Freeman, Flllery S. Treat, Clarendon Morse, Dr. Ackley 
Mr. Spoor and others. Most of the early- teachers in different periods changei 
and interchanged between the different schools, public and private of the time 
The original building was also used for religious services till church building 
were erected. Some time ])rior to 1820 it was enlarged, and about 1823 i 
was still more enlarged or improved. It was finally supplanted b}' a larg 
brick structure in which F. S. Treat was the first teacher. After a few year 
the first brick structure was also superseded b_\' the present large and ornat 
Free academy building, the original cost of which was about $80,000 and th 
whole expenditure for which, including alterations and improvements, e.xceed 
$160,000. 

The school earl\- established at the corner of Mill and Piatt streets wa 
doubtless the one aforementirined as the school in I'rankfort which joined th 
school in old district number I, in the spelling-match of 1816. At a much late 
period the now so-called "Brown square old stone school-house" was erectei 
and a school opened there. Moses King was at different times teacher in botl 
of the schools In the Mill street schi.iol Jeremiah Cutler — who came h 
Rochester in I 82 I, and in 1824 entered the count)- clerk's office, where lie wa 
employed for fifty-nine years, till his death in 1883 — was a teacher previou 
to 1824. Two others of the early teachers were a Mr. Barr)- and a Mr. Lock 
wood. The then young sons and daughters of Lyman B. Langworth)-, Gard 
ner McCracken, Warham Whitney, Dr. Matthew Brown, Hamlet Scranton 
and other prominent residents of the \icinit\- were pupils. One of the earliest 



Maria Allyn's School in 1820. 



if not the first, female teacher in this school was Miss Crane, afterward Mrs. 
risher Bullard, who taught there as early as 1818-19. This was before Jere- 
iiiiah Cutler and Mr. Lockwood were teachers there ; before Miss Maria Allyn's 
lereinafter-mentioned female academy on Mill street had been established, and 
A'hile the old school-house was surrounded by the primitive forest, and the 
kwift currents of an old watercourse sped along past the school-house over the 
•ocks downward a hundred feet to the river. The old \^ellow-painted school- 
juilding remained in its place till w ithin a few years. Mills, foundries and fac- 
:ories constructed, and various manufacturing industries in many instances con- 
ducted b)- former pupils of the school who have arrived at manhood, together 
ivith the tracks and traffic of the New York Central railroad, have completely 
Tansformed Mill street and \-icinit_\- to the uses of manufactures and commerce. 

In the Brown square school, Reuben Johnson, Mr. Mclntire, Ziba Crawford, 
Mr. Kinney and Mr. Boothby were early teachers. Mrs. Latham Gardner, form- 
erly Miss Parsons, was also a teacher there. In both of these schools large 
numbers of the young people residing in their vicinity were instructed. One 
of the female teachers in Brown square school had an admirable wa\- of sub- 
duing insubordinate pupils with music. It is regretful that her name is not 
known to the writer, so that it might be mentioned here. A fe\v years after- 
ward, about 1840, before the existence of the board of education, Patrick Barry, 
then an alderman, was made chairman of a committee of the common council 
to provide for and introduce instruction in vocal music in all the public schools 
of Rochester. Was the goodly method of the teacher aforementioned the har- 
monic prelude and forerunner of the praiseworthy work accomplished by Mr. 
Barry, the good fruits of which were soon apparent in all the schools? The 
"Brown square old stone school-house" is the best remembered school-build- 
ing in the northwestern part of Rochester. It was erected in the day and gen- 
eration of Dr. Matthew Brown, W'ariiam \Vhitne_\- and Darius Perrin. It was 
sold to and demolished b_\- Darius Perrin about thirty \'ears ago, or soon after 
the redi\-ision of the city into school districts under the then new and special 
legislation for public schools for Rochester in 1838-39-40. 

There was also a young ladies' academy established on Mill street, near the 
site of the old New York Central railroad depot, about 1820. Its founder and 
chief teacher was Miss Maria Allyn, who came from a noted family of New 
London, Connecticut. Her brother commanded the good ship Bcllerophon, on 
which LaFayette sailed to America in 1824. A sister married Prof Olmsted, 
of Yale college, and another sister was the wife of J. E. Williams, the then 
wealthiest resident of New London. Miss Allyn's fine education, personal at- 
tractiveness and fitting accomplishments gave her high social position in Roch- 
ester and secured for her school great prestige and complete success. All the 
higher branches of education were taught by the gifted principal. At that time 
Mill street was one of the pleasant and fashionable parts of the village, and 

20 



300 History of the City of Rochester. 

among tlie residents of the street and vicinity were James K. Livingston, Wrr 
Pitkin, Dr. Backus, Dean Mumford, W'arham \\'hitne_\-, Matthew Brown, Judg 
Parker, \Vm. Cobb, Seth Sa.xton, Jolm (;. Vought and other equally prominen 
citizens of that period. The school was fa\'(.>red b\- these gentlemen and b 
other like patrons residing in other parts of the then village and neighborin 
places. Daughters of Isaac W. .Stone, John \V. Strong, Nathaniel Rochestei 
William F"itzhugh, Charles Carroll, Mi'. Pierson of A\on, Samuel J. Andrewi 
Warham Whitney, Le\i Ward, haios Stone, and of other well-known gentle 
men, were pupils of the school. Pleasant memories relating to its distinguishe 
principal and preceptress are retained to this late day and have recently bee 
expressed to the writer b_\' a number of the .ittendants of the school who ar 
yet residents of Rochester. 

Another notable school, to be mentioned both for its early establishment an 
long continuance, was at the north corner of North Clinton and Mortime 
streets, fronting on Mortimer street, on property now belonging to and sout 
of the dwelling-house of D. A. Watson. The building was constructed for th 
school as early as iSiS. The teacher for a number of years was Lyman Cobl 
the author of Cobb's spelling book and Cobb's dictionar)- of the English lar 
guage. Anterior to this, ho\ve\'er, was the school in hhios Stone's barn, hert 
inbefore mentioned and the first school on the east side of the river. Jamt 
S. .Stone, s()n of Imios Stone, born on the east side of the ri\er in i<Sioan 
now residing near Charlotte, has recently informed the writer that he clearl 
remembers attending the school in the barn; that it was located on the nort 
side of Main street, between North St. Paul and Water streets, that he was 
quite )-oung pupil, too )-oung to remember much about the school except i' 
location as abo\-e statetl, that the barn-door seemed very wide and that the fir; 
teacher was a lad\-. He has no distinct recollection of her name, but believt 
the teacher was Huldah M. Strong. Mr. Stone also states that afterward Lyma 
Cobb kept a school in the same barn building before the school on Clinton an 
Mortimer streets was opened and that he attended it. He also subsequent! 
attended Lyman Cobb's Clinton street school. Many of the attendants of tl: 
latter school were the children of the prominent families of the east side of tF 
village. Among the pupils was Alvah Strong, afterward founder of the Roche; 
ter Daily Dcnwcrat, Julius T. .Antlrews and Darius Perrin. Mr. Cobb was 
good teacher and his school was successful, but his spelling-book and dictionar 
though good books of their kind and much used, did not extinguish Webster 
like works. Thurlow Weed and Leonard Stillson, then \-oung printers i 
Rochester and in the eniplo)- of P^verard Peck, did the press work in 1826 f( 
one of the editions of Cobb's spelling-book. Mr. Stillson, now nearh' eight 
years of age, came to Brighton in 1817 and now resides in that town. 

In the old Clinton street school building, religious services were held on Sui 
days and frequently on secular evenings. In it the Third Presbyterian churc 



f 



Fairchild and Filer's Latin and English School. 301 



\.f. organised, in 1827, and Jcisiah HisscU made liis famous offer and engage- 
lunt to construct a building suitable for the religious services of the church 
n six days. The building was dal_\- completed, although the timber of which 
I w as constructed was growing in the adjacent forest on the Monday morn- 
ng preceding the Saturday night on which it was completed. There is a tradi- 
i'ln that St. Luke's Episcopal church, which w^as formed by residents of both 
;he east and west sides of the river, was also, but some years previously, organ- 
ised in this school-house. 

There was also about the year 1820 an English and Latin school established 
lin a .school building near St. Luke's church, by Fairchild and Filer. These gen- 
tlemen stood high in the estimation of the community and their school was well 
attended. In evidence of the good reputation of these gentlemen and of their 
school, and also as an additional indication of the enterprise of Rochester in 
making spelling-books, it may be mentioned that Elihu F. Marshall, of the old 
firm of Marshall & Dean, booksellers on E.xchange street, about this time pub- 
lished Marshall's spelling-book and that he for many months kept an advertise- 
ment in the Rochester Telegraph (Everard Peck, editor and proprietor) contain- 
ing lengthy recommendations of the spelling-book from Welcove Esleeck, super- 
intendent of common schools of the state of New York, dated Albany, March 
22d, 1 82 I, and from Fairchild and P'iler, dated October 2d, 1822. A prelude to 
their recommendation, which was of course written by Mr. Marshall, states that 
"Ph. P. Fairchild and Thomas A. Filer are teachers of a Latin and English 
school of the highest respectability in the village of Rochester." There are no 
surviving old school-boys of that period who do not remember P'airchild and 
Filer's school, and some of them were their pupils. 

About this period, or a short time preceding it, Rev. Comfort Williams, pas- 
tor of the First Presbyterian church, and Rev. F. H. Cuming, rector of St. 
Luke's church, respective!)-, opened schools, that of Comfort Williams being 
located for a considerable time on the east side of Exchange street, nearly op- 
posite the Clinton House, and at another time at his house on what is now Mt. 
Hope avenue. Mr. Cuming's school occupied the chapel or a wooden build- 
ing in rear of St. Luke's church. Mortimer F. Reynolds says that he attended 
Comfort Williams's school when it was kept at Mr. W.'s house, and recited his 
daily lessons to Mr. Williams. Very few if any persons besides Mr. Reynolds 
remain in Rochester who attended these schools, and but little information in 
addition to what he states in regard to them has been obtained. 

There was a quite earh- school for \-oung children established and for a 
number of years continued at the corner of State and Jay streets by Mrs. Mary 
Griffin, an English lady who came to Rochester in 1822 and afterward was mar- 
ried to Jacob Anderson, now of E.xchange street. Her school was a good one 
and was largely attended. A number of the former pupils of the Mill and Piatt 
streets school were at different times pupils of her school. Besides the promi- 



302 History of the City of Rochester. 

nent families in Frankfort heretofore named, Mr. Dalzell, Mr. Alcott, and M 
Draper of Gates were her patrons. Mrs. ("iriltin at a later period moved h« 
school to Allen street, near State street, and about the year I.S30 it was agai 
remo\'ed to the west side of Fxch.uiL^'e street near SjirinLJ. In her school i 
Allen street, sons and ilau_L;hters of John Ha\-wood, Seth Saxton and other res 
dents of that \icinit\' were pupils. The school on Exchange street was discor 
tinued on the marriage (A Mrs. Griffin to Mr. Anderson. 

In about the }-ear 1824 a school was opened at the corner of Buffalo an 
Front streets by Rev. Mr. Mulligan, a handsome and accom]j!ished Irish gentk 
man and scholar, who came to this countr)' and to Rochester at the desire c 
his cordial friend. Rev. L)r. Joseph I'enney, the jjastor of the I'irst Presbyteria 
church. Dr. I'enney often aided Mr. Mulligan in teaching in the \arious de 
partments of the school and they together ga\'e it great reputation and succes 
Man_\' of the best known families in Rochester and \'icinit_\- were its patron 
Both gentlemen deserved and received great praise for their eftorts to advanc 
higher education. Mr. Mulligan was afterw.ird called to Scottsvillc as a paste 
and teacher, and Dr. I'enne)- in after _\'ears was elected president of Hamilto 
college and remo\-ed there. 

Also among the good schools established in Rochester about 1824 was th; 
of Zenas F"reeman, on the north side of Main street, nearly midwa}- betwee 
St. Paul and Clintiin streets, and there was also at a later time, on the same sic 
of the street, the school of Mr. White. iMrs. Charlotte B. Rosebrugh, sister c 
the late William C. Bloss, and now, although at a quite ad\'anced age, dail 
performing the duties of post-mistress of Brighton, informs the writer that she re 
turned from attending school in Massachusetts in 1S24, and in 1824-25 attende 
Zenas F^reeman's school in Main street, to perfect herself in rhetoric and othf 
like studies ami that the school was considered one of the best in Rocheste 
J. M. Winslow was a pupil in 1827 and sa)'s that D. K. Cartter, now chie: 
justice of the District of Columbia ; Nelson Sage, the Wolcott brothers, of M 
Hope avenue; Seth (ireen and sisters, T. C. Bates, Wm. Howe, A. W. Ca: 
penter and sister, Ale\a?ider Petrie, nephew of Flisha Johnson, and man_\- otl 
ers then and since then well known in Rochester were also pupils. The lat 
Judge F^. Darwin Smith, then a law student in Ebenezer Griffin's law office, w; 
teacher of book keeping and writing in this school. 

On the opposite side of Main street, near the corner of St. Paul street, ther 
was a school as earl_\- as I 821. It was attended in that year b_v .Ylvah Stront 
then a quite young boy. Mr. Strong is probably the only survi\-or of th 
pupils of that year, flis father arrived here in I 82 I and sent him immediatel 
to that school, and therefore he distincti}- remembers its locality and the yea: 
There was also an early school on Andrews, near the southeast corner o 
Andrews and St. Paul streets, in a building yet remaining there, and the schoc 
is well remembered b\' a few surviving patrons and pupils. It is probable the' 



Prominent Eari.v Schools and Teachers. 303 



both of these schools were at different periods taught by Nathaniel Draper, and 
VIr. Lockwood, previously teacher in the Piatt and Mill streets school, taught 
n the Andrews street school during one \-ear. 

In the southwesterly part of Rochester, called Corn Hill, there was a school 
istablished about 1820. The school-building was on Adams street and usually 
ibout fifty scholars attended. A Mr. Blake was the teacher about 1823-24. 
Ex-Mayor Michael F"ilon was then a quite young attendant of the school and 
narrates interesting incidents as to Mr. Blake's methods of teaching and disci- 
pline. At a much later period Dr. Bell established a school also on Adams 
street which is remembered by many of the young people of the vicinit\- now 
of mature age. 

At the corner of Plymouth avenue and Troup street, where Plymouth 
church now stands, was a school-building and a succession of schools and 
teachers which make the place distinguished as related to school uses. The 
building was also used for religious assemblies and worship. The school- 
teachers, male and female, who in various periods taught the schools, are 
exceedingly numerous and of great diversity of qualifications. There were 
iris in most of the schools ; and there were but few boys reared in that quarter 
of the town while the building remained there, or previous to about 1850, who 
did not at some time attend the schools. Filer, Tateham, Curtis, Morse, 
McKee, Cook, Miles, Foster and almost all other teachers well known in Roch- 
ester previous to the year above mentioned are by all the oldest inhabitants 
declared to have been at some period teachers there ; but the lack of records, 
and the proverbial indefiniteness of the memory of the oldest inhabitants as to 
names and dates render it now nearly impossible to ascertain the names of all 
of the teachers or give those that are remembered in the order in which they 
taught there. The building was finally consumed by fire. 

Two other schools in the third ward, also largely attended, were those of 
Mr. Metcalf and Mr. Brayton, in St. Luke's chapel, and in Child's building on 
Exchange street, opposite Spring. In these schools T. C. and H. F. Mont- 
gomery,, John and Henry Livingston, Nathaniel Rochester, J. H. Schermerhorn, 
Norton and J. W. Strong and most of the then older boys of the third ward 
and of other parts of Rochester who were at the time in pursuit of higher edu- 
cation, were pupils. There were, about the same period, two schools in the 
western part of Rochester which were continued for many years — one on 
North Ford street, near the Erie canal, and the other on South Ford street, at 
the corner of Spring street. They were also largely attended. Among the 
teachers in the South Ford street school were Samuel Blake, Orson Benjamin, 
Nathaniel Fitch, and in 1828 Jeremiah Cutler had a temporary vacation from 
the county clerk's office and was the teacher. Among his pupils was William 
N. Sage, who, twenty-eight years afterward, was elected county clerk and Mr. 
Cutler was his deputy clerk. 



ieco-c «^ cf Dr. Matthew B'--:^. Miss Crare. sfster of Mri Briard, aJso 

ani c;-rro"er of iie c-j-rrem-c*-. Miss Smith suhsec gently marned ilarrin _ 
v%iio near.y srxr>" years ag:> »"as tise bui-der ot me L n.:teG :?:a:es Hoiei. 

versir.- cf Rcchester- Ir is of tise experiiaent ia the United States 
bniiding of a maisiiaZ labor schoo] for Rochester. ai>c-at the year 1S2- 
brief menticfn is next to be made. The school was deagsed for the 

education of young meiu and for a cme it had a g->:»i:y number of Sii. 

tiemselves. and ■srhatever mechanical skill they had or could acquire, t;' ::: . 



Promivent Early Sch'->ol? axt> Teachers. 305 



Jiolar, was the princ -je institution was 

igb. Although it was a laudable enort to assist young men of limited means 
) obtain an education, and much interest was manifested in the institution by 
lany citizens, it did not succeed, and Mr. Morgan subsequently engaged for a 
me in teaching in the High school on the east side of :hi r:. er. .After.. arc 
e remo%"ed from Rochester to South Carolina, where h 
lany j'ears. His decease occurred but a year or two a^ _ . 

During die period from about 1830 to 1834 there were two notable s: : - 
stablisbed on the west side of the river for the higher ed-j-— - 
idies. The first was the school of the Misses Black, whicJ. 1 

'' : 1830, in the Sill building on the west side of South Fitz .u^r. ;:ree:. near 
: mer of West Main street, and afterward removed to the United States 
; building. The Misses Black were English- " r both 

Vim had been educated at Miss Wlllard's f^ inarj-. 

were well qualified as teachers and were :n ^ reipicis acc„niplished 
Their school was attended by many then young ladies who in after years 
: rt>- in Rochester and in other places. Some of the peculiarities of 
in matters of etiquette and methods of instruction were Er:~]:?h 
- than American, but the school was a flourishing one while it cor" 
A-as satisiactorj- to its patror.- Marria^r. again, as in so mar.-. - 
.J female teachers, occasion- to the Misses B" 

.Ider Miss Black early in 183^ .iian gentleman ;. : 

:o Canada to reside. 

The other school above alluded to and immediately succeeding the Misses 
Blacks' school was that of Miss Sarah T. Seward, afterward Mrs. Gen. Jacob 
(jouM. who was also a graduate of the Troy female seminar)-, and who came 
» Rochester from Lebanon Springs in this state early in March, 1833, and 
almost immediately opened a school in the United States Hotel building. There 
had also come from the Troy female seminarj- Miss Sajies, afterward Mrs. Wil- 
liam S. Bishop. Miss Sayles became the assistant of Miss Seward, as she had 
iaeen of the Misses Black. Miss Seward's school speedily achieved great sue- 
After continuing in the United States Hotel for one year it was removed 
large stone building at the comer of Plymouth avenue and Spring street. 
- ate of the First Presbj-terian church. During its continuance at 
:">r nearly two year?, a-d tjll its remova! t'> .A^exarider street •n the 

1835, it continu -h. and th.- 

- of Rochester t- ^don of th-. 

As the result of this awakening, two new female academies wc- 
: and new buildings for them were erected in 1835 and 1836. Aus: 
avoring circumstances attended both institutions and both were meritorious, 
was Miss Seward's Alexand r -tre-: female seminar)-, the building for 
p. was completed and the sc! ::ober, 1835. The other was 



3o6 History of the City of Rochester. 



the Rochester female academy, uf Fitzhu^^h street, whose building was com- 
menced in 1S35 and completed antl the school opened in Ma\% 1H36. 

The i''it/.huL;h street acadeni)- w.is projected by leading public-spirited citi- 
zens, man\- of whom .ittended a meeting to proninte its establishment, held at 
the office of bmathan t'hild in Januaiy, 1S35. Autlu'iitic records of the ac- 
tion of this meeting and the good results which ilowed from it and of the action 
of subsetjuent like meetings are contained in a l)ook ot recoi'ds which has been 
carefull\' preserved at tlu' academy. In the following l-"ebruai-y a plan of pro- 
cedure was adopted. Si.\t\--se\en gentlemen agreed to divide among them- 
selves and take 200 shai'es of stock of $_'o \-alue per share and thus raise $4,000 
"to purchase a suitalile lot and erect thereon a building for a female seminar)- 
in Rochester." 1 he lot was sf)on afterward purchasetl Irom Anion Hronson for 
$300, subject to a mortgage to Everard Peck of $600, and a contract was made 
with Nehemiah Osburn for the construction of a building for $2,890. In Sep- 
tember, 1S35, trustt'cs were appointed. They were Jonathan Child, Moses 
Cha])in, l-'dijah V. Smith, James K. l.i\ingston and William 1'. Stanton. In 
the winti.!' of 1835-36 the trust(.e-- emijloyed Miss Julia H. Jones as princi])al 
and the Misses Aramint.i 1). and Julia Doolittle as assistant teachers for the 
commencenn-nt of a school in Ma)-, 1836. The school was dul)- .nul most au- 
spiciousl)- o])enetl at the appointed lime and it u-as e.xceedingl)- flourishing and 
successful. 

The institution w.is not ineoi-poi-ated imtil 1837. Tlu: trustees nametl in 
the act of incorporation wei-e James Se)-mour, Jonathan Child, lilijah I'". .Smith, 
James K. Li\-ingston, Moses Cli.ipin and llenr)- H. Williams. After the resig- 
natit)!! of Miss Jones, Miss A. 1). Doolittle he-came, b)- ajjpointment of the 
trustees, the principal and continued in ch.irge of the institution till 1855, when 
.she resigned. Mrs. Cui'tis succeeded Miss Doolittle in that \-ear antl was the 
principal of the school till 1858. In April. 1858, Rev. James Nicliols and his 
wife, Mrs. Sarah ). Nichols, came to Rochester from Gencseo and assumed the 
direction of the institution. The death of Mr. Nichols in 1864 left Mrs. Nichols, 
aided onl\- b)- her .d)ilities and experience as a teacher and by well chosen as- 
sistants, to conduct the \-arions tlepartments of the school. Under her wise 
direction it has continued to the pi-esent da\- to m.iintain high standing among 
the best schools of the city and of Western New- V'ork. The good work it has 
accomplishetl during the nearl)- fift)- )-ears of its existence is of inestimable 
value. Nearl)- four thousand pupils h.ue been instructed in its halls, man)- of 
whoni were advanced to .1 high degree of proficienc)- in know-ledge and excel- 
lency of character. 

Miss Sew-ard's Alexander street seminar)-, a boarding and day school, so 
called, was established in 1835. The school building w-hich Miss Seward caused 
to be erected in that year was large, having sixty-four feet front. It was at- 
tractive in appearance, and the handsome grounds around the building were 



Prominent Schools, 1825 to 1835. 307 



ur or five acres in extent. All the appointments were complete and appro- 

riate to a boarding-school for young ladies. The sum expended by Miss Sew- 

fd and her friends for the grounds, buildings, scientific apparatus and other 

:quisites to a large institution for higher female education exceeded $12,000. 

he ability and skill, as teachers, of Miss Seward and her assistants were justly 

bpreciated not only in Rochester but throughout the state and to some extent 

I other states. The first year after its establishment the school numbered 

early a hundred pupils, many of whom were from various parts of New York 

nd from other states and from Canada, and Miss Seward's seminary took front 

ink with the best like institutions in the country. It was incorporated in 1838. 

)n the marriage of Miss Seward to Cjencral Jacob Gould in September, 1841, 

ason W. Seward, a brother of Miss Seward and president of the corporation, 

' ssumed direction of the institution. It continued its good work under his 

iiidance, aided by Miss Seward's firmer assistants, till 1848, when it was finally 

discontinued, or superseded by the Tracy female institute. In 1856 the grounds 

Ivere sold to Freeman Clarke and the buildings removed to give place to the 

nansion of Mr. Clarke, who now resides there. The foregoing brief histories of 

he Fitzhugh street and Alexander street academies are here given somewhat 

)ut of the proper order as to the relative time of their establishment among the 

•arly schools of Rochester, because the two academies were so immediately the 

uiccessors of the schools of the Misses Black and Miss Seward on the west side 

if the city that their histories inevitably combine and will ever flow together in 

ui\- narrative of the origin and continuance of those schools. 

In now reverting to other schools of the period from 1825 to 1835 which 
Kive interesting histories, the school of Richard Dunning ma)- be mentioned 
next. Early in 1 827 a long, substantial, one-storj- wooden building capable 
'f accommodating one hundred and fift\' pupils was erected on Stone street 
near Main street by Czar Dunning, a well known dry goods merchant of Roch- 
ester, who came here in 1817, and his brother Richard, who was then stud\-ing 
fir the ministr}-. It was the purpose to conduct the school on the Lancasterian 
Mr monitorial plan, then a somewhat popular method of conducting schools, 
and the enterprise therefore attracted much attention. About eighty pupils 
attended. Richard Dunning had previously been to Boston, specially to learn 
the methods of like schools there. The monitorial plan did not prove success- 
ful in this school or in other schools in Rochester where it was subsequently 
attempted. In the autobiography of Richard Dunning — which his son. Czar 
Dunning, who is named after the old merchant and is now a resident of Roch- 
i -,tcr, has permitted the writer to examine — it is stated, as an additional reason 
iir the failure of the school, that "although some of its patrons were wealthy, 
iiiong whom were Josiah Bissell, James Seymour, the banker, and K. D. 
.-iniith, a large proportion were persons of limited means, so that man\- tuition 
bills remained unpaid and the school had finally to be discontinued." It is 



308 HlST(.)KV OK THE ClTY OF RuClIESTER. 



probable tliat the High school on Lancaster street, which was also commenced 
in the same _\'ear, diverteil many pupils and diminished the substantial patron- 
age and encouragement th.it Mi'- Dunning's school wnuld have secured but for 
this circumstance. Smm after the discontinuance of the school, the building 
was disposed of for other uses by Cz.ir Dunning, whuse public spirit antl lib- 
erality from the beginning to the end of the matter were praiseworth}'. The 
teacher, Richard Dunning, soon afterward became a clergyman. Czar Dun- 
ning a few )'ears afterward removed to New Ytu'k, where he largel)' increased 
his wealth as a merchant. Both are now deceased. 

Un Lancastei' street, tpiite near to Main street, a school was opened about 
1S25 and continued fir many _\-ears. A gootUy number of the former pupils 
who are )'et residents of Rochester well remember it. Schuyler Moses says it 
was the beginning of the present district nvmiber I 1 public school, now at the 
corner of Chestnut antl James streets, and that when it was removetl fnim Lan- 
caster street it was immediate))- continued on Chestnut street. The most, if 
not the best, remembered teacher while it was on Lancaster street was Mr. 
Shafei'. Although a pretty good teacher, as the old jjupils say, he hatl \'ery 
striking peculiarities and one thing besides the ruler that riften struck the pupils 
with amazement was that he would occasionall}' smoke his pipe during school 
hours. Nathaniel and George IT. Thompson, Henry S. and Charles \V. Heb- 
ard, Seth (ireen, Jnlin (iorton and juhn W'oollard were attentlants and relate 
man\' reminiscences of the teacher named. Some of them have recenth* ad- 
mitted in a half-Confidential manner that the_\- had personal experiences of Mr. 
Shafer's striking peculiarities which they will ever remember. At a later period 
Mr. Shafer was a teacher in other early schools. 

The Rochester High school was incorporated in 1827. h'or twent_\'-fi\e 
years and till its destruction b_\' fire in 1.S52 it was the chief educational insti- 
tution in Rochester. It w.is located on grounds between Lancaster and Chest- 
nut streets now in [larl occupied b)- the structiu'cs belonging till recentl}' to the 
Third Presbyterian church, but now to the Unitarian church. There are few 
original records relating to the school preser\'ed to the present time excepting 
the brief and formal reports rec^uired to be made annually to the regents of 
the university at Albany. As to any other records it is the testimony of mem- 
bers of Dr. Dewey's family that whatever records of the institution were made 
were kept in the scho(.>l building and were destroyed in the fire that consumed 
the building. h'ew records of any kind ha\e been accessible to aid in prepar- 
ing a sketch of its histor_\'. The recollections of it retained 'by all the older 
inhabitants are nevertheless enduring. It is well remembered by them that 
the school and the school building were the largest of any in Rochester at the 
time; that Dr. Dewey was for a long period the jirincipal of the institution 
and Miss Mar\- H. Allen the chief teacher in the female department; that the 
institution flourished and at times huiguished for the want of greater [jecuniary 



The Old Rochester High Schooi,. 309 

support; that under the direction of Prof. Dewey it flourished to a greater 
extent than ever before, so that it had a greater number of pupils than any 
like institution in this part of the state; that the school building vva^ destroyed 
by fire and the institution thus came to a lamented end. All the surviving 
pupils have vivid and emotional remembrance of the old building and play- 
grounds, the teachers, the associate pupils and the chief events and incidents in 
the school during the respective periods of their attendance, and even the in- 
telligent school boys and girls of all the other early schools remember the 
general history of the High school; but, more than the annual reports alluded 
to and these general personal recollections, and the recorded act of incorpora- 
tion, and amendments to it ; a few advertisements and items as to school e.x- 
aminations and e\'ents occurring to the institution contained in old news- 
papers; a few paragraphs in old city directories and, best of all, in Henry 
0'Riell\''s Sketches of Rochester, and occasional dates to be found in the city 
and county records relating to the corporate transactions of the institution, 
nothing remains of it or its history. The old inhabitants of Rochester and the 
old pupils remaining here or residing elsewhere have attained the age when 
memory falters, and they are one after another, in the voyage of life, nearing 
the eternal shores from which there is no return. Unless some one shall soon 
gather from them and put in proper form and place of preservation whatever 
is yet remembered of the institution, the time antl opiiurtunity for writing its 
history will be lost, and the old High school not many \-ears hence will be for- 
gotten. The prescribed limits of this mere sketch of its history will not per- 
mit much more than the mention of the act of incorporation and the early 
trustees, and of some additional particulars as to the school building and the 
teachers, and of a few incidents and events relating to the institution. 

The act of incorporation was passed by the legislature March 15th, 1827. 
It directed that "school districts numbers 4 and 14 in the town of Brighton be 
iniited in one district for the purpose of instructing youth on the system of 
Lancaster or Bell, or according to any other plan of elementary education, and 
that Levi Ward, jr., Obadiah N. Bush, Davis C. West, Ashley Sampson, Peck- 
ham Barker, Elisha Johnson, Enos Stone, Elisha Ely, Abner Wakelee, Isaac 
Marsh, William Atkinson and Salmon Schofield shall be the first trustees." 
The corporate name of the institution was the " Rochester High school." In 
after years the following named gentlemen and probably others were, for various 
periods, trustees of the institution : Fletcher M. Haight, William W. Mumford, 
Ashbel W. Riley, Levi A. Ward, H. L. Achilles, James W. Smith, William 
H. Ward, Jared Newell, Nathaniel Draper, Allen Wheeler, Everard Peck, 
Julius T. and Samuel G. Andrews, N. Osburn, Frederick Starr, Charles M. 
Lee, William Pitkin and Harvey Humphrey. A lot of land about one and 
one-half acres in extent, fronting on Lancaster street, was obtained from Enos 
Stone for the construction of a large school-building. A pleasant alley- way 



3IO History of the City of Roches ter. 

then extended from Clinton street and terminated in Lancaster street in front 
of the lilt, and was used as a pathway to and from the school during all the 
j)erio(-l the schoiil continued. .\t the request of the trustees, lOr. Levi Ward 
and Ashbel W. Rile\' went to Last Ifem-ielta to examine tile quite larye school- 
buildin;^' then recentl\' constructed there lUid to adopt w'hate\'er plans of con- 
struction were deenicLl apjjropriate to school uses in Rochester. The ])lans 
recommended b_\- those two L;entlenien were adopted by the trustees. /Vshbel 
W. Riley constructed the building, which was placed in about the middle of 
the grounds. The walls were of stone. The dimensions were eighty-five feet 
in length, north and south, fift\'-five feet wide, and three stories in height. A 
cupola, furnished with a bell, surmoimted the center of the structure. There 
were three large doors of entrance, one at the northerl)- end and the others t)n 
the easterly and westerly sides. In the interior of the tw<j coi'ners of the north 
end were two wide stairw-ays with angular windings to the second and thirtl 
stories; and also in the niM'therly part of the building, between the vestibules 
and the large school-roiims, there were two recitation-rooms on each floor, 
which were separated by nortlv and south hall-ways. These hall-wa\'s con- 
nected the vestibules and the large school- rooms. The throngs of junior aiK.l 
senior pupiL in cdl the si.x large and six smaller rooms made the entire building, 
during scIkhiI hours, a vital and busy place. These minor particulai's are note- 
WDi'tliy, because a school of more than half a hundred pupils and a school- 
building with more than one room and exceeding one story in height were, 
in 1827, a great impro\'ement and ad\'ance even for Rochester, and because 
even a brief anil imperfect word-picture that but faintl\- reproduces the old 
building will awaken pleascUit memories in sur\i\'ing [uipils and teachers. For 
that earl}- time, as related to education in Western New \'ork, the building was 
justly regarded as exceedingly spacious antl the appointments complete, for 
the)- included philosophical apparatus b\' which the sciences of chemistry and 
astrononi}- could be iUustrateil. The large schools in the junior and senior 
male and female tlepartments were well maintained b\' carefully chosen teachers, 
and the institution became famous among the High schools in this part of the 
state. 

During the coui'se of the twent_\'- five years the institution existed the num- 
ber of teachers in the various dejiartmeuts, fir longer or shorter periods of 
time, became quite large. In the limited time the writer could devote to 
inquiry it has prox'ed impracticable, at present, to obtain the names of all the 
teachers either in the High school or other early schools, or to obtain accurate 
information, except in a fvw instances, as tii the period of time the teachers whose 
names are known continued in the schools in which they taught. In respect 
to the High school, it is im[)ossible at present even to place the names of the 
teachers who are known in the chronological order of their connection with the 
institution, or relate them, except in a few instances, to the departments in. 



The Old Rochester High Schooi,. 311 



which they taught. Tlie first teachers can, however, be named nearly witli 
accuracy. They were : S. D. Moore, who was tlie first pruicipal, and Mr. Van 
Uake and Miss Weed, who were assistant tcacliers. Afterward there followed, 
with various periods of connection with the institution, Orlando Oatnian, Mr, 
Hartlett, Josiah Perry, Rev, Gilbert Morgan, Daniel Marsh, Henry Stanley, 
George Bartholomew, Mr. Hovey, Philander Davis, Rev. Dr. Chester Dcwe\-, 
Leandcr Wetherill, l.indley Murray Moore, Chauncey Giles, Lieut. Pitkin 
(United States arm\-). William Breck, Rev. Charles Fitch, Mr. Clemens, Nathan 
Brittan, N. W. Benedict, Latham S. Burrows, James R. Doolittle (subsequently 
United States senator from Wisconsin), Mr. Jones, Mr. Ramsay. Among 
female teachers following Miss Weed were Miss Mary B. Allen, Amelia B. 
Colton, Charlotte and Caroline Stanley, Mary Hunt, Helen Mallet, Celestia A. 
Bless, Julia Pierpont, Miss Eaton, Malvina M. Snow (who succeeded Miss 
Allen as chief teacher), Cornelia M. Crocker, Miss Rogers, Miss Clemens and 
Mrs. Greenough, the successor of Miss Snow, After Mrs. Greenough's resig- 
nation. Miss Pierpont was the chief teacher. It is certain, and it is regretful, 
that the foregoing lists are incomplete. 

The female teachers are here named as they were knt>wn at the High school. 
Many, if not all, of them were subscquentlv married. Miss Allen became Mrs. 
Moses King, Miss Mallet is now Mrs. E. G. Billings, and both ladies are still 
residing in Rochester. Miss Bloss established the Clover street seminary, in 
Brighton, about 1846, and while principal of that institution was married to 
Isaac W. Brewster. She is now deceased. 

Dr. Dewey was for the longest period the principal and a continuous teacher 
in the institution. Few gentlemen were more revered and loved by his asso- 
ciate teachers, pupils, and all the people of Rochester than was he, and his 
memory will ever be precious to all who knew him. He came to Rochester in 
May, 1836, by a special call to the High school from its then trustees. He 
was at the time residing in Pittsfield, Mass., and was the principal of the Berk- 
shire institute. He had previously, from 1810 to 1825, been one of the pro- 
fessors in Williams college, Massachusetts. After the destruction of the High 
school in 1853, by fire, he was appointed professor of natural sciences in the 
University of Rochester, in which position he continued nearly to the end of 
his life. He was ever in high repute as a scholar and naturalist, as a most 
skilled and successful educator and most kindly and gracious gentleman. It 
was after Dr. Dewey came to Rochester and introduced into the High school 
the improved methods in teaching of the best like institutions in New England 
that the High school attained its greatest reputation and usefulness, and in- 
creased the number of its pupils from the previous annual average of 400 to 
more than 500. In 1837 the number exceeded 560. 

Miss Mary B. Allen, now Mrs. King, came to the High school as early as 
1830 and remained as chief teacher in the female department seven years. No 



:; I 2 HlST(JRV nF THE CiTV UF R(.)CHE.STF,R. 



other one of the female teachers was as long connected with the institution. 
L'ntler her auspices and wise direction the female department happil)' fli lurished, 
and all the dep.u-tments and teachers wei'e greatlx' assisted hy her gdod ccnmsel 
and her heart\- ilevotion ti ■ the institution. Like thai of Prof l)e\\e_\', he|- 
name will be identified with the institution as loug as it is remembereil. Mrs. 
Grecn(iu;.;h, alsu well kni}\\n and greatly esteemetl in Rochester, was one of the 
later teachers and succeeded Miss Snow as chief teacher in the female depart- 
ment. She is now a resident (if Cambridge, Mass., and, like Mrs. King, has 
attained more than eighty _\'ears of age. The pupils of the High school during 
its long cc.mtinuance numbered in the aggregate not man\- if any less than ten 
thousand. There were but (cw prominent families residing, during its exist- 
ence, in any part of Rochester or the surrounding country that did not at some 
time have a repi"esentati\'e in the school. Its [jupils have been travelers in 
every clime anil residents of the \arious st.ites of the Union and countries of 
the world. Uf the thousands whose education and advancement were com- 
nienceil or continued in the old High school, professional, mechanical, artistic, 
politic, il anil business successes and distinction have attended a large proportion 
of the bo\-s grown to manhood ; and graceful accomplishments, high social, 
literary, .irtistic antl in man)- instances [irofessional re]3utation and distinction 
have also been attained b_\- great numbers of the girls grown to womanhoud. 
Grateful remembrances and delightful associations of the old institution aiul its 
numerous teachers, and especiall)' of venerable Dr. Dewe)', ha\'e ever been and 
w ill ever be retained and cherished by the pupils to the end of life. 

A Catholic school in the basement of .St. Patrick's church was established 
as early as 1S35. During the winter of 1S34-35 Re\'. Hern, ird O'Reilly, pastor 
of the church, rei[ucsted Father Welch, of Hrookl_\m, N. Y., to send a capable 
Citholic teacher to Rochester. In response to this recjuest Michael Hughes, 
who ,irri\ed in America in December, 1834, was sent here early in May, 1835. 
The school w,is inimediateU- opened b\' Mr. Hughes in Dr. Hugh Bradley's 
house, on North St. I'aul street, near Falls field, and continued there while the 
basement of St. Patrick's church was being fitted for a school-room. As soon 
as the school-room was completed the school was renio\'ed to the church and 
Mr. Hughes continued its teacher for seven years, assisted by his wife, Mrs. 
Margaret L. Hughes. .After this period Mr. Kelly became the teacher in 1X4J, 
and in 1843 Patrick Uuin, who is now survi\'ing in the eight}'-fourth _\-ear of 
his age, succeedeti Mr. Kelly and continued to be the teacher till 1 848. The 
school was soon afterwaril remtned to Brown street, where it is still maintained. 

In addition to all the foregoing there should be mentioned man)- other early 
schools that were more or less prominent and were, in man\- instances, of 
much excellence and usefulness. Various and interesting associations and 
recollections as to their teachers and pupils and events relating to the schools 
are yet well preserved, and it was the intention to specially mention some of 



Other Early Private Schools. 313 

these schools and the incidents alluded to, but necessary limitations, which 
cannot be transcended, prevent its being done. In the brief mention of them, 
or many of them, hereinafter made, the order in which they are given pertains 
to tlie years in which they existed and not to their prominence as schools. 
There were many more schools in Rochester, especially during the latter part 
of the period embraced in these sketches, than have been mentioned, as the 
public school districts were increased soon after Rochester became a city in 
1S34 and district schools abounded. It ma\' also be stated that it is not in the 
scope or design of this article to narrate anything as to the later district schools, 
that having been left to Mr. Ellis, the superintendent of the public schools of 
the city, and, as to the other or private schools, information as to all of them 
has not been obtainable. Those of which brief mention can be rftade — giving 
those taught by females first and the years of their establishment or continu- 
ance as nearly correctly as possible — are the schools of Miss Mary Burr, on 
State, near Jay street, in 1822; Miss Mary Sibley, on North Sophia street, 
about 1825, a seminary chiefly for the superior education of young ladies and 
largely attended in its time ; Miss Eliza Weed, Main street, near Clinton street, 
1825 ; subsequently Miss Weed was chief teacher in the first school opened 
for N'oung ladies in the High school; Miss Baldwin, in basement of First Bap- 
tist church, former!)' thirst Presbyterian church building. State street, 1824; 
Miss Hawley, Buffalo street, near the corner of Fitzhugh street, 1826; Mrs. 
Fisher Bullard, State street, near Brown street, 1826; Miss Ursula Paddock, 
Main street, now East avenue, continuing in or near Josiah Bissell's office, op- 
posite the end of Chestnut street, from 1825 to 1831; Miss Hopkins, South 
street, west side, near the corner of Jackson street, 1826, her old school-house 
still standing; Miss Flowers, South Sophia street, about 1828, a popular aca- 
demic school for young ladies, in which the higher branches of education were 
successfully taught; the daughters of Gen. Jacob Gould, Ebenezer Watts, James 
Seymour, Dr. John D. Henry, Wm. J. Shearman, Abelard Reynolds, John 
Caldwell, and many other early and well known residents of Rochester and 
vicinity were attendants; Miss Delia Stone, afterward Mrs. Bishop, missionary 
to Sandwich islands, Fitzhugh street, 1825; Miss Belden, Spring street, 1827—28; 
Miss Sadler, Exchange street, near old circus, 1828; Mrs. Harford, Spring 
street, near Fitzhugh street, 1830; Miss Cleveland, South St. Paul street, west 
side, near Main street, 1828, a popular school for young children, attended b)- 
the younger daughters of Dr. Henry, Mr. Childs of Washington square, P^lisha 
Johnson and other gentlemen, and the sons of Elisha Ely and W. J. Shear- 
man; Mrs. Spaulding, in Smith's stone building, corner of Buffalo, now West 
Main street, and Exchange street, about 1830; Miss Carter, near Washington 
square, about 1830; Mrs. Darrow, Fitzhugh street, near site of Rochester sav- 
ings bank, 1832; Miss Eliza Dickinson, east corner of Main street, now East 
avenue, and Chestnut street, 1832; Miss Humphrey, State street, where Church 



314 History of the City of Rochester. 

street now is opened, about 1833; Mrs. Hotchkiss, Jones street, near Dean 
street, about i<S35; Miss Banning, State street, east side, south of Piatt street, 
i<S36; ^liss Cornell, State street, about 1836; Miss Cliichester, soutliwest c<ir- 
ncr of .State and l^rown streets, about 1837; Miss Palmer, corner of Main and 
Franklin streets, also Amity street, about 1838; Miss Sarah Jane Clark, now 
Mrs. Li[3i)iiicntt of Philadeli)hia, distinguished in literature as "Grace Green- 
wood," North avenue, near L'niversity avenue, 183S. 

There were also the so-c,illed "charitable," or free schools, maintained, at 
\-arious times .after l8jo and till public or free schools were established by law, 
by the First Presbj-teriaii church, 1)\- .St. Luke's church, and b_\- the F"emale 
Charitable suciety, and charit.ible schools for culnred chiklrcii were at various 
times provided. The annals of .ill these schciols are of interest as related to 
the earl}- schools of Rochester. 

Among the schools taught by m.ile teachers v\-ere those of Rev. Mr. Miller, 
school- house on Fxchange street, where the Clinton House now stands, and 
also in schonl-house where the city hall now stands, before the First church was 
erected there, about I 820; Mr. Dodge, same places, after 1820; Ephraim Goss, 
grammar school, Buffalo street, ne.u' corner of F2xchange street, 1825-26. This 
teacher was subsequenth' well known throughout the country as Squire Goss 
of Pittsford : Mr. Wilder, east side of North Sophia street, a largely attended 
school, 1830; Smith Dunh.uii, on oi- ne.ir [jresent site of arsen.il, south 
side of Washington, squ.ire, about 1828 (this was a large school); one of 
Mr. Dunham's li.ilf-lumiorous, half-sa\'age, and very frecjuent greetings to his 
pupils was, "woe unto _\'ou bo_\s ! " ; Mr. Haines, South St. Paul, west side, 
opposite Agricultural buildnigs (school building _\-et there), about 1830 (Mr. 
Sliafer and Mr. J(jhnson were also teachers in this building before 1830, and 
Thomas R. Greening after that time) ; Mr. Mills, Spring street, near Exchange 
street, about 1830; Mr. Spaulding, in Smith's stone building, corner Buffalo 
and Exchange streets, about 1830; Mrs. Spaulding's school for girls was in the 
same building at the same time; Mr. Comstock, in same building about 1832 ; 
Mr. IClliot, assisted by Miss Cunningham, free school maintained by A. W. 
Riley in the Free church, corner of Court and Stone streets, 1833-34-35 ; av- 
erage attendance 100 pupils; Samuel Boothby, Franklin House, subsequently 
Osburn House, 1835, large school (Mr. B. formerly and subsequently taught in 
Brown square and North Ford street schools and on State near Piatt street) ; 
Mr. Flint, State street, near Piatt street, about 1830. 

There was an early school, once on a time, and somewhere in the northwest- 
ern part of Rochester, which was greatly distinguished among either earlier or 
later schools by the circumst.mce that its teacher frequentl}- honed his razor, 
lathered his face and sha\ed himself in presence of his pupils during school 
hours. This cannot h;ive been and probably never will be regarded as proper, 
except when it is geogr;iphicall_\- considered as occurring in the northwestern 



Prominent Schools Since 1840. 315 

quarter and therefore as making a proper balance of things in the early school 
system of Rochester, for it was in one of the early schools in the southeastern 
part of the town, and about the same time, that a teacher frequently smoked his 
pipe during school hours. 

In preparing the foregoing annals of the earl)- schools of Rochester, the line 
of separation between them and the later schools was deemed to be, properly, 
the year 1 840 ; and therefore all the schools hereinbefore- mentioned were estab- 
lished antecedent to that time. This will explain the seeming oversight and 
omission of many once existing excellent schools which have been so long dis- 
continued that they seem to be old schools, and probably would have to be so 
called relatively to and in distinction from those at present existing. Among 
the schools established and discontinued since 1840 maybe mentioned those of 
Miss Mary B. Allen, now Mrs. King, at the corner of North St. Paul street and 
Pleasant street, opened in 1840—41 and discontinued in 1844, and her Allen 
street female seminary, established in 1847 and discontinued in 1869; Mrs. 
Atkinson's female seminary on North St. Paul street (Carthage) afterward on 
Canal street and still later at the corner of Plymouth avenue and Troup street ; 
Miss Langdon's seminary in what was called the Watts building, at the north- 
east corner of Buffalo and Kxchange streets, and afterward in Child's block on 
PI.Kchange street, south of the canal ; Mrs. Greenough's seminar)- at the corner 
of North and Andrews streets and finall)- on Plymouth avenue near Adams 
street ; Satterlee's collegiate institute, at the corner of Atwater and Oregon 
streets; M. G. Peck's East avenue institute, East avenue, near the corner of 
Stillson street ; De Graft's institute for boys, on East Main street, near Stone 
street, and afterward at the corner of Court and Stone streets ; Mrs. Daniel 
Marsh's female seminary, a day and boarding school on South avenue ; East- 
man's commercial college, one of the first of the kind in the country; Miles's 
institute, corner of State and Lyell streets; Rev. Jesse A. Aughinbaugh's 
Catholic college in the Mumford block, corner of South St. Paul and Court 
streets, opened in 1848 and discontinued in 185 1 ; the Tracy female in- 
stitute, on Alexander street ; the schools of Mrs. Isabella Porter and Miss Mary 
Jane Porter in the basement of the Unitarian church on North Fitzhugh street, 
then of Misses M. J. and Almira B. Porter on South 'Washington, near Troup, 
and lastly of Miss A. B. Porter in the chapel of Christ church on East avenue. 

The making of the year 1840 the line or period of demarkation between the 
old schools and the new, as stated, will also explain the omission to give at least 
brief histories of some of the now existing excellent schools of Rochester, which 
have been so long continued that the)- are now often called old-established 
schools. Among these superior and flourishing institutions not hereinbefore- 
mentioned are Mrs. Curtis's Livingston Park seminary, at the corner of Living- 
ston park and Spring street ; Miss Bliss's seminary, at the corner of Spring and 
Washington streets ; Miss Cruttenden's seminary, on Gibbs street, near East 



3i6 History of the City of Rochester. 



Main street, and the \'arious Catholic schools for his/her education. There are 
man\- other pri\-ate schools, so called, and institutions for male and female 
students, secular, p.irochial and denominational, in various parts of the city, and 
some of them ha\e handsome buildings ,uid larye numbers of pupils. The 
splendid reorganisation ami perfection of the jniblic schools in conformit}' to 
the legislation of i,S40-4i ha\'e made them ami the Free academx* deservedly 
popular with all classes ,ind the jM'ide and the boast of all the people of the 
city who ha\e any interest in etlucation. The University of Rcichester and its 
adjunct, the Rochester theological seminary, ha\-e both been steadih' ailvanc- 
ing in usefulness and power since their first establishment in l(S50. The univer- 
sity is now rapidly actpiiring additional resoiuxes for promoting higher and the 
highest education in the \-arious departments of learning and science. Its su|j- 
porters and friemls. who ,u-e all the intelligent people of Rochester, justly rejoice 
in it as the good result of eai'ly and later work in Rochester in behalf of higher 
education, ,uid as the crown and glor_\- of the educational s)-stem of the cit_\" and 
region. rile city has in truth a magnificent compaii)' of schools and educa- 
tional institutions, ;ind the people of Rochester may [iroperlx' be proud of them 
as the acliie\'enient mainly of their own wisdom .uid labors. Tlie_\- ma)' be 
jo_\-ous in them because of the benefits the schools and institutions have con- 
ferred on chiltlreii and youth and on society in time past and will continue to 
confer in all time to come; ami the people of Rochester nia)' and sliouKl be 
exultant in now having in their midst this great compan\' of schools and edu- 
cational institutions as the womlerful outC(.)me, the graml fruition, the benefi- 
cent and splendid result of Huldah M. Strong's first school in luios .Stone's 
barn in the year of grace 1.S13, 

THE CONVENT SCHOOLS.' 

The Academy of the Sacred Heart was established fcir higher studies for 
girls, b_\- the ladies of the .Sacred Heart, in 1S55. Mother Kennedy opened 
the first house in I 85 5, on South .St. Paul street, assisted b)- nineteen Religious. 
The first \'ear the>- hai.1 about tliiit_\'-five pupils. In 1863 they removed to the 
present place on Prince street. The okl building on the premises was enlarged 
in 1866 and it was finished in its present form in 1875. It is of brick, three 
stories high, with a basement for kitchen, dining-room, etc. At present there 
are tliirt_\--si.x Religious in the convent. Mother A. Pardow being superior. 
The pupils number about sixt_\- (t\\enty-fi\e boarders and thirty-fi\e ila\- 
scholars). A Christian free school is connected with the academw It num- 
bers one hundred and twenty scholars, with two teachers. 

Acadeni)' of the Sisters of Mercy. — In this house on South street, near St. 
Mary's church, a con\ent for the Sisters of Mere)-, an acadeni}-, an industrial 
school and a children's home are combined. The Sisters of Mercy were called 



' This article w.is prepared by Rev. I). Lauren/is, under the supervision of Bishop McQuaid. 



The Convent School. 



into the city of Rochester from Providence, by Bishop Tinion, of I^uffalo, in 
the year 1857, Father McEvoy being pastor of St. Mary's ciuirch. The first 
building they occupied was a private dweliingTiouse of brick on tiic present 
site. Five Sisters opened the house, Mother Baptist being superior. The 
building was enlarged in 1876 and the present beautiful structure was finished 
in 1882. It is three stories high, with a basement for kitchen, dining-room, 
etc. There are now twenty- seven Sisters in the house, Mother Frances being 
superior. They teach St. Mary's parochial school, and conduct a select school 
or academy with about fifty pupils. The industrial school connected with the 
con\ent was established in 1872. It numbers about fifty pupils. The children's 
home was established in 18S2. Its object is to take care of small children 
while their mothers are at work. It numbers about twelve children. 

Academy of Nazareth convent, on Jay street, corner of Frank, is the mother 
house of the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was opened in 1871, Mother M. .Stanis- 
laus being superior. The Sisters of this community teach the parochial schools 
of St. Patrick's cathedral, St. Bridget's church and the Immaculate Conception 
church in this cit\- and nearl)- all the parochial schools of the diocese. The 
house was opened with about twent}' Sisters. The building was enlarged in 
1871-72, and the present building was finished in 1876. It is of brick, three 
stories high, with a basement for kitchen and dining-room. The academy con- 
nected with the convent was opened in 1872; it numbered then about thirty 
pupils. At present there are about one hundred pupils, twenty boarders and 
eight}' da\- scholars. There are about si.xt\- Sisters in the house. Mother M. 
Agnes is the present superior. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



THK I'UliLlC SL'lIOOI.S.l 



\hc I'irsl Hu:ir,l of EduL-aliui, — 'I'lif Scho.jl CenMis in 1S41 — Tlie .Moilcin Ilij,'h Scliool — Kiee 
SchuoK K.,ialilished in 1S49 — ( )i>i)usition to the Sy^tenl — Tlie iJifhculliei Suiiuountcd — The Com- 
mon Schools of the City — .\ .Sketch of Each One. 

THE first board of education of the city of Rochester was organised in 1841. 
Only a few meager facts are obtainable in reference to the history and 
condition of the common schools previous to that time. That they were much 
inferior to the private schools established and conducted in those early years of 
the city's young life, seems clear from a flattering notice of the private schools 
in O' Rielly's History of Rochester. The only reference he makes to the com- 

^ Thi;- sketch wa.s prepared by Mr. S. .\. Ellis, the superintendent of public schools. 



3i8 History of the City of Rochester. 



mon schools is the foHowing. After speaking of the old Rochester High school 

— not a free schocil — the female seminaries i>n l''itzhugh and Alexander streets, 
he says : — 

•■ In addition to the seiiiinnries already nientumed, there arj several select sehuols in 
tlie ( itv. the ulmle mniilier of this rlass lieiiij,' ei.^hteen. llcMdes these, there are thir- 
teen coninioii school districts and two half districts within the < ity limits, in one of which 
districts a spacious and heaiilifiil edifice has been erected — the IniildinL,' next north of 
St. laike's ( liiirch — uhich iniyht he advantai^eoiislv used as a model for similar struct- 
ures in other districts." 

The proprietors of the land constituting the site of the village of Rochester 

— Messrs. Fitzhugh, Carroll and Rochester — set apart, as a free gift, lots for a 
court-house, jail, church and school-house. The lot upon which the first school- 
house was erected was a part of the site now occupied by the Free academ\' 
building. It was a plain, c)ne-stor\' building, with desks arranged around the 
room (in three sides, in such a manner that the pupils faced the walls. There 
was an open fire-jdace at one end. The entrance was on the side ne.xt to St. 
Luke's church. The seats were niosth' constructed of slabs, with the flat sur- 
face uppermost, and with legs driven in the ojtposite side, on which the)' were 
supported, and were without backs. 

A census of school children was taken in January, I 841. The lumiber ot 
children of school age re]3orted was 4,343, with ,111 average attendance in the 
public schools of 1,050, with twent)' teachers, while i ,226 are reported as in at- 
tendance upon thirty-three private schools. There were, at that time, twelve 
school districts in the city. Of school-houses, there were three good, and four 
poor, while fi\e districts were without buildings. A report of that year says: 

"The public schools have not the inililic confidence. The best (iti/ens do not be- 
lieve that their children can obtain in the common schools that thorough mental disci- 
pline, that culture of their moral principles, and that attention to their habits imd man- 
ners, wliich they deem indispensable to their welfare." 

( )n the 2Jd day of June, 1S41, the first board of education was organised, 
of which Levi A. Ward was made president. L F. Mack was elected the first 
superintendent (if schools and proved himself a capable and efficient officer. 
He held office from 1S41 to 1846, and was succeeded in ttna: by Samuel L. 
Seidell, H. R. Mc.\lpine, Washington Gibbons, Daniel Holbrook, R. D. Jones, 
J. Atwater, L S. Hobbie, 1'. H. Curtis, C. N. Simmons, S. A. Ellis and A. L. 
Mabbett ; of these Daniel Holbrook served two terms and C. N. Simmons three 
terms. The present inctimbent, S. A. Ellis, is serving his second term. The 
longest continuous term of office held by an)' of the foregoing was b)' S. A. 
Ellis, and was for se\'en )ears. Henry E. Rochester was elected the first county 
superintendent of common schools for Monroe count)' and rendered effective 
ser\'ice in the cause of education. 

Previous to the organisation of the board of education, the ma)'or, aldermen 
and assistants were, bv virtue of their oflice, commissioners of common schools, 



The Pi'Bi.ic Schools. 319 



in and for the city; and were authorised to perform all the duties of such com- 
missioners. Ill Januar)-, 1S42, there were fifteen school districts in the cit\- and 
seven school buildinLjs. One of these, a brick building, is still standing, at the 
corner of Rc_\-nolds and Tremont streets, and is used as a dwelling-house. The 
board were about to erect two other buildings. The report for that year says : 
"The public schools are far superior to the select schools the\' ha\e supplanted." 
At that time 2,300 children were in regular attendance, with thirt\--four teach- 
ers. The total cost of the schools for the year was $13,000. A report made 
June 19th, 1843, gave the number of districts as fifteen, with eight commodious 
brick school-houses, the average attendance of pupils as 2,500, and annual cost 
of the schools as $19,000. In the second annual report of the board, made by 
Superintendent Mack in January, 1844, the average attendance' of males was 
2,161, of females 2,085. During this period each district was assessed to meet 
the larger amount of the expenses incident to the administration of the school, 
the other portion being an appropriation by the state. Many honored names 
of the citizens of Rochester are found in the list of those who. from the first, 
took a prominent part in the administration of the affairs of the public schools. 

On the 26th of March, 1849, the act establishing free schools throughout 
the state was passed b\- the legislature. After the passage of the act, strenu- 
ous efforts were made by the enemies of free schools to secure its repeal. On 
the lOth of July a free school con\-ention, consisting of delegates from every 
section of the state, met at Syracuse. Wm. C. Bloss and Frederick Starr were 
the delegates from this city, and zealously championed the cause of free schools. 
The attempt to secure the repeal of the law was signally defeated. In 1850 
the school districts were consolidated and the schools made free to all children 
between the ages of five and sixteen. 

To Rochester belongs the distinguished honor of having first conceived and 
given shape to the idea of the modern free "high school." In the year 1830 
a committee, consisting of Joseph Penney, D. D., O. C. Comstock, D. D,, 
Matthew Brown, jr., Levi A. Ward and Heman Norton — appointed by the 
citizens of Rochester at a large and enthusiastic meeting, held for the purpose 
of memorialising the state legislature on the subject of our common schools — 
presented, in April of that year, a memorial and a plan for their improvement. 
This seems a most remarkable document, read even in the light of more than 
half a centur)- of progress in the public school system of the countr)-. Fol- 
lowing the direction of [)ublic opinion, it indicated, in no imcertain way, the 
various imjirovements that have followed, and which have tended to the infu- 
sion of new life int<.) the whole system. Among the improvements recom- 
mended was the establishment, in each town, of a central high school, or higher 
school of the most approved standard of excellence, so connected with all the 
other schools in the town as to exert the most salutary influence upon the gen- 
eral interests of education, and aid in the preparation of well qualified teachers. 



History of the City of Rochester. 



As the result of this memorial, in I (S40, in the larijer towns and cities of the 
state, union and hi_i;h schools were established, and in successful operation. It 
was out of such cniuictions as these men expressed in their memorial that the 
iiKidern hi.L;h school orew. By the act of the 2Sth of April, 1S34, the com- 
mon council, as commissioners of common schools of the city, were authorised, 
upon the consent of an_\- number of school districts, to orL;anise one or more 
"high schools." This power, b)' the act of the JOth of AIa_\-, 1841, was trans- 
ferred to the board of education. Superintendent Mack, in his second annual 
report in I S44, makes an eloquent plea for a school where "talented antl am- 
bitious \-outh of our cit_\' could ha\e all the facilities necessary for a thorough 
education." His successoi's in office continued to urge the establishment of 
such a school, and \<naous committees made it the subject of report and recom- 
mendation, alleging that the "public schools of Rochester would ne\'er arrixe 
at that degree i.if perfection, or accomplish full}' their design, until a high 
school should be established." /\11 these rei)orts, ai-gunients and recommend- 
ations finally culminated, and the enterprise was inaugurated by the board of 
education in the spring of iS57,an(l the school opened November 1st, occup\-- 
ing a part of the lot on which the hree academy building now stands. In Sep- 
tember of that year, <it the first entrance examination, two hundred and six- 
teen candidates made application, of whom one hundred and sixt\'-fi\'e were 
admitted. The first staft" of teachers consisted of C. R. I'omerov, A. M., prin- 
cipal ; Edward Webster, A. M.\ Frederick G. Surbridge, A. M.; Mrs. Mar\- J. 
Pomeroy, preceptress ; Miss I'lmma M. Morse and Miss Susan K. Butts. Prof 
I'omero}-, shortl)' afterward, resigned; Prof Webster succeeded him as j)rin- 
cipal and held this position until the close of the school _\-ear in 1864, when he 
resigned. Dr. N, W. l^enedict succeeded him, anil was at the head of the 
school until the close of the school )-ear in June, 1SS3, when he was succeeded 
b_\- Prof 7.. P. ra_\-lor, A. i\I., who is now the jjrincipal of the school. 

The scliool has had its vicissitudes and its struggles. For several years 
after its establishment its enemies — for it had them — sought to create a pub- 
lic sentiment against it. But its earl)- friends — such men as F"rederick Starr, 
Wm. C. Bloss, Dr. Kelsey, S. D. Porter, P^dwin Pancost, George W. Parsons, 
Levi A. Ward and a host of others — rallied to its support, and saved it. 
Whenever the people have spoken, the)- ha\e said in no uncertain terms that 
the High school was "here to sta)-." The school haxing grown too large to 
be accommodated in the old building, the legislature, in I 872, passed an act, 
authorising the cit)- to raise b)- public tax the sum of $75,000, for the purpose 
of erecting a new- building. An additional lot was purchased directly north of 
the old one, plans were drawn and accepted, and the work of construction was 
pushed rapidl)- forward. When the building was partiall)- finished, it became 
apparent that the ap[)ropriation would not complete it, in accordance with the 
plans. Se\-eral members of the board of education were in favor of changing 



The Public Schools. 321 



tlie plans, so as to complete the building and still keep within the appropria- 
tion. Other counsels prevailed, however, and during the following session of 
the legislature an act was passed, authorising the raising of an additional $50,- 
000. During the intcr\"al, and while the building was in progress of construc- 
tion, the School was accommodated with quarters in the Masonic block. The 
building was completed and furnished in March, 1873, and on the 23d of that 
month the school took possession. 

, The building is not only handsome and substantial in architecture, but ad- 
mirably adapted to the purpose for which it was constructed. It is in l-'rench 
Gothic style, with pavilions on either side, terminating in turrets. It has a 
French roof and its appearance is greatly improved by the trimmings and 
wintlow -caps, which are of Ohio and Gainesville stone. It stands in a lot which 
has a frontage of ninet\--nine feet and one hundred and sixty- five feet in depth, 
ha\ing been enlarged by an addition of thirty- three feet front, to the same 
depth as above. The building, as it now stands, is four stories in height, with 
basement, and is eighty-three feet in width, b}' one hundred and thirty in depth. 
There are seven entrances — three in front and two on each side. The central 
entrance leads to the superintendent's office. The other two lead to the halls 
and stairways, which are in the pavilions. The principal rooms on the first 
flinjr are one on the north side thirty b\- thirt>-seven, occupied by the Central 
library, and one on the south side, used for the meetings of the school board, 
w hich occupy the central part of the building. The superintendent's offices are 
in the front, and are twenty-four b\' thirtj'-two, and thirty- two by sixteen, 
respectively. There are two rooms in the rear, of the same size, one of which 
is a committee room and the other is used as a dressing room b\' the \-oung 
ladies' department. On the second floor, besides the halls, there are three 
recitation rooms, the principal's room, a large study room for the boys and two 
rooms occupied by the professor of natural sciences-— one as a recitation room 
and the other as a laboratory. The main rooms are thirty by sixt)--seven and 
the recitation and other rooms twenty-four feet square. On the third floor 
there are two recitation rooms in front and two in the rear, while the central 
space, sixt\--one b}- sixty-seven feet, is occupied as a study room for the young 
ladies. The fourth floor has an assembl}- room, which is sixt)--one by ninety 
feet with a room in rear t\vent}'-four b)' fort_\'-eight, at present seated and 
occupied by the business department of the school. The rooms are all high 
between joists, and nearly all well lighted. The building is heated b\- steam, 
and is one of the best ventilated structures in the city. The entire cost of 
building and furniture, with the additional lot purchased, was about $150,000. 
The school itself, almost with its organisation, took rank among the first of 
its class in the state. Since that time it has steadily grown in public favor, by 
the high character of its work, until, to-day, it has probably no superior of its 
kind in the country. There are four courses of study — the classical and col- 



History of the City of Rochester. 



lege preparator)', the English, the scientific and the business. The first three 
are fnur )e.irs in length, each, while the last is one year. In each course are 
named some optional studies. The academy has three annual scholarships in 
the L'niversity of" Rochester, the gift of the boartl of trustees of that institution 
to the board of education. Thus it is that the uni\ersity, although an endowed 
institution anil supportetl b_\' pri\'ate enterprise, becomes practically, b\' the 
opportunities it oft'ers to our _\-oung men, a part of our free school system, and 
comjjletes the system from foundation to cap-stone. 

The I'ollowing are the instructors in the h'ree acatlemx', with their depart- 
ments : Z. r, Taylor, |)rincipal — Latin, political economy, ci\il go\x-rnnient, 
commerci.il law; 1'". V.. (den — Latin .md (ireek; Dr. Forbes — physics, 
geolog}-, ph_\'siology and (.Irawing ; Alexander Trzeciak — German; L. M. Miller 
— Latin and book-keeping; Amelia L. Hrettell, [jreceptress — general histor_\-, 
English literatuie and I'.nglish ; Mary M Oilman — algebra and arithmetic; 
Marion Low ry — geometry antl algebra re\iews ; Clara E. Budlong — elocu- 
tion and composition. There are, at jiresetit, registered as members of the 
school, 4^6 pupils, about twn-thirtls of them young ladies. The total number 
of pupils enrolled but once (.luring the ye.ir KSS3-84, to date (Jime, l8cS4), is 
42J. The numtjer belonging is 347. 'The number of dail_\- attend. mts is 334. 

School No. I — Industrial school. Intermediate and primary ; was organ- 
ised as a public school in |ul)', 1877, and occupies rooms in the Industrial 
school building on Ivxchange street, nearly opposite Court street. It is made 
up [iartly of " day puj.jils " — those who are there only during school hours — 
and partly of the "house cliildi-en," or those who ha\'e their home there. The 
latter are mostl_\- orphans or those forsaken b}' their natur<d parents. Out of 
school hoiu's the children are cared for by the lad\^ managers of the institution 
and <ire clothed by them as necessity reipiiix's. The day pupils are fmaiished 
with their tlinners. There are no district boundaries, and pupils are admitted 
to the school from all parts iif the city. 'The salaries of the teachers and of the 
janitor, the rent of the school-rooms aiul the cost of fuel for the use of the 
school are paid b_\- the board of education. The number of scholars enrolled but 
once in the month of March was 213 and the average dail)' attendance was 92. 
Faculty — Mi's, C. ]■'.. Tugh, principal, ami Misses F). C. Wilson, J. Kostbahn 
antl A. \i. Jennings. 

School No. 2 — Madison school. Intermediate and primary; previous to 
the _\-ear 1 S43 occujiied a small building on F'ord street. Inuring the \'ear 1843 
a lot was purchased on King street, facing Mechanic square on the south — now 
Madison p. irk — and a twn-story brick buikling, fort\- b_\- si.\t_\--four feet, erected 
at an expense of $3,000. In 1872 this ga\e way to a larger and finer struct- 
ure of brick, two stories in height, containing si.x class-rooms and an assembly 
room. The cost of the [jiesent building was about $20,000. Number of pupils 
enrolletl, 314; number in dail\- attendance, 251. Faculty — Miss Emma A. 



The Public Schools. ^2^, 



C. Hayes, principal ; Misses F. A. Reichenbach and F. A. Merriam, Mrs. Mary 
E. Bassett, Misses Anna W. Lathrop, L. J. l^idwell, C. E. Sanborn. 

School No. 3 — Tremont school. Grammar, intermediate and primary. 
The first building for this district was erected in I 842, and was located on a part 
of the present site, on what was then known as Clay street. This structure was 
replaced by another building, erected in 1S54. In 1877 ''•''' addition was pur- 
chased to the lot, which now extends from Tremont through to Edinburg street 
and is 235 feet deep. The same year the building was enlarged and in 1882 
it was remodeled throughout. It is two stories in height and contains twelve 
class-rooms. Number of pupils enrolled 743, number in daily attendance 5 19. 
Faculty — James M. Cook, principal; Misses Mary A. Sterling, N. E. Echte- 
nacher, Miriam F. Richmond, Grace A. Badger, Aggie M. Stewart, L. E. Gil- 
lis, Nellie E. Gregory, Libbie S. Van Doom, Annie Shaffer, Julia IC. Gilson, 
Mary E. Abbott, Franc L. Carhart, E. A. B. Chapman, A. P. Couch. 

School No. 4 — Genesee school. Grammar, intermediate and primary. 
The first building for this school was erected in 1842. It was a two-story brick 
and was located on the corner of Reynolds and Clay (now Tremont) streets. 
The total cost was about $2,500. A new building was erected on South Fran- 
cis street in 1857 ; destro\'ed bv fire in December, 1873 ; rebuilt in 1874. In 
1879 it was enlarged by the addition of two wings. It is three stories in height 
and contains eighteen school-rooms. Steam heating and ventilation was intro- 
duced in 1882. Number of pupils enrolled 923, number in daily attendance 
696. Faculty — Samuel C. Pierce, principal; Misses Ella I. Munson, E. J. 
Munson, L. M. Oualtrough, I-:. Delia Brown, D. E. Clark, Amelia L. Leahy, 
Hattie E. Perry, Nellie E. Spies, L. C. McClelland, Mary J. Frazer, L. J. Con- 
nell, Julia G. Lyndon, Libbie M. Clements, Mary A. Derrick, Emma M. Mat- 
thews, A. B. Edwards, A. L. Mabbett, E. T. Wooden, E. P. Wetmore, Ida V. 
Rogers. 

School No. 5 — Central school. Grammar, intermediate and primary. 
The first building for this school was of brick, two stories high, and was erected 
in 1842 and located on what was then Center scjuare, between Jones and Frank 
streets. The total cost was about $5,000. In 1876 a new lot was bought, on the 
corner of Jones and Dean streets, and a new two-story brick building erected. 
It contains ten school-rooms and cost, with lot, about $32,000. Number of pu- 
pils enrolled 475, number in daily attendance 338. Faculty — N. C. Parshall, 
principal ; Misses E. E. Young, N. C. Lathrop, I. L. Monroe, M. Crennell, M. 
L. Hanvey, I. M. Banta, A. M. lui right, K. W. Evans, F. V. Wright, Mrs. M. 
A. Morgan. 

School No. 6 — P'ranklin school. Grammar, intermediate and primary. 
The first building for this district was erected on Smith street, in 1841-42, at a 
total cost, with lot, of $4,000. Th e present building is located between Lyell 
and White streets, with the front on Lyell street, was built in 1852 and enlarged 



324 History of the City ok Rochester. 

in 1S57 ami remodeled and enlari^^ed in I 88 I. It is two stories IiIljIi and con- 
tains fourteen class-roonis. Nunibei- of pupils enrolled J l" . number in dail_\- 
attendance 581. l-'aculty — J. 1.. Townsend, princiiial ; Misses M. A. Clack- 
ner, M. Iv l)e Poe. Clara .St.ice. C. ]■'.. Servoss, V.. R. Clackner, 1{. I. Brown, 
L. M. Kane, M. II. Johnston, V.. .S. Alleyn, L. J. Hrown, M. ( ). I'.rown, C. K. 
Leavenworth, S. J. McGovcron, K. J. Hennett, M. V.. Denny, Anna Toaz, M. 
A. Hell. 

School No. 7 — Cilenwood school. Grammar, intermediate and primar)-. 
The present buildinL;, which is of brick and two stories in height, C(.)ntaining 
eij^lit school-rooms, was erected in 1859. It is located on Lake a\enue, in 
wh.it was formerly know as McCrackeinille. Number of pupils enrolled 41 i, 
number in daily attendance J8y. P'acult)- — Mrs. A. M. Low r\-, principal; 
Misses h:. A. Larab\-, Libbie C. Heiser, S. L. DeLano, M. G. Weed, M. V.. 
Connell, V.. .S. 1>l11, I~annie Aiken, Jennie McHurney, Annie F. Boyd. 

School Xo. 8 — Carthage school. Grammar, intermediate ami primar}-. 
The first buildiuL; was of wood, and was located on Railroad street, in what 
was then known as CarthaL^e. The [nesent liuildinL,' is ot brick ami erected in 
1855. remodele<l and enlart^ed in 1881. It is located on North St. I'aul street, 
about two miles iVom the centei' of the cit_\-. It is two stoiies in hei;4ht. The 
sccoulI stoi\- is unhnislu-d. There are two L^ood-sized class-rooms and a reci- 
tation room. Number of i)upils enrolled 139, number in dail}' attendance lOO. 
h'acult)' — Miss L. M. Daniels, pi-inci])al ; Misses J. A. L}-nn, Mar_\' W. Lee, 
Alice A. Clarke. 

School No. 9 — .\ndrews school. Grammar, intermediate and primar_\' ; 
was first held in rented rooms on luiimett street. The fu'st buikliiiL; was 
erected on the present site, on .St. Joseph street, in 1841. It was of brick and 
one stoi-y in lieiLjht. This was blown down durini; a severe wind storm, or 
CN'clone, while the school was in session, in June, 1846. Many of the pupils were 
se\ erel_\- mjured, and others met with very n.irrow escapes. It was rebuilt that 
same year and replaced b_\' a new two-stor_\' brick buildint^r, in the shape of a letter 
L, in i860. There were seven school-rooms on each floor, separated by slidini;- 
glass partitions, which were ,it that time \ery ]iopular. It was entirely re- 
modeled in 1881, and, ,is it now stands, is three stories in height and contains 
si.\teen school- rooms. Numbei' of pupils enrc^lled 771, numbei- in dail_\- at- 
temlance 598. I""acult\' — L. R. Sexton, principal; Misses Isabella Rogers, 
Jennie T. Lennon, l-lUa V.. Geraght}', Laura B. Southard, Matilda H. Oswald, 
Rosa G. Goddartl, J. L. Joy, Julia T. Madden, Katie A. Cunnean, Lottie M. 
Weitzel, Mattie Beattie, Luc\- A, Fitzgerakl, N. G. Mahonew Laur.a V.. Leland, 
Lcona Ho\t, Mar>- L. l^aird. 

School No. 10 — Atwater school. Grammar, intermediate and primary. 
The first building was of stone, two stories in height, and was located on An- 
drews street. In 1 S42 it was enlarged and improved. The building now oc- 



TiiK I'LMLic Schools. 325 



cupied by the school was erected in 1853 and is located on North Clinton 
street, near Andrews. A third story was added in 1866 and finished in 1870. 
It was enlarged in 1878, and steam-heating and ventilation were put in in 1880. 
The building is of brick and contains thirteen school-rooms. Number of pupils 
registered 525, number in daily attendance 420. Faculty — V. M. Colvin, 
principal; Misses C. A. Page, A. M. Galbraith, Susie A. Moore, F. B. Gregory, 
M. C. G. Houghtaling, Bertie O'Rorke, H. L. Ball, O. A. Home, A. B. Glea- 
son, H. L. Rapalje, A. E. 0\iatt, S. L. Ke\-es, S. L. Epstein. 

School No. II — Chestnut school. Intermediate and primar)-. The first 
building was erected on Chestnut street in 1841, at a cost of about $3,500. 
The present building was erected in 1876, on the same lot. It is of brick and 
two stories in height. It contains four class-rooms. Number of pupils en- 
rolled 245, number in daily attendance 170. F"aculty — M. A. Hayden, prin- 
cipal; Misses Mary Purcell, Helen F. Samainc, Emma E. Home, Jennie Cran- 
dall, Alice M. Kirby. 

School No. 12 — Wadsworth school. Grammar, intermediate and primary. 
The building in this district was erected in 1841 and is located on the north 
side of Wadsworth square. The lot and a suitable philosophical apparatus 
were the gift of General Wadsworth, of Geneseo. The present building was 
erected in 1857, enlarged in 1872 and remodeled in 1882. It contains ten 
class-rooms. Number of pupils enrolled 5 19, number in dailj' attendance 384. 
Faculty — \V. H. Bosworth, principal; Misses D. Pierce, Jean Shaw, Jessie F". 
Booth, Helen C. Mudge, Etta C. Miles, E. M. Shaw, Eva C. Skinner, C. E. 
Millman, Lizzie Pierce, Julia M. Baker. 

School No. 13 — Munger school. Grammar, intermediate and primary; 
occupied rented rooms on South St. Paul street in 1843. The school building 
was erected in 1845, on the present site, extending from Hickory through to 
Munger street. It was enlarged in 1852 and again in 1866, and remodeled in 
1 87 1. Steam-heating and ventilation were introduced in 1880. The building 
is of brick and two stories in height. There are ten class-rooms, separated by 
sliding glass partitions. Number of pupils enrolled 653, number in daily at- 
tendance 475. Faculty — A. G. Knapp, principal ; Misses E. M. Watson, L. 
L. Lamoureux, L. A. Manvel, N. A. Monaghan, J. B. Foote, R. G. Bolles. M. J. 
Lennon, C. M. Gillett, A. R. Page, H. E. Hoyt, Julia McNab, E. A. Phillips, 
A. L. Donivan, Sarah Reeves, C. M. Gillett. 

School No. 14 — Riley school. Granmiar, intermediate and primary. 
The first building for this school was erected previous to the organisation of 
the board of education and was built parth- of brick and partly of stone. It 
was enlarged in 1842. The present building, which is of brick and three stories 
in height, was erected in 1850, and remodeled and enlarged in 1877. It con- 
tains fifteen class-rooms. It is located on the east side of Scio street, where 
the first building was erected. Number of pupils enrolled 708, number in daily 



326 History of the City of Rochester. 

attendance 516. Faculty — John G. Allen, principal; Mrs. J. R. Hill, Misses 
L'na .Stills,, n, K. Manvel, I'.. J. l-.atnn, lUanche Randall, L. W. Van Dake, K. 
II. Unrx'ec, .S. W. H.iwc, N. l'.. Lucas, M, F. Lo-an, T. Van Bergh, .S. Van 
HerL^h, T. McMahon, .Amy Tamblin-snn, Lottie C. Merrell. 

School No. 15 — .Monrijc school. (Ir.uiiniar, intermediate and primary. 
The fiist buildiuL; for this school was erecteil in 1842. It was (.if brick and one 
stor\' in lu'i;_;ht. It was located on ^Vle.xander street, near Monroe avenue. In 
1873 the cit\- obt.iined the title to the old cemeterv lot on Monroe a\enue near 
Alexander street. The lot contained nearly two acres. Consent of the owners 
of lots having been obtained, the remains of the buried were removed to other 
burial grounds, <ind a new building of brick, three stories in height, was erected. 
It was completed in 1S74. The school, however, occupied it but a few years, 
f)r on I'\-bru,u-_\- 2cl, iSSi, it was destrox'etl by fire. It was rebuilt the follow- 
ing _\'ear. The building, which is of brick, three stories in height, and furnished 
with steam-heating and ventilation, is the finest grammar school building in the 
cit\'. There are twehe cl.iss-rooms, four on each floor. Number of pupils 
enrolled ^163, number in daily attendance 44S. I*"aculty — J. \V. Osborn, prin- 
cipal; Alisses ;\. M. Perry, Fmilv Ilanfon.1, Lilian Whiting, Josephine Row, 
C. M. Lear, C. S. Hetteridge, L. M. Lanksbury, Fannie Goss, Millie Grover, 
Kittie .A. Butler, Bell Gro\-er, Maggie Townson, I'".mil}' Niven, Frances Decker. 

.School No. 16 — Hutlson school. Intermediate and prim, u'_v. The build- 
ing for this school was erected on North street, the lot e.xtcnding through to 
Hudson street, in I 850. It was remotleled in I 87 I and enlargetl and remodeled 
in 1881. It is built of brick and two stories in height, and contains eight class- 
rooms, si.\ of which are sepcUiited b_\- sliding glass partitions. Number of 
pupils enrolled 396, number in dail\- attendance 308. l^'aculty — Miss Lizzie 
A. McGonegal, principal; Misses IMl Tait, A. M. Wells, ]L M.Patterson, 
Sarah Hanna, H. F. lulgar, Ivffie La Trace, Minnie A. Sontag, M. K. Archer. 

School No. 17 — Whitne\' school, (jrammar, intermediate and jji'imar)'; 
it first occupied rented rooms on Orange sti'eet in 1 85 5. The buikling 
now occupied by the school, which is of brick and two stories in height, is 
located on the corner of Orange and Sa.xton streets. It was built in 1858, and 
remodeled and enlarged in 1878. It contains fourteen chiss- rooms. Number 
of pupils enrolled 652, number in 'daily attendance 467. P^aculty — G. H. 
Walden, principal ; Misses M. J. McC^orra)-, ¥.. iM-eeland, M. E. Malone, Mag- 
gie M. Wallace, A. K. McPherson, Mary Niveii, A. M. McAnarne\-, G. A. 
Blackman, S. Iloekstra, M. L. Levis, A. K. Roche, Mary L. Coughlin, Sarah 
L. Coughlin, I. Smith. 

School No. 18 — ConC(n-d school. Grammar, intermediate and primary. 
The building first occupied by this school was erected in 1867. It was first 
located on the corner of Draper street and North avenue. The present building 
occupies a large lot on Bay street, extending through from Concord to North 



The Puhi.ic Schools. 327 



avenue. The building was enlarged in 1873. It is a two-story brick structure, 
and contains fourteen class-rooms. Number of pupils enrolled 944, number 
in daily attendance 675. Faculty — Miss Sarah Shelton, principal; Misses 
Mary iMJer, !\Iinnie R. Van Zaiult, lunma M. Moscr, Cora M. Cootc, Sophie A. 
Nash, Cornelia R. Jennings, K. h'annie Cowles, H. A. Robinson, Mary A. 
O'Niel, Laura E. Schminke, N. E. Farber, Minnie Henry, Anna J. Tomlin, 
Emma S. Webster, C. B. Millard, A. A. Plass, Lois E. McKelvey. 

School No. 19 — Seward school. Intermediate and jjrimary. The building, 
which is of brick, and two stories in height, was erected in 1869. The lot, 
which is pentagonal in form, contains more than two acres, having its shortest 
sides on Reynolds and Magnolia streets, and another side on Seward street. 
There are six class- rooms in the building, separated by glass partitions. Number 
of pupils enrolled 298, number in daily attendance 210. Faculty — Miss M. E. 
Westfall, principal ; Misses Minnie C. Bergh, Amelia L. Wegman, Fannie F. 
Westfall, Nettie Sellinger, Anna Tailing, Kate Levis. 

School No. 20 — Oaknian school, grammar, intermediate ami primary, is 
located on Oakman street, near Clinton street. The building was erected in 
1872 and enlarged in 1883. As it now stands, it is two stories in height, sur- 
mounted by a mansard roof and tower. It is of brick, and contains twelve class- 
rooms. Number of pupils enrolled 535, number in daily attendance 463. Fac- 
ult}- — Miss Delia Curtice, principal; Misses H. M. Kermodc, Louise McKear- 
ney, Julia Nelligan, Lottie Snell, Eliza J. Rogers, H. Alida .Spinning, Annie J. 
Simpson, Clara A. Foote, Mary C. Hogan, E. L. Alexander, C. A. Parsons. 

School No. 21 — Jay street school, intermediate and primar}-, was organ- 
ised in 1874, and for several years occupied a little one-story wooden building 
on Jay street. A new lot was purchased and a new building erected, on Wack- 
erman street, in 1880. It is of brick, two stories in height, and contains six 
class-rooms. Number of pupils enrolled 315, daily attendance 233. Faculty 
— Miss Elizabeth J. Kewin, principal ; Misses Lulu M. Hyland, Prudence J. 
Coakley, Anna M. Moloney, Ella G. O'Meara, E. A. Redmond, M. PL. Colburn. 

School No. 22 — Norton school, intermediate and primary, from 1874 to 
1882 occupied a one-story brick school-house on the corner of Norton and St. 
Joseph streets, that was taken into the city when its boundaries were extended 
in 1874. In 1882 a lot was purchased on St. Joseph street nearer the center 
of the cit)', and a new one-story brick building, with two class-rooms and a 
recitation room, erected. Number of pupils enrolled 104, in daily attendance 
8". Faculty — Miss Florence A. Havill, principal; Misses Frankie E. Burns, 
Kosemarie Dowling. 

School No. 23 — Brighton school, intermediate and primary, with the build- 
ing it occupied, was taken into the city limits, when the boundaries were en- 
larged in 1 874. The building was of wood, one story in height, with two rooms. 
In 1883 a new brick building one story high and with three school-rooms, was 



:,s His'ioKV ov THE City ((F Rochester. 



erected in rear of the old builditiL^r. This was constructed with reference to an 
addition in the future, which will complete the buildint;'. Number of pupils 
enrolled l Sj, in daily .ittendance 142. I'"<icult_\- — Miss Iv J. jew ett, prineip.il : 
Misses I'.mma IC. Smith, Helen ,\. Wedd, L. A. Xourse, I'lora V.. Marshall, 

School No. J4 — I'^llw'aUL^er and Harr)- school, intermediate and primary, 
is loe.ited on the Corner of Melius and \'ale streets. The buildiuL;" is of brick 
and twii stories in heiL^ht, and cc)ntains six class-rooms. Number of jiupils en- 
rolled 396, in dail>- attendance 28S. l'"acult\- — Miss Nellie F. Cornell, prin- 
cipal; Misses M, S. Dunn, L. H. Rowley, A. M. Mullan, I-'annie K. Roworth, 
I.. Ci. Connoll)-, L. L. Leaxeiiworth, C. A. Farriiii^ton. 

School No. 25 — Intermetliate and primar\-, is another of the schools taken 
into the city by the cnlarL^ement of its boundaries. The buildiiiL;, which is of 
brick, one st(.)ry liiL^h, contains two school-rooms. It is locateil on the corner 
of l^ay and (ioodman streets, in the sixteenth ward. It was built in 1 876. 
Number of pupils enrolled 120, in daily attendance 71. h'aculty — Miss Jen- 
nie M. Bn.iw n, principal ; Miss Kate (~iraham. 

ScIk.hiI No. 26 — Intermediate and priniar\', is located on the corner of 
Cliftbrd and Thomas streets. The buikliiiL; was erected in 1879, but was not 
completed at that time. In 1883 an addition was made that completed the 
building acc(.irdinL; to the original plan. It is of brick, two stories in height, 
and contains tweKe class-rooms. Number of pupils enrolled 530, number in 
daily attendance 408. Faculty — Miss F. L. Carter, principal ; Misses Katie 
Trant, Susie Tuohey, Lottie C. Hoppe, Dora Michelson, M. F. Irving, F. M. 
Hoppe, M. J. H. Nicholson, Luc>- H. Clarke, Mary S. Clarke, Fdna D. Willson, 
Minnie ]-5emisli. 

School No. 27 — Intermediate and primary, was organised in Se])tember, 
1882, and at first occupied rented rooms on the corner of Central park and 
Hubbard streets. In 1883 a new building was erected on Central park. It i.s 
of brick, one stor)- high, and contains three school-rooms. Number of pupils 
enrolled 299, in daily attendance 239. Faculty — Miss Jesse Utley, principal ; 
Misses Gertie B. Fay, E. Haag, F. 1^. Heath, Minnie T. Kellogg. 

The city is di\'ided into twenty-seven districts, in all but one of which there 
are one or more school buildings, while in numbers 4, 6, 10, 13, 17. 24 and 27, 
rooms ,u-e rented in which are accommodated the o\'erflow of pujiils from those 
schools. Members of the board of education, si.xteen in number, are elected 
on the general citv ticket, and serve for two _\-ears. The even wards elect one 
year, and the odd w^ards another. The funds to meet tlie expenses of main- 
taining the schools are pro\'ided for b}- a state appropriation and by an apjiro- 
priation by the common council from the results of the annual tax le\'_\'. The.se 
funds are deposited with the city treasurer ,mi.l are drawn out on an order 
of the board, and b_\- a check signed b\- the president of the board and the su- 
perintendent. All bills against the board are referred in open board to the 



The Pl'ulic Schools. 329 



various committees, are examined by them, and, if approved, are referred to 
the financial committee, who recommend their payment upon the order of the 
board. The monthly salaries of teachers and other employees of the board are 
passed upon b\' the salary committee and, if appro\'ed, are recommended to the 
board for payment. The regular meetings of the board are held on the first 
and third Mondays of each month, in their rooms in the Free academy building. 
In addition to the superintendent, who acts as clerk of the board and as libra- 
rian of the Central library, the board elect annually a superintendent's clerk, 
poUceman, carpenter, assistant librarian, engineer and janitor of the Free acad- 
emy building and a messenger. These hold office for one year, and are elected 
on the first Monday of April in each year. The superintendent is elected for 
two years, at the second meeting in June, his term of office beginning July 1 5tb. 

The public schools of this city are divided into four departments — namely, 
primary, intermediate, grammar school, and Free academy. The primar)- 
schools include the ninth, eighth and seventh grades. The intermediate schools 
include the sixth, fifth and fourth grades. The grammar schools include the 
third, second and first grades. The time required for doing the work laid down 
in the course of study is between nine and ten years. Pupils are promoted from 
grade to grade, annually, upon a written examination held in all the schools at 
the same time. Pupils are transferred from grade to grade whenever their 
scholarships will warrant it. There are ten male and seventeen female princi- 
pals, in the employ of the board, and eighty assistants, exclusive of those in 
the Free academj-, who are appointed annually, at the close of the school year, 
their time of service to begin the following September. A new enrollment of 
pupils is made each year, and no names of pupils are retained after they have 
permanently left the schools. By a decision of the Supreme court, the board 
of education are required to pay the teachers in the orphan asylum, on condi- 
tion that the same course of study and text-books in force in the public schools 
be pursued in them. Under this arrangement the salaries of teachers in the 
Protestant, St. Mary's, St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's orphan as\-lums and the 
Church Home are paid by the board. The entire cost of maintaining the pub- 
lic schools during the year 1883-84 was $233,899.35, which amount includes 
an extra appropriation of $30,000 for buildings, in order to relieve the oxer- 
crowded buildings. 

In June, 1 875, by a vote of 1 1 to 5, by order of the board all religious exer- 
cises in the public schools, including the reading of the Bible " without note or 
comment," was discontinued. An effort was subsequently made to reconsider 
tile action on the matter, but it was unsuccessful. 

In 1883 the forenoon and afternoon recesses were discontinued in all the pub- 
lic schools, and the daily sessions were shortened one hour. A year's trial has 
won for this plan almost universal approval and has, apparently, proved of practi- 
cal, mental and moral advantage to the pupils. By a regulation of the board of 



330 History of the City of Rochester. 

education, adopted in 1884, all cases of disci[)line requiring the infliction ofcor- 
[Mjral punislinieiU were referred to the principal, in each school. In 1883 
what is called " the riiiladelphi.in fire drill " was introtluced into the schools. 

In Se[)teniber, 1883, bv order of the board, a normal antl tr.unin^-class for 
the purpose of training applicants for positions as teachers, fir their work, was 
organised, which is under the direction of the superintendent. As a normal 
class the work has been a discussion of the philoso[5h)- of education and the 
best methods of insti'uction and school m<inagenient. The plan is to stutl)' b\' 
topics indicated by (questions piinted on slips oi paper and ilistributcd at one 
meeting and to discuss these topics at the ne.\t meeting. The following have 
been discussed : I'xlucation, and how to teach iiUelligentl)' and successfully. 
Mental philosoph}-, applied to teaching. Physical education, and the responsi- 
bilit)' of the teacher. Moral training and schoi,] discipline. I low a teacher 
may best develoi) those traits which make a true and ni.ible manhood and 
womanhood. 1-Alucation. Teachers' qualifications. Sketches of the " live? 
and educational principles of Pestalozzi and Frtebel " have been written b\' 
the members of the class. Methods of teaching reading, writing, numbers, 
geography, language and (jbject lessons ha\e been discussed in connection 
with the laws of mental science and educational principles. As a training- 
class, the work has been the visitation of schools for the purpose of obser\'ing 
the practical workings of the graded school svstem in the hands of e.vperienced 
teachers. In sduie cases the members ha\e been employed as assistants. 

Much attention is just now being paid to the sanitar)' condition of the school 
buildings, their heating and sentilation. A committee consisting of members 
of the boarti of health is making a careful examination of all the buildings, 
and at the close of its work will make a report upcm their condition, together 
with recommentlation^ for their improvement. The amount annually appro- 
priated during se\eral _\ears past has been insufficient to meet the increasing 
demands for more school accommodations. The result is overcrowding in sev- 
eral of the more p<ipulous districts, some of which have been relieved by the 
renting of additional rooms in the neighborhootl. The public schools to-day 
Command the respect and confiilence of all classes. The rich anil the poor, the 
high and the low, children from humble homes and elegant mansions, meet 
together, on terms of republican etiualit}', to enjo\- the privileges and oppor- 
tunities for a thorou'di education. 



The Medical Profession. 331 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

the MEIUCAL PROFESSIOX.i 

Health of Rochester in the E^aily Days — Longevity of the Pioneers — Efficient Sewerage in the 
Village — Dr. Jonah Brown, the First Practitioner — High Tone of the Profession at That Time — 
Formation of the Monroe County Medical Society — Its Officers and its Members — Stringent Provi- 
sions of its Constitution — IJiographical Sketches of Deceased Physicians. 



W,o 



£RE human beings congregate, there the healer follows, in obedience 



Rochester, whose inception was so recent, that when but few were gathered 
around the Genesee falls the physician appeared among them. ' It is a marvel- 
ous fact that the very first settlers on the spot that soon came to be known as 
Rochesterville have furnished a large number of persons who have attained to 
a very remarkable period of longevity, leaving the standard of three score and 
ten far in the background, many reaching to the age of eighty, ninety and even 
a hundred years. This is the more remarkable, inasmuch as the town was 
first planted on the west side of the river in a black ash swamp. That the 
inhabitants suffered from malarial diseases in a very great degree, is undoubt- 
edly true. It is also true that the form of its manifestations was often severe. 
But they early learned the value of drainage and sewerage, which was under- 
taken and carried out much earlier in this place than in an)- other town of its 
size in the country. Such works, which from a superficial view would seem 
to be in direct opposition to the interest of the members of the rnedical profes- 
.sion, have always been urged by them, with the greatest earnestness, upon the 
communities they live among. The physicians, who were the first advisers of 
the people, were zealous in the good work and succeeded in convincing the 
laity that the prominent cause of their suffering would be best relieved by drain- 
ing the soil to the rock upon which the future city was to stand. The first 
experiment in this direction was so convincing by its effects that sewerage has 
always been largely carried out in this city. The methods were those univers- 
ally employed in older towns, and, although modern knowledge of sanitary 
measures has demanded better structures, the early inhabitants executed what 
was then regarded as good work. 

The planting of a village on the site of the city of Rochester was later than 
that of most villages in the county of Monroe. Where the pioneers pushed 
forward into the dense forest that clothed the soil of Western New York, they 
very naturall}- chose the higher lands as more eas)- of reduction to the condi- 
tions necessary to the production of food. The village became the out- 
growth of the neighboring settlement of the farmers. But Rochester was the 
result of a conviction that a larger town would be developed by the presence 

1 This chapter was prepared by Dr. E. M. Moore, sr. 



MiSTORY OF THE ClTY OF ROCHESTER. 



of the fine wati:r-pfn\ XT of the Genesee. When the village was laid out, high 
hopes v\ere entertained of its future, a belief that it was not to be merely the 
incident of a near farming community but that of the necessities.of a wide area. 
Such \ie\\s natural!)' attracted members of the profession of medicine. The 
first house v\as erected in 1812, and in the succeeding year we find the name 
of iJr. Jonah Brow n as the first practitioner in the village of Rochestervilie. 
Dr. Brown died soon after his removal to his new home. Others soon followed, 
and we find them numerous enough to undertake the formation of a ccjunty 
medical society in 1821. 

At this period the laws of the state gave special privileges to members of 
the count}' societies, permitting them to collect their fees, a right which no one 
else possessed who practised medicine. Hence the constructif>n of these soci- 
eties was regulated by law, and it may be fibserved. in passing, that the law 
still regulates the construction and action of the medical societies, but has with- 
drawn frrim them all pri\ikges. At the time when the first society was formed 
in Monroe county, medical colleges were remote and the labor and time occu- 
pied in traveling rendered the city of New York as difficult to reach as the 
schools of London and Paris are by the student of to-day. It was then the 
law and custom for the aspirant to medical practice to derive all his informa- 
tion from the teaching of his preceptfjr. Men were admitted to practice after 
passing the ordeal of e.xamination b\- censors appointed b}' the county medical 
societies. In this v\a)- the\- realised in a rude manner the strong desire of the 
professictn at the present day for an independent board of examiners. That 
the teaching was often crude and especially imperfect in the foundation of all 
medical learning — 77'r., anatomy — must be confessed. But at various places 
men of strong intellectual characteristics gathered around thein numerous stu- 
dents and became to them teachers who impressed their personality with great 
power upon the student of medicine, oftentimes with greater distinctiveness than 
that which is brought to bear on a large class by a more finished teacher at the 
present time. Of such character were Dr. Joseph White of Cherry Valley, and 
Ur. Mclntyre of Palmyra. It will be readily seen that the early establish- 
ment of a county society would become a necessity to the medical profession, 
independent of the natural desire for association for social and professional pur- 
poses. Accordingly we find that a meeting of the physicians and surgeons of 
the county of Monroe was held pursuant to notice on the 9th of May, J 82 1, at 
the house of John G. Christopher in Rochestervilie. Alexander Kelsey was 
chosen chairman, and John B. HI wood secretary, when a resolution was adopted 
appointing a committee to draft a code of by-laws. The physicians whose 
credentials were approved by the chairman were the following : Joseph 
Loomas, Nathaniel Rowell, James Scott, Allen Almy, Daniel Durfee, Daniel 
Weston, Isaac Chichester, Alexander Kelsey, John Cobb, jr., John G. Vought, 
Chaunccy Beadle, Theophilus Randall, F. F. Backus, M. D., Ebenezer Burn- 



The Medical Profession. 



ham, jr., Samuel B. Bradley, Ezekiel Harmon. These gentlemen immediately 
proceeded to the election of officers, and the gentlemen whose names are 
hereby given were chosen to fill the offices as stated : Dr. Alexander Kelsey, 
president ; Dr. Nathaniel Rowell, v^ice-president ; Dr. Anson Coleman, treas- 
urer ; censors — Freeman Edson, John B. Elwood, Frederick F. Backus, Eze- 
kiel Harmon, Derick Knickerbocker. This meeting, although the first, was 
hardly considered other than preliminary-, and accordingly a committee was 
appointed, composed of Drs. Harmon, Rowell and Bradley, to revise the by- 
laws and report at the next meeting. At the meeting held the 9th of May, 
1822, the following gentlemen presented their credentials and were added 
to the society : Anson Coleman, Ezra Strong. David Gregorj-, W'illiam H. 
Morgan, M. D., William Gildersleeve, John B. Elwood, B. Gillett, Linus 
Stevens, O. E. Gibbs, James Holton, George Marvin, M. D., Barzillai Bush, 
M. D. The small number of men who wrote their names with titles gi\es at 
a glance the relation between those who had received their instruction in med- 
ical colleges and been graduated by them and those who were licensed by the 
censors of the county societies. The committee on constitution and laws made 
an elaborate report containing thirty-six distinct articles, defining the offices 
and the duties of their incumbents; also, the mode of admitting members. and 
defining their duties. It is of course not necessary to repeat these details, but 
I may call attention to article 21, which heads the list with reference to the 
duties of members, which invokes the aid of every member to support the honor 
and dignity of the medical profession and to execute his respective duties with 
justice and fidelity. I also cite, entire, article 26 : — 

"Art. 26. — It shall be highly disreputable for any member to assume or hold the 
knowledge of any nostrum or palm any medicine or composition on the people as a 
secret, and even,' such member shall be deemed unworthy to belong to the society, and 
the members thereof shall hold no medical correspondence with such characters, nor 
consult with them in any medical case whatever, and all pretenders to nostrums shall be 
deemed proper subjects for e.Kpulsion from this society." 

I will also call attention to these three articles : — 

"Art. 32. — Candidates for license to practise physic or surgery shall give notice 
thereof to the president and censors fifteen days previous to e.xamination, and before 
any one can be admitted to e.xamination he must produce to the censors satisfactory proof 
that he is twenty-one years of age and of good moral character, that he has studied the 
time required by law with one or more reputable and legal practitioners and has appro- 
priated that time solely to the study of physic or surgery. If lie is a candidate for the 
practice of physic he shall be examined in materia medica and pharmacy, anatomy and 
physiology, and on the theory and practice of physic. Candidates for the practice of 
surgery shall be examined particularly on anatomy and surgery. 

"Art. T^Ty. — No student shall be examined unless a majority of the censors be pres- 
ent, and said censors shall report their opinion to the president, whether he be qualified 
for the practice of physic or surgerj- or both. 

"Art. 34. — This society may try any of its members for malpractice, extortion or 
speaking disrespectfully of the society with intent to injure it, and it shall be the duty 



334 History of the City of Rochester. 

of each member of this society to accuse any other member thereof for any misde- 
meanor that he deems contrary to the true intent and meaning of the act of the legisla- 
ture incorporating this society or contrary to the by-laws thereof, and the accuser shall 
make the statement in writing of the misdemeanors aforesaid and lay them before the 
president of the society. The president shall issue a summons to the accused to appear 
before the society at its next meeting, stating the time when and place where it is to be 
held, to defend himself, if he sees fit, against the accusation. A copy of the accusation 
and summons shall be left with the accused or at his usual place of abode at least 
twelve days before such meeting, and the accuser shall cause such summons to be served 
and returned to the society on the first day of the meeting. If the accused shall refuse 
or neglect to apjjear in [jerson or by proxy, and no satisfactory reason is offered for such 
neglect, he shall be expelled from the society, and if he be convicted of any of the 
charges alleged against him he mav be punished bv fine, sus|>ension or expulsion, pro- 
vided the fine for any one offense shall nut exceed twenty dollars." 

From these articles it will be seen that the tone of the society was high ; 
also, that the law might be executed pre\'enting any one from practising with- 
out a license, thereby rendering him incapable of collecting the reward of his 
labors. Hence we find this vx-ar a committee of one in each town in the 
county delegated to report the number of persons practising with and without 
a license in their respectixe towns. 

Of the large number of ph_\'sicians who li\ed in the village and afterward 
the city of Rochester it wuidd be idle tc) attempt biograi)hical notice. The 
time is too distant, the sources of information cannot be reached and space 
can only be given to those v\ho acquired some special distinction. Many whom 
we cannot notice would be foimd cpiite as deserving as those that we have 
spoken of, when measured by the standard of duties especially pertaining to 
tlie relation of phvsician and patient. A few, however, of those that have passed 
away will be specially noticed, as giving tone and character to the v\hole. 
Among the earliest comers we may note the name of Anson Coleman. He 
was born at Richfield .Springs, N. Y., March i/th, 1795, and commenced his 
professional studies when about seventeen or eighteen years of age, in his na- 
tive town, with a Dr. Palmer, but he afterward went to Cherry Valley and com- 
pleted his studies with the celebrated Dr. Joseph White. He was among the 
first who organised the count)- society, in the year I 82 I. He was among the 
foremost and most active practitioners of the village, full of the ambition that 
carves out success, high-toned in his feelings and contemptuous of the char- 
latanry that has always and will always hang on the skirts of the profession. 
This often provokeil an exhibition of temper which could ill conceal a disgust 
for the mean. When the cholera first made the invasion of Europe, the dread 
accoimts that came by the slow methods of sailing navigation filled the whole 
country with a fear that lias never had its parallel on this continent. The ap- 
parent futility of cpiarantine at every point in the Old world produced the 
belief that nothing we should do would avail. The first appearance at the 
North was in Montreal. The authorities of the village requested Dr. Coleman 



The Medicai, Profession. 337 

ulist. In the year 1837 ''"=^ removed to Rochester and gave himself up to the 
practice of opthalmolog\-. The countr\- was still new and his fame spread far 
and wide. It is doubtful if any man during the few years included between 
1837 and 1S47 l^'i'^' so many patients and gathered from so large a territorj-. 
Although not drawing his clientele from any large cities, this was enormous. 
It is true the peoijlc in a new countr\- are apt to be poor. This was far more 
striking at the time we consider than in any country now going through the 
process of settlement. Much of this great following came from the genial and 
generous disposition of Dr. Munn. He was literally the friend of the poor and 
needy. There were no hospitals to divide with him the care of those who suf- 
fered. While there was money in his purse the common boarding-house was 
the hospital, where this physician treated the patients and often paid their bills, 
and after their recovery paid for their passage to their homes. The whole of 
this marvelous activity and benevolence may be recognised by a statement of 
unpaid services at the time of his death amounting to $80,000 This was the 
sum of fees of the most meager kind. He died December 12th, 1847, pos- 
sessed of small estate, but lo\'ed by the warmest of friends, whose affection had 
no taint of benefits received. This is truly a mar\elous histor\' of a short pro- 
fessional life. 

Dr. Hugh Bradley was born in the county of Antrim, Ireland, in the year 
1796. He pursued his studies in the University of Glasgow and took his de- 
gree in medicine in that institution in the year 1825. After practising his pro- 
fession for several years in his native country he came to America and settled 
in the city of Rochester in the year 1834. He at once joined the medical so- 
ciety and continued in its membership until the time of his death, which oc- 
curred May 6th, 1883. 

Dr. Freeman Edson was born in Westmoreland, N. H., September 24th, 
1791. He died at Scottsville, Monroe county, N. Y., June 24th, 1883, aged 
ninety-one years and nine months. Although never practising in this city, his 
close proximity and connection with it seem to require some notice in view of 
his extraordinary age and the long period of his labors in the profession. His 
primary and academic education were acquired near his home and at Keene. 
He became a student in the oflfice of Dr. Amos Twitchell, a celebrated physi- 
cian of Keene. He afterward entered \'ale college and graduated in medicine 
from that institution in the year 18 14. Heat once removed to Scottsville, 
where he continued the practice of medicine until his death, during a period of 
over sixty-nine years. He was a man of clear mind and positive convictions. 
This, with a constitution of remarkable endurance, eminently fitted him for this 
marvelous career. 

Dr. E. W. Armstrong was born at Fredericksburg, Canada. He was grad- 
uated at Dartmouth and afterward from its medical school, and still later re- 
ceived instruction at Philadelphia. He moved to Rochester in 1837, after the 



33.S History of the City of Rochester. 

close of tlie so-called "Canadian rebellion." In this city he continued to prac- 
tise medicine until the >ear 1S77, d}-ing suddenly at the ad\^-mced a<(e of ei<,dit_\- 
ei;4ht \-ears. Dr. Arnistroni; \\as remarkable for his marvelousl)' equable 
teni])erament, u hich ne\er aljuwed him to be ruffletl by the ordinary ve.vatitjns 
of life. He maintained all throuL;"h these f >rt)' years of practice a reputation 
absolutely unsullied. 

Dr. H. W. Dean was born in Madison count)', N. V.,in 1818. He became 
a pupil of Dr. I'"rank H. Hamilton in the \-ear 1839, and graduated at Genewa 
medical college in 184J. He long filled a large space in the estimation of the 
people of Rochester. \\ ith a physique of remarkable manly beauty, he added 
the graces of nature's gentilit}' to an untiring tle\'otion to his duties, both in his 
attendance on his patients and in the stutly of his profession. Unlike Dr. 
Reid, who had preceded him, cme could not trace any of the elements of genius. 
There was nothing so erratic as this in his mental structure. Dr. Dean's work- 
was pursued with constant patience; surely, Imwcxer, he followed his incjuiries 
to the end, with a conscience that ever kejit him in right lines. As might be 
expected, his cUcufclc was large and attached tn him with a tenacity of uncom- 
mon force. He wa?^ a contributor to the labors of the medical societies, of 
which he was a member and always an efficient one. He died suddenly on 
the 13th of January-, 1S78. 

Dr. William Watson Ely was born April 30th, 1812, at l*"airfiekl, Conn., and 
died at Rochester on the 27th of March, 1879. He was graduated at Vale 
medical college in the \ear 1834. After residing at Manlius, Onondaga county, 
N. Y., for five years, he came to Rochester, where he lived during the remain- 
der of his life. The winter of 1837, however, was spent in Philadelphia, during 
which time he attendetl the instructions of the Jefterson medical college. In 
regarding the life and career of Dr. El}-, we are struck with the modest de- 
meanor of a \er\- fine mind. With fine talents, which were shown in many 
ways, we find nothing erratic. His most striking characteristic may be said to 
have been intellectuality. This guided his pursuits. He wrote with taste, but 
confined his productions to the eyes of friends, restrained from public notice 
by the extreme mcjdesty of his nature. The Uni\ersity of Rochester conferred 
on him its highest degree, and it has never been more properly bestowed. 

Dr. Theodore Francis Hall was born October 20th, 1827, at Whitehall, N. Y. 
After graduating at Union college at the age of twenty- three, he applied him- 
self to the study of medicine and took his degree of M. D. at the college of 
Physicians and Surgeons in the cit\- of New York in 1854. He commenced 
the practice of his profession in this cit\- in the \-ear 1856. When the war 
called for the aid of surgeons, he entered the 140th New \'ork \xilunteers, with 
which regiment he remained until the close of the war. He died March 5th, 
1869, in the forty-second year of his age. In estimating his character we find 
a fine mind with good culture, moved by impulses of the most generous kind. 



The Medical Profession'. 339 

These carried him on to the performance of duties that might be regarded as 
fault)' b\- excess. The attention that professional propriety demands of the 
physician, when caring for the patient, was extended, to the de\-otion of his 
strength and life, with utter recklessness of the expectation of reward, which 
was constantly forgotten b}- himself and ver\' often b\- the recipients of his care. 
But no one had warmer friends and admirers among those who also remem- 
bered the honorarium. 

Dr. Benjamin F. Gilkeson was born in Bristol, Bucks count)-, Penn., Decem- 
ber 8th, 1 8 19. He became a pupil of Professor James Webster in the year 
1838. He sought medical knowledge in both Philadelphia and Geneva, grad- 
uating from the college of the latter place in the )-ear 1841. For the succeed- 
ing forty-two years he led an industrious life in the constant practice of his 
profession, although during the last ten years he was much enfeebled by sick- 
ness. Dr. Gilkeson was a man of great energy and ver)' attentive to the duties 
of his profession and remarkable for the independence of his character. He 
was contemptuous of all pretense and possessed that most enduring of all tal- 
ents — common sense. 

Dr. Louis A. Kiiichling was born December 29th, 1807, at Walsum, on the 
Rhine, and died June 4th, 1883, at Rochester. N. \'. He was the son of a 
physician and pursued his studies with such ardor that when graduating, al- 
though the youngest man in his class, he carried ofi' the first prize in surger)- 
and the second in therapeutics. From Wurtzburg he went to Heidelberg, 
where he continued his studies for a year. From thence he went to Paris and 
attended the lectures of Hahnemann and afterward practised homoeopathy about 
two years in Kehl. This, however, he abandoned. The liberal tendency nat- 
ural to his profession caused him to become compromised in the revolution of 
1848, for which he was imprisoned and his property confiscated. He escaped 
from prison, and after staying in New York for a couple of years, made Roch- 
ester his home during the remainder of his life. It can be said of him that he 
occupied the very first rank among the German practitioners in this country. 

With these few sketches of character I close what I have to say of the med- 
ical profession. There are many of whom I should like to speak, but space 
forbids, and I repeat what was said above, that I mereK" desire to mark a few, 
especially of the early comers. The triumphs in this profession in life are local, 
and if discovery is made it remains only understood and fully appreciated by 
the physicians themselves. It requires a special education to understand the 
bearings that a true discovery will have upon the art of healing. This unfort- 
unately gives scope to the wildest theories, as well as to the grossest decep- 
tions of charlatans. Until the wide diffusion of knowledge in natural science 
shall fit every one to judge of the methods of medical men, this condition of 
societ)' must remain. 



340 History of the City of Rochester. 

chai'tI':r XXXV. 

iioMdvoi'A nn A_\ I) Di.x risiKW 

Karh 1 |nm,r..i.alliu I 'livsu la.i- — Thrii- A.Ui-iUand I iiMiK-m.; — Tin- Tractirc <.f I it-ntisti y — 
Advanre of ilu- Art. 

T\Ui absence of an article u\)<>n the hiimie(i[)athic practice in tliis city, which 
had been positi\-cl_\- prmiiiseil aiul w a-^ expected up tn a late peril )cl (>( this 
work, cimipels the editor to ni.ike uiiaii incomplete record from what scattered 
tl.ita he has been able ti> collect. Dr. Aui,uistus 1'. Bieylei' was imd(iubtedl)- 
the first ph_\sici.iii of this schodl td pr.ictise in Rochester. M,in)- (if the older 
inhabitants ha\e inclined in L;i\e the jjriorit)- U< 1 )r. ra_\l(ir, but the fornier is, 
ill ail likelihiMid. the jiioneei', as the directiu)' iif 1S41 L;i\es his name, hicatiiiL; 
his office ,it number 6 SpriiiL; street .uul his b(jardiiiL;-housu at 31 on the s;mie 
street, while the other doctor is not mentioned ,it .ill in the sm.dl vulunie. The 
;i(.lclress w ,is, perluips, <inly part!)' correct, and may ha\e been intended to refer 
f(jr both oflice and residence-, to the house on the northe.ist corner of Sprini^^ 
and l'"itzhuL;h streets. Fhis was certainly the house w iiere I )r. liU'lor, when 
he came here within <i yi.'ai' of that time — either before or .ifter — had his 
abode and ilealt out the pleas.uit pellets which ,it first met witli much ridicule 
but soon f lund their w.iy, throu;_;h the mouths, to the he.uts of the rapitU)- in- 
creasing numbei' ot' patients l)r. .Moses .VI. Mathews came iiere from Canan- 
dait^ua in the fall of I .S44 antl fir f nirteen _\'cars occupied the house mentioned 
above, succeediuL; Dr. Taylur therein, whose residence must have been limited 
to twci years, or three at the utmost, as his name dties not appear in the direc- 
tor\- of I •'"145, while that of his successor does. (.)f these first three honiieo- 
pathic physicians, ,ill of wh<im even in that earl}' da_\-, obtained an extensive 
.inil lucrative practice .unoUL; the intelligent class of the communit)', not one 
was brou:4ht u() in the scho.d of llahnemann, but all had been practitioners 
in the old, or "re^ul.ir" school, bef ire they embraced wh.it \vere then the new- 
principles. I.)r. M.ithews elied in 1 .S67, ha\ing won the coiifiileiice of ;iil who 
emu- under his pr<itessional mini^.trations, the resjieet of all who knew him .uul 
the .iH'ection of the numy who were aided by his kindness ;uul bene\'olence. 
To his inteLjrit}- of character he .idded a rare gentleness antl benignity which 
will be remembered by all those who e\'er came in contact with him. iJr. Kd- 
win II. Iliir(.l, who is now the oldest lumueopathic physic. in in Rochester, came 
here in I.S50, and after studN-ing awhile with Dr. Mathews entered into a part- 
nership with him, which continued fir about a _\'eai'. There were here prac- 
tising, at that tinu-. Dr. .\. P. ]-!iegler, Dr. Hileni Bennett, I)r. George Lewis, 
Dr. George W. Teer — .ill of whom are luiw dead — .uul Dr. Thomas C. Schell, 
who was in the office of Dr. Mathews and who is now practising at Minneapolis. 
The Monroe County Homoeopathic society was organised on the 2d day of 



HOMCtOPATilV AND DENTISTRY. 34I 

January, 1866. It has now a membership of thirty-seven, and the officers for 
tliis year are as follows : President, Dr. C. R. Sumner ; vice-president. Dr. S. 
W. Hartwell ; secretary, Dr. B. A. Hoard ; treasurer. Dr. T. C. White. Of 
the success of homceopath)' in curing diseases, and of its still greater victories 
in overcoming the unreasoning prejudice with which it long had to contend, 
this is not the place to treat, but one illustration will show the progress that 
the liberalising tendencies of the age have enabled it to make. For some years 
after the foundation of the City hospital the managers of that institution re- 
fused to allow homoeopathic physicians to practise within its walls, even in the 
case of private patients. It was no change of heart, but the pressure of public 
opinion, that impelled them eventually to so modify their rules as to permit 
practitioners of this school to treat private patients, but they had to confine their 
attentions to those who were fortunate enough to be able to pay for them. The 
exclusion of this class of physicians from general practice in the hospital keeps 
away a large revenue that would otherwise accrue to the institution, for more 
than one purse is ready to ojjen wide when the prejudice shall be broken 
down and the independency which is so potential in the realms of religion and 
politics shall have equal sway in the domain of medicine. 

TlIK UEXTAI. PKDKESSION. ' 

The histor_\- of dentistry in Rochester is so closeh' connected with its history 
throughout the country that, for the better comprehension of its rise, progress 
and advancement, 1 deem that a short sketch of its general growth w ill not be 
inappropriate here. As early as 1828 gold foil for filling teeth came into use 
to a limited extent. It was at that date made to order, but not kept on sale. 
My old preceptor, after canvassing New York city for some, found only two 
sheets, and they were number 12. Tin foil had previously been used. Amal- 
gam was introduced in New York in [830, b}- two Frenchmen. 

Just about fift\' years ago, gold and siKer jjlates for nn)unting artificial 
teeth were introduced. Previous to this, plates and teeth had been made from 
ivory, or the bone of the sea-horse tooth, both plates and teeth being carved 
from the same piece. Partial sets were fastened to the natural teeth with gold 
wire. F"ull sets were also made from the same material and held in the mouth 
b)- spiral springs. Comparatively very few, however, were made. For many 
)'ears a large proportion of pivot teeth were set on old roots. At first human 
teeth and the teeth of some animals were used for this purpose, then they were 
carved from ivory. In 1835, with the introduction of gold and silver plates, 
came also porcelain teeth. The first of this kind came from France, and these 
were plain teeth — that is, without gums — and cost fifty cents each. Stock- 
ton, of Philadelphia, was the first man in this country to make porcelain teeth, 
both plain and gum teeth. Soon after followed Dr. Allcock, of New York. 

1 This article was prepared by E. F. Wilson, D. D. S. 



34- History of the Citv of Rochester. 

He was the tir?: to manufacture and arrange them in sets of fourteen, as we 
have them to-da\\ though they were at first quite inferior to the porcelain teeth 
of the present. 

During the first twenty-five years of the past fift\-, dentistry moved slowly. 
Dentists ot ingenuity made their own instruments, the " turnkey "' being the 
general favorite for extracting. George Tieman was the first man in thiscoun- 
tn.- to manufacture forceps and other dental instruments. Then came Chexalier. 
of New York, then Biddle. of New York, then Kern, of Philadelphia. By 1850 
we had a fair assortment of instruments. It is surprising to note the improve- 
ments and inventions in dental appliances from 1850 up to the present time. I 
will mention here only two among the scores of improvements that stand re- 
corded in our dental catalogues of to-da\-. These are the Burr engine and the 
rubber dam. the most important improvements of the age, the friends of the 
patient as well as the dentist. Xo first-class dental oflice of to-day is properly 
equipped without them. Gold and silver continued for about twenty-five years 
to be the chief materials used for plates. Block teeth, with and without plates, 
were used somewhat. Some supposed improvements were brought out ; con- 
tinuous gum plates were the most important of these. They were of porcelain, 
baked on platina. Clean, pretty and healthful in the mouth, they were also 
heavy, expensive and liable to break if dropped. They ne\er came into gen- 
eral use. Then came Blandy's metal, a compound of silver and tin, and cast 
to the plaster model. This was not long-lived. Following these came rubber, 
which has ver\" nearly superseded all other material for plates, tliough it has 
its faults. Then came celluloid, which has been the strongest competitor with 
rubber, but this has reached the height of its success. 

The latest improvement is the lining of rubber plates with metal. This is des- 
tined to bring it nearer perfection and restore its early success. There have been 
attempts to introduce still other materials, but I will mention only one other. 
This is what is called mineral plate, both plate and teeth of the same material. 
It is clean and healthful in every respect, and has perhaps fewer faults than any 
other that has come into use. Being more e.xpensive than rubber, the latter 
will no doubt continue to be used b\- the masses, while the well-to-do people 
will avail themselves of the best thing to be had. Up to 1845, as nearly as I 
can recollect, beeswa.x w as used for taking impressions ; about that time Dr. 
Westcott, of Syracuse, introduced plaster of paris, which continues to be the 
principal thing used for full sets, though in some cases of partial sets a combi- 
nation of paraffine and \\ ax makes a good substitute. 

Fift>- years ago there was but little gold used in the filling of teeth. Now 

dentists in the United States use annually about $1,000,000 worth 

:;ous metals. The demand of the day is for some material for filling 

tile iccta. which will assimilate with the bone of the tooth and take the place 

of gold, be better for the teeth and save this great expense to the country. 



The Press. 343 

Then, with proper education and training in the care of natural teeth, the next 
generation will need fewer artificial teeth. 

With all the improvements of the last fifty \'ears the science of dentistry is 
yet in its youth, and the coming fifty years will undoubtedly develop still greater 
improvements. Rochester has kept pace with all these improvements, and 
what is true of dentistry in other places is true here. In early days the physi- 
cians extracted most of the teeth, always carrying in their pill-bags a pair of 
turnkeys for this purpose. A directory of Rochester published in 1827 does 
not mention a dentist, so it is fair to conclude that there were none here at that 
time. I incline to the opinion that Dr. Bigelow was the first man to practise 
dentistry in Rochester, doing his work at the hotels where he stopped. He w-as 
well known at the old Eagle Hotel, and in various towns in Monroe county, as 
well as other parts of Western New York. He was a man of fair abilit\% for 
the time. Some of his work stood for over twenty years. Dr. S. W. Jones 
came a little later as an itinerant practitioner. Without doubt Dr. L. K. Faulk- 
ner, who died last autumn, was the first settled dentist here; he had not prac- 
tised dentistry for some years previous to his death. Dr. H. N. Fenn, who was 
a graduate in medicine and had been a druggist, opened an office in this citj- 
for the practice of dentistrj- about the year 1 840. When I came to Rochester, 
in 1847, tliere were here Drs. Faulkner, Fenn, Haines. Beers, Mills, Wanzer, 
Proctor, Allen and perhaps one or two others, whose names I do not now recol- 
lect. Others were studying, who soon after commenced practice. Of all those 
who were here then all are dead except Dr. Proctor and myself From that 
time until the present the number of dentists in the city has increased, until 
there are now about thirty-five — enough to do tlie work for a population of 
200.000. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

THE PRESS OF ROCHESTER.' 

Early Journalism — The Gazette — The Telegraph — The Advertiser. ttHth its X'arious Absorptions 
— Sketch of [he Union and .\dvertiser — Notices of its Representative Men — The Anti-Masonic In- 
uirer and Thurlow Weed — The Democrat — The American — The Chronicle — Continued History 
'I the Democrat and Chronicle — Sketches of Those Prominently .\ssociated with It — Various Dead 
Newspapers, from 1828 to 1884 — The Express and Post-Express — The Morning Herald — Sunday 
Journalism in Rochester — German Journalism — • Agricultural Publications — Religious Papers — 
Papers Connected with Institutions — The Labor Reformers — Concluding Obserx-aiions. 

IT is a distinguishing feature of American civilisation that, along all tlie lines 
of settlement, journalism is among the pioneers of immigration, and one of 
the principal forces in the development of tlie life of infant communities. Al- 

1 This article was prepared by Mr. Charles E. Fitch. 



344 IIlS'lDKV OF THE ClTV OF ROCHESTER. 

most every hamlet has its newspaper, the prompt and industrious chronicler 
of local ex'ciits. ami the chief medium nf communication with the worUi mit- 
side With each tla_\'> outreach of tlie Pacific railway's, the printini; press was 
set up. like mile-posts, to m.u'k their proL;ress, and scarcel)- were the treasures 
of the Cieur d'Alene disco\ered in the mountains of Idaho before the reporters 
on the ground announced the fact, and t^ave die rulini; qiuitations of stocks. 
In a miulihed des^ree this ubiquity ot journalism was as pronounced se\ent_\' 
\-cars aL;o a> it is to-da_\'. From \-.uaous causes the bjijinninLj of this century 
witnessed a decided impetus tei the e.xpansion, not less than to the freedom 
of the press. New \'ork city had alread)' several dail\' newspapers, and a 
number of weeklies were in existence in the eastern part of the state. The 
territor\- west of Utica hatl, howe\-er, but recently been opened to settlement, 
antl e\en in iSi6, when AuL;ustine G. I)aub_\-, oui' pioneer, began the publica- 
tion of the Rochester (jn::i-th\ not more than eight or ten papers had been 
printed in the entire section. .\mong these maj^ be mentioned the Lynx, at 
Onondaga Valle}-. u])on which Thurlow Weed learned the rudiments of his 
art ; the Tiiiiis, at M.mlius ; the Rci^istir. at Onondaga Valle\-, begun b_\' 
Lewis H. Redfield in 1S14; the GirzrUi\ at Gene\-a ; the KcJ'ository and the 
Messcnge'r, since consolidated, at Canandaigua ; the Citiaoi, at Perr\- ; the 
Cornucopia, at Hata\ia, and the Gazette, at Buffalo. 

When Mr. Daub)', who had been an apprentice in the office of the Utica 
Patrii't. came here he found a i)opulation of about 300 persons. Rochester 
was then a small and insignificant hiunlet, but, with its natural adsantages and the 
zeal and sagacit}' of its founders, it was not without the promise of future growth 
and prosperity. Mr. Daub}''s undertaking was a bold one, and he never himself 
quite knew the exact consideration that determined him to cast his lot here. 
He had left Utica on a prospecting tour, and had almost decided to locate in 
Geneva, but finalh- took up his abode in Rochester. The Gazette was first 
issued from a building on almost the identical site now occupied by the Deiiio- 
evat & CJironiele. The building, according to Edwin Scrantom, was unfinished, 
lathed inside, but not plastered, the lower story being occupied by Smith & 
Davis as a butcher's stall. The printing-office occupied the second story. The 
structure stood some fifteen feet or more south of the west end of the bridge 
over the Genesee ri\'er and below it, and the entrance to the office was by a 
platform running from the bridge. The Gazette was, after a short time, re- 
moved to Abner Wakelee's building on West Main (then Bufifalo) street, o\er 
Austin Stewart's meat shop, and from thence to Exchange street, into a build- 
ing afterward known as Filer and Fairchild's school-house. It was there that 
Edwin Scrantom, so long and so honorably identified with Rochester journalism, 
and whose reminiscences under the nom dc plume of "An Old Citizen" form 
the basis of this review, began his apprenticeship. In the spring of iSi- the 
Gazette was transferred to West Main street, near the entrance of the present 



The Press. 345 

Reynolds arcade. Associated with Mr. Dauby, for about ten months, was Jolin 
Sheldon, who removed to Detroit; and, for a few months also, Oran Follett, 
subsequently a publisher in Batavia and prominent in the politics of Western 
New \'()rk, was a partner. The business was comparative])- well established, 
although having the active competition of the Tclcgrapli, when the fire of De- 
cember 5th, 1 8 19, destroyed the office, with a number of adjacent buildings. 
Recover)- from this misfortune seemed attended b)- insuperable obstacles, but 
Mr. Daub)- had made some earnest friends, who helped him with means and 
credit, and the Gazette, after intermitting publication for about three months, 
resumed in March, 1820, greatly improved in type and paper. Rut it did not 
prove remunerative to its owner, and in March, 1821, he sold it to Derick and 
Levi W. Sibley and returned to Utica, where he was long the editor and pro- 
prietor of the Observer, upon which he exhibited excellent qualities as a writer 
and where, secure in the esteem of his fellow-citizens, he held a number of 
offices of trust and honor, acquired the competence he desired, lived to a ver)- 
advanced age, and died a few years since. Upon taking possession of the Ga- 
zette, the Messrs. Sibley changed the name to the Monroe Republiean and con- 
tinued in charge until No\-eniber, 1.S25, when it passed into the hands of Whit- 
tlesey & Mumford who, in connection with Edwin Scrantom, conducted it until 
1827, when it was merged with another paper. Both Derick Sible)- and Fred- 
erick Whittlese)- were intimately connected with the politics of the section, Mr. 
Sible)- representing his district in the Assembl)- for three successive terms, and 
Mr. Whittlesey, one of the ablest law-)-ers, as w-ell as politicians of his day, serv- 
ing two terms in Congress, a number of years as vice-chancellor and dying in 
1851, at a comparatively early age. Everard Feck, a native of Berlin, Con- 
necticut, having learned the book binder's trade in Hartford, began business in 
Albany, but, not finding it as profitable as he hoped, moved to Rochester in 
1 8 16, where he engaged in the double business of book-binding and book-sell- 
ing. On the 7th of July, 18 18, Everard Peck & Co. issued the first number of 
the Rochester Telegraph, the mechanical department being under the charge 
of the Messrs. Sible)-. In 1 824 an enlargement was effected and Thurlow 
Weed became the editor. This marks the beginning of the acti\-e, political and 
journalistic career of that able and adroit man, which was to continue for nearly 
sixty years, as a controlling agenc)- in state affairs and as a potent influence in 
national administration. It was here and then that Mr. Weed formed those 
close associations with William H. Seward and Frederick Whittlese)- and others 
whose leadership for thirty years ga\-e vitality and direction to the various par- 
tics with which they were associated and compassed so many personal ambitions. 
In 1825 Mr. Weed purchased the establishment and Mr. Peck gave his exclu- 
sive attention to the book business, which he continued until 1831, when he en- 
gaged in banking, became identified with the various religious, benevolent and 
educational institutions of the city, especially with the university and the orphan 



346 History of the City of Rochf,ster. 

as\-liim, and dictl in 1S54, universall)' beloved and respected. After purchas- 
ing;- the Tclcgrdpli, Mr. Weed formed a partnership with Robert Martin, and 
the paper was issued as a semi-weekly until 1827, when Mr. Weed sold i>ut, 
and (lui'inL; the f )Ilowing year it was published as a daily, Mr. Martin mean- 
while ha\ uil; consolidated with it the Rochester Albinn, which was started in 
October, 1S25, by Maishall, Spaulding & Hunt, and had maintained a separate 
existence for nearl_\- two ii'ears. The Telegraph was itself merged with the 
Adnrtiscr in I S29. 

()cti>bcr 25th, 1.S26, witnessetl the birth in this eit)' of what is ni)w, after a 
number of cunsolidations with and abscirptimis of nther journals, the oldest 
dail\- newspaper in the Ignited States, west of Albany. Upon the date 
indie, ited i.uther Tucker & Cn. began the publication of the Roch- 
estei' Ihtilv APihrtisir, issuing in cnnnection with it a weekly called 
the Rochester Mcrcnry. In lS2y, as alread\' s.iid, the Ti/fgraph ;\n<A the 
.lifvrrti.uT were ccmsolidated ; the hrm name was that of Tucker & Mar- 
tin, and the weekly editinn was known as the Rochester Republican. In 
1830 Hoyt iv Porter succeetled Tucker 6t Martin, and Henry ( )'Rielly was 
made the editor, a position he continued to fill until 1838, when he retired 
on becoming postmaster, and riiomas W. Flagg assumed control of the 
editorial department. In 1840 Thomas II. Ih'att bought the establish- 
ment, ret, lining it until May 1st, 1842, when it passed into the hands of Hiram 
Humphrey and Cephas S. McComiell- On the 1st of January, 1 844, ((iseph 
Curtis bought the interest of Mr. Humphrey and in (October, 1845, McConnell 
and Curtis sold to Isaac Butts, who thus became sole proprietor. A year later, 
however, Har\'e\' L. Winants was atlmittetl as a partner, and the paper was 
conducted uiuler tlu' name of I. Butts & Co. Beginning with the summer of 
1 84<S the histor\- of the Advertiser becomes very interesting as related not less 
to the disturbances and tlixisions in the Democratic party, with the general 
lines of the polic)- of whicli the Advertiser had been in consistent accord, than 
to its own f)rtunes. The introduction of the Wilniot pro\iso in Congress, and 
the \-arious issues growing cjut of the anti-sla\'er}- agitation, had made a dis- 
tinct line of demarkation between the conser\'ati\e and " free soil " elements in 
the Democratic party, especiall)' in the state of New \'ork, where the two 
w ings were known respectively as Barnburners and Hunkers. The Barn- 
burners had refusetl to sup[5ort Cass and Butler, the regular nominees of the 
Democratic partv, ami hail united with the Free Soilers, who had at Buffalo 
placed Martin Van Huren <ini.l Charles h'rancis Adams in nomination for the 
offices of president and \-ice-president. The Advertiser, then under the man- 
agement of Mr. Butts, declared in fa\-or of the Buftalo ticket. This course 
brought into being the Daily Courier, as an organ of the conservati\'es or 
Hunkers and the champion of Mr. Cass. It was published by J, M. L)-on and 
Horatio G. Warner, Judge Warner doing the principal editorial work. At the 



The Press. 347 

close of the campaign, wliich resulted, through Democratic dissensions in the 
election of General Taylor, the Whig candidate, Mr. Butts sold the Ailvcrtisrr 
to the Hunkers, who merged the Courier in it, retaining the name of the older 
paper, which thus became, for the time being, the only Democratic organ in 
this section of the state. The publishing firm was known as J. Medber}' & 
Co., and consisted of Joseph Medberj', Samuel L. Selden, Joseph Sibley, E. 
Darwin Smith and Horatio G. Warner — a rare combination of executive ability 
and editorial talent. Mr. Smith, afterward eminent as a justice of the Supreme 
court, was the chief editor, but he was constantly and efficiently assisted in his 
work by his associates, especiall)' by Judge Selden and Judge Warner. 

The attitude of the Advertiser was an uncompromising one, however, and 
greatly offended the Free Soil wing, which had the numerical superiority, if 
not the larger abilit\' in leadership, of the party in this locality. Accord- 
ingly it was soon threatened with ri\'alr\-, and Royal Chamberlain, J. W. 
Benton and George G. Cooper, who had a job printing-office, issued a pros- 
pectus for a new paper, to be called the Daily News, but just before its prom- 
ised issue a compromise was effected, which resulted in the abandonment of the 
Neivs enterprise, the acceptance of its projectors as partners in the Advertiser, 
and a readjustment of the editorial force. The publishing firm became that of 
R. Chamberlain & Co. Mr. Smith continued as editor, and George G. Cooper 
as associate editor began his long and useful career upon the press of Roches- 
ter. Judge Warner retired altogether. A few months later, or early in 1849, 
Mr. Butts purchased an interest in the Advertiser and again became its editor. 
Heretofore the paper had been issued in the morning, but it was now ciianged 
to an evening publication, as which it has since remained. In 1S51 Thomas 
H. H)'att, a ft)rnier proprietor of the Advertiser, returned from Amoy, China, 
where he had been for a number of years United States consul, and purchased 
a controlling interest in the Advertiser, Mr. Butts retiring and Mr. Hyatt tak- 
ing his place as editor. Shortly after this change, Mr. Curtis, who had been 
for some six years a resident of Milwaukee, as publisher of the Daily Wiscon- 
sin, also returned to Rochester, became a partner in the Advertiser and its 
business manager. Mr. Cooper left the Advertiser about this time, and estab- 
lished, in connection with Mr. Chamberlain, the Daily Times, which was the 
outgrowth of the Daily i%rc?/c/ published in 1850 by L. R. Faulkner as a penny 
paper. Mr. Cooper did not long remain with the Times, being succeeded in 
its management by Calvin Huson, jr., a lawyer of bright promise, afterward 
district-attorney of the county, and numbered among the early dead. The 
Times had but a brief existence, being discontinued after a few months. 

The year 1852 marks a new departure in Democratic journalism in Roch- 
ester. It was the year of the presidential campaign, which resulted in the elec- 
tion of Franklin Fierce by a majority of 312 in the electoral colleges over Gen- 
eral Winfield Scott, and the practical extinction of the Whig party. The Dem- 

23 



348 HiSTORV OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 

ocrats were flushed with anticipated victor_\- and a number of local leaders con- 
cluded, not unreasonably, that with the political pros|)ects before them and the 
increasint; populati<ni and prosperity' of Rochester, the place wr)uld sustain an- 
other Democratic tlail_\-. In pursuance of theii" project a joint stock company 
was formetl, twent)' or more pcrs<ins becominL;' shareholders, and on the ifith 
of August, 1S5J, the hrst number of the Rochester Daily Union was issued, with 
I. M. Hatch and Ursamus Turner as etlitors of the political department and 
George G. Cooper in charge of the local columns. It rapitlly obtained a com- 
manding position in the political fieUl, but the hnancial results were not entireh' 
satisfactor)- and, accordingly after the election of I'resitlent Pierce, it was sold 
to Isaac Butts anil Josejih Curtis, the latter of whom hail been president and 
business manager of the I'liioii company, Mr. Hutts again putting on the edi- 
torial hcuaiess. In 1S57 it was united with the Ai/i'irfi.vr, then in the h:uids 
of John Iv Moi-ey and, as the Rochester I'nion eV Advcrtiicr, it is still pub- 
lished. I)uring the tu ent_\'-se\'en )'ears of its joint existence, several changes 
have occurred in its business antl editorial management, which will be briefly 
specified. The original publishers were Isaac Hutts, Joseph Curtis ami John 
Iv Morc\'. lnl)ecember, 1864, Mr. Hutts retired permanenth' from the new s- 
paper business, selling his interest to William I'urcell, George G. Cooper and 
Lorenzo Kell_\', The firm was kniiwn as Curtis, Morey & Co., and William 
I'urcell became editor-in-chief, a position he still holds. On the 1st of 
Januarv', i^!73, the I'liion <t' Advertiser co\w^<\\\\ was organised, with a capital 
of $300,000, including all the rights, titles, franchises and good will of the 
former newspaper and job establishments, as well as the Livingston paper mills, 
situated at 1 )ans\ille. The officers of the company were : Trustees — Joseph 
Curtis, ]ohn V.. Morey, William I'urcell, George G. Cooper, Lorenzo Kelly; 
president and treasurer, Joseph Curtis; secretary, Lorenzo Kell)'. This organ- 
isation obtained for nearly twent)' \-ears, but quite receiltl)' Lugene T. Curtis 
has become a trustee, as representing the estate of his father, and George Moss 
has enteretl the board, ha\ing purchased the interest of George G. Cooper. The 
present officers are: John I'",. More)-, president and treasurer; William Purcell, 
vice-president, and Lorenz(j Kelly, secretar_\-. William Dove is superintendent 
of the job department. The editorial force is constituted as ft)llows : William 
Purcell, editor-in-chief; (Jeorge Moss, managing editor with special super\-is- 
ion of the cit\' deiiartment ; George C. Hragdon, news editor; David L. Hill, 
Charles P. Woodruff' and George C. Scager, reporters, and Pierre Purcell, tele- 
graphic editor. The Union & Advertiser has long ranked among the ablest and 
most influential Democratic journals in the state, and its business management 
has been attended with uniform prosperity. Connected with it is a large and 
thoroughly equipped job office, and it was the first paper in the state outside 
of the metropolis to make use of a four-cylinder Hoe press, which it purchased 
as early as 1861. The publication of its weekh- edition, the Republican, has 



The Press. 349 

been continued without intermission since it was originated by Tucker & Mar- 
tin in 1829. 

From this review of the history of the Union & Advertiser it will be noted 
that there have been associated with it, in both business and editorial capacities, 
a number of men of mark in their da)- and generation. A brief allusion to 
some of these will be of interest. Luther Tucker, after leaving the Advertiser, 
established the Genesee Fanner, to which more specific reference will be made 
hereafter, and continued it until 1S39, when he remo\-ed it to Albany, united it 
with the Cultivator and, under his guidance, the combined paper became the 
highest agricultural authority in the northern states. He was a man of many 
virtues, and died in Albany about ten years ago. Henry O'Rielly is entitled 
to enduring recognition for his Sketches of Rochester, published in 1838 The 
diligence of the author and his thorough identification with his subject have 
made his work a storehouse of accurate information, and Rochester is under a 
deep obligation to him for his unselfish labors. The book has become very 
rare and is jealously treasured by all who are fortunate in the possession of a 
cop)'. The name of Mr. O'Rielly is also honorabl}' identified with the early 
development of the magnetic telegraph. He has spent a number of his later 
years in the cit}' of New York, engaged in literary pursuits, but has recently 
returned to this cit\-, where he is passing his declining da_\-s attended by the 
esteem and affection of his fellow-citizens. Robert Martin died in Albany, 
many years ago, while connected with the Daily Advertiser & Gazette of that 
city. Thomas H. Hyatt, after leaving Rochester, was associated with the Daily 
Globe in New York and subsequently published an agricultural paper in San 
Francisco. Samuel L. Selden was one of tlie most eminent jurists the state 
has produced, serving successively as county judge of Monroe, justice of the 
Supreme court and judge of the court of Appeals. He has been dead some 
eight years. Joseph Medbery accumulated a handsome fortune and died some 
two years since. Horatio G. Warner was a vigorous writer and a formidable 
controversialist. He was elected a regent of the university of the state of New 
York in 1871 and died in 1875. The long and honorable career of E. Darwin 
Smith was ended b)- death in 1S83. For over twenty years he adorned the 
bench of the Supreme court b\- his profound learning, his invariable courtesy 
and his unswerving integrity, but he was also distinguished, during his associa- 
tion with the press, as an exceedingly well-informed writer, sincere in his con- 
victions and apt in their expression. He became a Republican, at the outbreak 
of the war, and contributed many patriotic articles to the local press, particu- 
larly to the Democrat, the larger proportion of which were published as editorial 
matter, and, until the day of his death, he maintained the most cordial relations 
with the craft. The writer of this article came to Rochester several years after 
the late Isaac Butts had severed his connection with the Rochester Union, but 
no one familiar with the journalism of the state can fail to appreciate the great 



History of the City of Rochester. 



ability nl" Mr. Butts. In breadth of kno\vlcdi;v, in fidelit)- tu his thought, in 
ciiuraL;c nf cvprcssiim .iiid in terseness of stx'le, he has had few superiors. Of 
eeononiic issues as view ed from his st.nid-points, he was a master, and his work 
on I^rolii'liitii mill Itcc linilc, whether we aj^ree or disaL;ree with iiis \iews, 
must lje admitted to be one of e.xeeethns^ foree ami perspieuity. His habit of 
frank utterance, in trxini,; national periotls, provoked enmities, bitter for the 
moment, but none of them sur\'ive his death, and his name remains as con- 
spicuous as his work was able and persuasive. In business management Jose[Dh 
Curtis was as honorable as he w.is successful, keen in his sympathies, aftable in 
his demeanor, catholic in his charities, and sincerely beloved by an extentleil 
circle of h'ieiids. His death occurred in the fdl of IcSS^. Nor can I close 
this sketch of the ("i/ioii eV AdviT/i.ur. without a bi'ief reference to one who, 
although still li\in<j;, has been withdrawn from active journalism for the last 
twelve years. (^leorgc G. Cooper was, b\' the concurrent testimony of his con- 
temporaries, one of the most accomplished city editors that provincial journal- 
ism has known. In his da_\-, the city editor was not commander of a bodv of 
reporters. He was in himself all in all. He u.is a news-gatherer, commen- 
tator and critic. Mr. Cooper fullilled his trijile functions with rare industr)-, 
fidelity and sagacit)' and with a sint^ular measure of public esteem. Obliged 
by impaired health to resign his position, he has retained his interest in the 
progress of local journ.ilism, and to his e.xact and cijmprehensive knowledge 
of local history its conductors are intiebted fir much \aluable information. 
Nor should the name of Geoi'ge H. Lane, for m<m\' years the city editor of the 
l'iiu>ii, be ignored. He was a fiithful wiirker .mil, although now retired from 
active journalism, enjo_\-s an enxiable re[nitation for his past service. 

In chronoh.igical secjuence, the next [)aper started in Rochester, after the 
Advcrtisir, was the luTilivni-, by U. D. .Stei)henson, in January, 1828. It was 
brought into being b\- the Anti-Masonic e.xcitement. Its name was soon 
changed into that of the Aiiti-J\[asoiiic Inquirer, and Thurlow Weed and Sam- 
uel Heron became its proprietors. In February, 1829, Mr. Heron sold his 
interest to Daniel N. .Sprague, and upon Mr. Weed's retirement on March 
30th, 1830, l\Tr. Sprague assumetl the entire ownership, ami comlucted it until 
October 20th, 1, S3 1, when hh-astus Shepard transferred the \\\stcj-ii Spectator 
from Palmyra, consolidated it with the /lujninr, purchasing Mr. Sprague's 
interest, and published the united paper in an enlarged form. In Novem- 
ber, 1832, AKah Strong became a partner, and the paper was publishetl by 
Shepar^l & Strong until it was merged, on the i8th of I*"ebruar\% 1834, in 
the National Ripiiblu-an, which, begun as 4 weekly b_\- S\-dne)- Smith in 
[831, became .a tlail\- in 1833, and was bought by Shepard & Strong at 
the time already indicated. These gentlemen changed the name of their 
weekly to the Monroe Dcnioorat and began the publication of the Roch- 
ester Daily Democrat, which has since been continued. The Anti-Masonic 



The Prkss. 351 

Inquirer was very famous in its day ; its mission is still remembered viv- 
idl\' by tile older residents of Western New York, and it plaj-ed a \ery 
important part in the politics of the day. To it and the party of which 
it was the organ, Mr. Weed gave his \'outhful fire and energy and achieved 
a reputation which secured his invitation to Albany as editor of the Even- 
ing Journal. The histor}' of the Morgan abduction and the events which 
succeeded it are narrated elsewhere in this work, and it is sufficient here 
to simply allude to them, but it may be said, at this distance frt)m their occur- 
rence, that the fierce passions of the time, the family feuds, the public fury 
which they stimulated, seem utterly disproportioned to the crime w-hich, at 
the most, is to be referred to the mistaken zeal of a few individuals. At the 
present time it would, of course, be impossible to build a powerful political 
part}- upon such narrow foundations as those upon which the Anti-Masonic 
party rested. It would have been impossible then had there been exigent 
national issues of importance. The absence of these made it comparatively 
easy for men of exceptional ability to create an organisation which had its 
impulse only in perversions of fact and prejudices against a very innocent and 
worthy fraternity, which has survived the tempest that well nigh over- 
whelmed it, and whicli now numbers in its ranks thousands of the best "cit- 
izens of the country. 

When the Rochester Dcntocrat began its career the genesis of the Whig 
party was also announced. That party, formed from the Anti- Masonic and 
National Republican elements, was already making serious efforts to contest, 
with the Albany regency, the control in state affairs, but it was not until four 
years later that it obtained a decisive victory in the election of William H. 
Seward as governor, a circumstance that was the forerunner of the national 
triumph, in 1840, which elevated General Harrison to the presidency. With 
the onward sweep of the WHiig party, the Rochester Democrat was promi- 
nently and influentially identified. In 1836 George Dawson purchased a pro- 
prietary interest, became the editor and so continued until 1839, when he dis- 
posed of his interest to Shepard & Strong and removed to Detroit. In April, 
1842, he returned to Rochester, purchased Mr. Shepard's interest and again 
assumed the editorial management. He thus remained until November, 1846, 
when he sold to Henry Cook and Samuel P. Allen, the firm name being 
Strong, Cook & Allen, with Henry Cook as editor and Samuel P. Allen as as- 
-^uciate, the latter succeeding as editor-in chief upon the death of Mr. Cook. 
In December, 1857, it absorbed the Rochester American, the new daily being 
known as the Democrat & American, the weekly still retaining the name of the 
Moni'oe Democrat. The Rochester American, which thus lost its separate 
identity, was established December 23d, 1844, by Leonard W. Jerome and 
Josiah M. Patterson, with Alexander Mann as editor. In July, 1845, Law- 
rence R. Jerome was admitted to the business firm, and the paper was pub- 



35- HiSTDKV OF THE CiTV UK ROCHESTER. 



lishcil by J. M. Patterson & Co. until January ist, 1846, when it became the 
L-.xchisive propert)' of the Jeninie brothers. In .September of the same year 
I )r. I)aniel Lee was assoeiateii witli Mr. Mann in the editoriii! (.iep.irtment, cuul 
in 1X47 Keubeii 1). Junes, now cm the staft'of" the Doiiocrat eV Chroiiii/c, be- 
came alsii an editor. in I.S56 and 1857 Chester P. Dewey was the editor-in- 
chief. Tile Aiiiiricdi/.ds the ilistincti\'e exponent of the American or" Know- 
Nothing" i)art_\-, \\asan able chamijimi of the i)rinciples it re[)resented, was 
distini;uished for its editorial t.ileiit, dm\ h.ul its fair share of prosperity. The 
reason for its beiiiL; ceased with the decadence of the party for which it stood, 
and its absc.irptiim with the Devwcrat, then the organ of the rapidly growing 
Republican nrganisation, with which it afifiliated upon the dissolution of 
the Whig |)arty, was the natural result of the politicd cuiiditinns that ob- 
tained. 

The varidus itublications (if the Dtiinhrnt were ci.intinuetl b\" the lirmoi 
StrdUg, Allen & 1 luntingtnn, formetl upon the union with the . iw<77(>?«, Sam- 
uel P. .Mien remaining as editor until .\pril 1st, 1864, when William ,S. King 
& Co. bec.mie prnpiietors. 1). 1). S. Brown & C'i>. purchasetl the Ihtiioinrt on 
Januai'y Ist, iSTij, .in<l Robert Cartel' was installeil as managing editor. Mr. 
Carter was in charge for the ensuing four years anil was succeeded by Reuben 
D. Jones, \V. ] ). Storey, Rossiter Johnson and others, until the consolidation 
with the Chronu'lc on the 1st of December, 1870. A brief notice of the Chron- 
icle is here in order. The Clirouidc grew out of certain local disturbances in 
the Republican party, ami w.is established b}' Lewis Selye, representative in 
Congress, in 1868, as a direct ri\al of the Ilonocrat for the patronage of the 
party. Charles S. Collins was the editor, and with him was a staff of bright 
young journalists, including Isaac M. Gregor)', William F. Peck and Henry 
C. Daniels. It was the first representative in Rochester of that crisp and con- 
densed style of moilern journalism, which now prevails so largely; it attained a 
large circulation and popularity It was seen, however, that two Republican 
morning papers in Rochester were unnecessar\' and were detrimental to each 
other, and, the factional controversy being composed, measures were taken to 
ett'ect a con.solidation. Accordingly Freeman Clarke, who succeeded Mr. Selye 
in Congress, purchased the Cliroiiiclc, the ])roprietors of the Dcntocrat — then 
being D. D. S. Brown, Nathan P. Pond and W. H. Mathews — retaining their 
interest, and the two [sapers were joined in one, the first number of the Dciiw- 
crat eV Chroiinlc being issued December 1st, 1870, with Stephen C. Hutchins, 
late of the Y\lban\- Joitnial, as managing editor, and Isaac M. Gregory as as- 
sociate editor. ( )f the publishing company known as the Rochester Printing 
compan}', D. D. S. Brown was president, Nathan P. Pond secretary and L. 
Ward Clarke treasurer. Since 1872 the officers ha\e been W. H. Mathews, 
president; Nathan P. Pond, secretary, and L. Ward Clarke, treasurer. The pres- 
ent board of directors consists of L. Ward Clarke, P'reeman Clarke, Nathan P. 
Pond, W. H. Mathews and Charles K. Fitch. 



The Press. 353 

Since the consolidation, the career of the Dcinocrat & Chroiiiilc has been 
one of uniform prosperity. It has a large editorial force and a very extended 
circulation throughout Western New York. It is the only Republican morning 
paper between Syracuse and Buffalo. It publishes daily, semi-weekly, weekly 
and Sunday editions, and about the first of August will be issued as an eight- 
page paper, metropolitan in size and in the variety of the news. In addition 
to its news branch, it has one of the best appointed job offices in the state, un- 
der the immediate supervision of Mr. Mathews. It is still Republican in its 
political bias, but aims to be fair and independent in the discussion of all pub- 
lic questions. Mr. Hutchins was managing editor until January, 1873, when 
Joseph O'Connor, now of the Buffalo Courier, took charge until the fall of that 
}'ear. On the 13th of November, 1873, Charles E. Fitch, formerly- editor of 
the Syracuse Sta>uiard, was in\itcd to the management and has since been con- 
tinued therein. The present editorial force is as follows : Charles E. Fitch, 
managing editor ; Frank P. Smith, associate editor; Henry C. Maine, news ed- 
itor; Reuben D. Jones, corresponding editor; Fred C. Mortimer, telegraphic 
editor; Ernest R. Willard, city editor; h'rank L. Murray, assistant city editor; 
John Dennis, jr., Henry T. Braman, Richard A. Searing, J. Henry Tholens and 
Allen D. Willey, reporters, and Homer Rowell, commercial editor. Thomas 
Gliddon, Thomas A. Raymond and W. Barron Williams are also editors of 
special departments in the Sunday edition, which began publication July 29th. 
1879. The office of the Democrat has been three times destroyed by fire, but 
its issue has been intermitted but a single day, and that on March 17th, 1865, 
occasioned by the flood of that year, which filled the basement containing the 
engine and boiler and press-room with water. 

Pursuing the plan adopted in regard to the Union & Advertiser I allude to a 
few of those who, either in a business or in an editorial capacity, have been iden- 
tified with the Donocrat and the journals which have been incorporated with it 
during the fift\- )-ears i.if its being. Alvah Strong is now the oldest printer in 
Rochester, and is probably more familiar than any one else with the rise and 
progress of the art in this section. He has been for some years retired from 
active business pursuits, but enjoys a serene old age, in the consciousness of a 
life well spent in the service of God and his fellow-men, with unusual cause for 
gratitude in the career of his children and with the cordial respect of the entire 
community attending him. Next to that of Thurlow Weed, the name most 
widely known as connected with the Rochester press is that of George Dawson. 
.\fter making his mark here, he was invited by Mr. Weed to a position in the 
Albany Journal a-wA remained with that paper until his death, a period of over 
forty years. He soon obtained a proprietary interest and on the retirement of 
Mr. Weed, in 1862, became the editor-in-chief, as which he remained with em- 
inent success for several years, being recalled to it in 1880 after the resignation 
of Charles E. Smith and only resigning a few months before his death, early 



354 History of the City of Rochester. 

ill I 88^. Mr. Dawson was a terse writer and a conscientious politician. His 
advice to party leaders was hiL;hly esteemed and his life is a fittini;- illustratiiui 
(if what indiistr\-, prudence and courtes)' may achiexe. Withal, he was an ar- 
dent disciple .ifthe "t^entle Isaak Walton," and his articles upon trout and sal- 
mon hshiuL;, contributed t<i the '7('///7/(?/ and afterward published in book form, 
are jMscaturial classics, ScUiuicl P. lAUen, whose de.ith was chronicleil but a 
few years since, was a t^ood example of the journalist ol the old school, strong 
in his part\- attachments, earnest in controversy and clear, but not ornate, in his 
st\'le Before coming to Rochester he publishetl the Rif'iib/icdii at Geneseo, 
to which he returned after \ariiuis \icissitudes, and was part proprietor and ed- 
itor thereof when he dietl. He held a number of public offices, the chief being 
the collectoi'ship of internal revenue for this district and the clerkship of the 
state Senate. Leon.ird W. Jerome went from Rochester to New York, where 
he has since become \er)' prominent in financial and social circles, and is the 
father-in-law of Lord R.nidolph Churchill, one of the leatlers of the Conserva- 
tive part)' in the British house of Commons. I wish the material were more 
full for a biography of Alexander Mann, who was one rif the best equipped and 
most conscientious of Rochester journalists, but the data concerning him are 
most meager and unsatisfactory. jXfter leaving Rochester he was fir some time 
an editorial writer on the New \'ork T/iiiis and highly regarded b>- Henry J. 
Ra\'moni.l, but he rapidl)' succumbed to jiulmonary disease and died in l-"lorida 
many years since. His widow afterward marriei.1 the late Isaac Hills, and his 
son Parker Mann is a promising artist, now li\ing in Nantucket. Chester P. 
Dewey is a son of the late Professor Chester Dewey anci has been a journalist 
since his graduation from Williams college in 1846. He left Rochester when 
the A))icriitni ceased publication, and as editor ot the New York Coutnicrcial 
and the l-inxiklvn Union won an excellent standing among the journalists of the 
metropolis. He is now with Orange Judd & Co. William S. King is a resi- 
dent of Minneapolis and one of the best-known citizens of the Northwest. 
He has been ])Ostmaster of the national house of Representatives and a repre- 
sentative in Congress from Minnesota. Had Robert Carter's ambition been 
equal to his acquirements he could have greatl)- distinguished himself as a man 
of letters. As he was, without invidious discrimination, he was unquestion- 
abh' the man of the most varied scholarship and serviceable memor}' who has 
ever adorned the press of Rochester; ]?oston bred, he was the friend of Lowell 
and Holmes and Longfellow and associated on terms of eciualit>- with all that 
was best in the culture of the "modern Athens." He was a perfect cyclopedia 
of information, there being no subject upon which he could not throw a flood 
of light and had apparently exhausted. He was, during the latter years of his 
life, one (jf the editors of Appleton's Nnv Anicfican Cyclopedia. Lewis Sel}'e 
was a man of rough manners, but of extraordinary energy. He filled various 
local offices, and was, for one term, a member of Congress. He was especially 



The Press. 355 

proud of the Cliroiiiclc and the brilliant corps of editors who conducted it, and, 
to the end, regretted its discontinuance. He died about two years ago, being 
considerably over seventy years of age. Freeman Clarke, after a life prominent 
both in business and in political circles, is still a resident of our city. He is re- 
garded as one of the best financial authorities in the country. He has been a 
presidential elector, member of the constitutional convention of 1867, repre- 
sentative in Congress, for three terms, and controller of the currency. Some 
years since he sold the major part of his stock in the Devtocrat Sf Chfoniclc to 
his son, L. Ward Clarke. Stephen C. Hutchins was an exceedingly industrious 
journalist. Coming to Rochester with a thorough training on the Albany Jour- 
nal, his executive ability was of essential service to the consolidated papers of 
which he had the editorial control. He infused his own energy into every col- 
umn and assured success from the start. Returning to Albany, he was for five 
years editor of the Argus, then contributed to the editorial page of the Express, 
and at the time of his death, early in 1883, was employed upon Osgood & Co.'s 
magnificent work The Public Service of the State of Neiv York. Mr. Hutchins 
also compiled several editions of the Civil List and was generally recognised 
as one of the best-informed men of his day upon the history of this state from 
the earliest colonial times to the present. He was especialh- known as an en- 
thusiastic advocate of the primacy of the Dutch in the cv(.)lution of the civil 
and religious liberties of the American continent. 

Among others also who may be mentioned in connection with the Demo- 
crat & Chronicle are Francis S. Rew, for many years editor of the Rochester 
Express; Charles S. Collins, now chief editorial writer of the Troy Times ; 
Henry C. Daniels, late local editor of the Rochester Sunday Times: William 
F. Peck, afterward editor of the Sunday Times and the Sunday Tribune, and 
now the editor of this volume ; Isaac M. Gregory, with a national reputation 
as the " Current Topics " man of the Democrat Sf Chronicle, who, since leaving 
here in 1878, has been on the editorial staff of the Buffalo Express, editor of 
the Fllmira Ercc Press, and is now editor- in-chief of the New York Graphic ; 
Rossiter Johnson, the editor o{ Little Classics; W. D. Storey, of Santa Cruz, 
California; John H. Young, who went from here to the Detroit Tribune; 
Joseph O'Connor, whose journalistic career comprehends service on the Indian- 
apolis Sentinel and the New York World, and who is now the accomplished 
editor of the Buffalo Courier; William A. Croffut, well-known as poet, wit and 
WiQTRteur, author oi the. Bourbon Ballads \n the New York Tribune; Charles 
A. Dewey, M. D., of this city; Charles E. Caldwell, of brilliant promise, who 
died in 1865 ; Henry F. Keenan, of the Indianapolis Sentinel, Chicago Ti7nes, 
Philadelphia Times, Philadelphia Press, and now editor of a paper in Wilkes- 
barre, a very bright journalist ; Rev. Joseph A. Ely ; Jacob A. Hoekstra, now 
city editor of the Rochester Morning Herald ; Thomas J. Neville, clerk of the 
executive board ; George W. Elliott, with H. H. Warner & Co. ; and Edward 



356 History ok the City of Rochester. 

L. Adams, for several years city editor of the Democrat &" Chronicle and now 
editor-in-chief of the I'llniira ./yr'(V-/'/.f(7'. Among correspondents and special 
contributors ma\- be mentioned the Rev. WashiiiL^ton h'rothinghani ("Macau- 
la)'"), Sidiie)' Andrews and Colonel Richartl J. Uintoii, Washington corre- 
spondents; Rev, h'. I-. I-dlinwood, 1). 1)., M_\-ron (i. Peck, John Mcintosh, 
Judge 1"^. Darwin Smith, I'mf S. S. Cutting, lulwin Scrantom, 1'",. I'eshine 
Smith, Prof Chester l)ewe_\' ancl President Anderson. 

Pursuing the chronological order heretofore followed, reserving the group- 
ing of certain publications in tlistincti\'e classifications, a number of papers, 
more or less e[)hcmeral, ai'e hereto be noted. The Craftsman, a Masonic 
journal, begun in iSjS, by P.. P. Roberts, w .is mo\ed, after a single year, to 
Albau)-, and soon aftervx.ird died. In iSjS, also, Peter Cherry established a 
literary paper called the ll'cstcr// ]l'ainicrcr, which soon passed into the hands 
of Edwin Scrantom, who changed the name to the Rochester Gcii/. and issued 
it until 1^3,1, when he sold it to John Dennis ; in 1834 it became the pmijcrty 
of Shepai'tl & Strong and was discontiuuetl by Strong & Dawson in 1843. 
Shortl)' before his ileath Mr. Scrantom attempted to revive the Ccm, but his 
effort was unsuccessiul antl was abandoned after one or two numbers. The 
S/'irit of the Age, semi-monthly, was publishetl in 1830 b_\' y\mes & Harnum, 
anil the Rochester Morning Cornier in the same _\-ear b_\' \\. J. Roberts. The 
Rochester J/i/ror \\i\<. issued in 1832 by lulwin Sci'antom, with Dr. Codery 
llolstein as editor. I'he .-Igc was also issued during this \-ear. The Jiotanist 
had a lorief existence in 1833. In 1834 the Rights of Man, a semi-weekl_\', 
was published by the Anti-Slavery society, Dr. Reid editor. In 1838-39 JA- 
/\en:::ie's (iazette was [niblished by Alexander McKenzie. The Daily S//// 
was ])ublished a few months in 1840 b_\- Alfred C)akle}', and the Rochester 
Daily Whig, by William A. Wells, was a campaign paper tluring the same 
year. In 1841 the American Citizen w.is published here antl at Perry, W\'0- 
ming county, b)' Cen. William L. Ch.iplin, the famous abolitionist. In 1841, also, 
was started and published for a number of \'ears, the Watchman, by Delazon 
Smith. It was a bold and uncompromising champion of atheism and assailed 
the Christian religion \'iolentl)'. Smith subsequently made quite a figure in 
politics and was sent by I'resident T\'ler as minister tc.) Ecuador. The Jcffcr- 
sonian was a dail_\- publication by Thomas L. Nichols in 1842, V.. S. Watson, 
editor. The Evening Cazctte w.is publishetl in the same )-ear b)- R. L. B. Clark, a 
brother of " Grace (ireen wood." \\. S. Watsi:>n publishetl the Rochester Herald 
as a daily in 1844, and the L lay Unglc was published as a campaign paper 
from the Democrat office. 'Phe femperanec 7r'//r;/(?/ was published a short time 
in 1846. The Genesee Olio, a literai-y paper, was published in 1847 by Frank- 
lin Courdra)-, as also was the Star of 'fempcranec by Mr. Merrill, as an organ 
of the Sons of Temperance, then in the plenitude of their power and influence. 
The Youth's 'fempcranec Banner, monthly, was published by the committee of 



The Press. 357 

the Youth's Temperance society, in 1848, and the Medical Truth- Tiihr, de- 
voted to the Thomsonian practice, b_\' Dr. Justin Gates, during the same year. 
C. H. Sedgwick pubhshed the Waskini^toiiiaii m 1848, and, in the following- 
year, the Rochester Gcnnaiiia, the Groiiingc Coiirant, the Christian Sciitiml 
and Brc7vstcrs Insurance Reporter, all of which were exceedingly short-lix'ed. 
The North Star, afterward Frederick Donglass' s Paper, was established in 1 848, 
as a weekly organ of the Abolitionists and as such had a national reputation. 
Some of Mr. Douglass's best work, as a champion of the anti-slavery cause, 
was done on this paper. It was discontinued in i860 The Rochester Daily 
Magnet was published in 1849 by Lawrence & Winants, C. H. McDonald & 
Co., proprietors, and discontinued in 1850. The latter year witnessed the 
birth and death of the Investigator, the Annunciator, the Cygnet, the Flag of 
Freedom and the Youtii s Instructor. The Evening Neivs was issued for a few 
months in 1852 by R. Chamberlain & Co., and the A'rt/wwrt/ Reformer was also 
published a short time during the same year. Snow & Ingersoll issued the 
Rochester Daily Tribune in 1855-56, and in the latter year John X. Ingersoll 
published a campaign paper called the Rochester Daily Free Press. C. H. 
McDonnell issued the Mercantile Journal \n 1856; and in 1858 the Evening 
Anwrican, a campaign paper, was published by A. H. St. Germain. The New 
York Eclectic Medical and Surgical Journal was published monthlv in 1853 
and 1854 b\' William W. Hadley, M. D. The Children's Friend, a monthly, 
was issued from 185 I until 1854 inclusive by O. R. L. Crozier. The Journal 
of the Home was published from 1861 to 1869. The Daily l''rogrannne, a 
theatrical ad\-ertising sheet, with some reading matter, was published by George 
M. Elwood in 1868 and 1869. The Musical Times, a monthly, was issued by 
J. P. Shaw from 1870 to 1874. Woman and Her Work, with Mrs. E. S. Jen- 
nings as editor, was an organ of the Woman's Christian association in 1872, 
and the Helper s Friend, by the same editor, appeared in 1873. The Annor- 
fe^nvv- was started June 15th, 1876, as a monthly publication, by the Young 
Men's Christian association in its interests of the churches of Rochester; it was 
discontinued in 1879. The Herald of the Morning was published by N. H. 
Barbour in 1878 and 1879. In the spring of 1882 a syndicate of bright 
young journalists, Edgar O. Odson, Nathan B. Heath, now city editor of the Pitts- 
burg Times, Charles P. Woodruff, now of the Rochester Union, David Healy, 
member of Assembly in 1883, and one or two others, started the Evening 
Telegram and continued its publication about three months, but insufficient 
capital and the fact that the ground was fully occupied caused its suspension. 
It also was independent, with Republican leanings. The Redmond brothers, 
well known journalists of the city, published the Saturday Evening Journal 
during a portion of 1882 and 1883. 

In 1859 the third of the four principal English dailies was started in a very 
unpretentious way. Early in the autumn of that year Charles W. Hebard, who 



358 History of the City of Rochester. 



had been in business as a niarblc-cuttcr, but wiio had considerable Hterary abil- 
ity, and a decided taste fur jnurnahsni, beLjan the pubiicitiim nl a small evening 
paper called the Tinirs. the name ^A w hich was soon changed to the Eiuiiiiii^ 
Iix/Ti-ss, which was tlevuted to tile interests of the workingmen and sold for 
one cent a cop_\-. It had a fair field and its success was immediate. Mr. Heb- 
ard sotin assuciated with himself Clark D. Trac)', as business manager, and 
William Id. Beach, a practical printer, to superintend tlie composition depart- 
ment and the job office which was attached to the concern. Under these 
auspices and at the price mentioned, the Express continued to be published 
until April, i860, when Francis S. Rew, an experienced journalist, who had been 
a legislative reporter on the Albany Journal and, for some tweh'e years, on 
the editorial staff of the Democrat, was admitted as a partner cUid installed as 
editor-in-chief The juiper was enlarged, new t\'pe procured, the price raised 
to two Cents a cop\-, and it became Republican in its tone, earnestl)' advocating 
the electiiin of Abraham Lincoln to the presidcnc)-. During the war the Express 
was admitte(.l tn membeishii) with the New York Press association, received 
the dispatches of th.it eorpuration, ,intl became recognised as an enterprising 
and influential newspaper. In i,S6i William J. I*"owler became a member of 
the firm and a politicil writer for the culumns of the paper. In 1865 A. Car- 
ter Wilder, who had previciusly been the representati\'e in Congress from Kan- 
sas and whii afterw.ird became mayor of Rochester, bought, with his brother D. 
Webster Wilder, now a prominent journalist in Kansas, a one-half interest. 
During a portion of 1867 the l:xpress published a morning as well as an even- 
ing edition, being ins])ired thereto by factional disturbance within the Repub- 
lican party, and the premise of assistance from locil politicians, the promise, as 
is usual in such cases, being wholly unredeemed. The expense occasioned by 
this eiiterjirise was a serious embarrassment to the Express and contributed to 
the financial difficulties with which it contended for ye.irs, but it continued to 
be enterprising and retained a considerable hold u]3on the patronage of the Re- 
publican jiarty and citizens generally. It was always distinguished for its neat 
and tasteful t\pographical .qjpearance. After the Wilders withdrew, Tracy & 
Rew continued publication until 1874, when a stock company was organised, 
consisting of Clark D. Tracy, I-'rancis S. Rew, George H. EUwanger and Wil- 
liam C. Crum. Mr. Rew remained as editor-in-chief, Mr. EUwanger became 
m.anaging editor, and the locd staff was enlarged and strengthened, John M. 
Hrooks soon being announced <"s city editor. Mr. Brooks subsequently became 
city editor of the I'/iion & Advertiser, and died some four years ago, in the 
service oi that [i.iper. Mr. Crum's connection with the paper was not of long 
continuance, his stock being bought by Mr. EUwanger. On the 2d of June, 
1882, the propert)' and franchises of the Express having been sold, a stock com- 
pany was formed, with the following gentlemen as trustees: E. Kirke Hart, 
George EUwanger, Daniel T. Hunt, William D. EUwanger and Joseph M. Cor- 



The Press. 359 

nell. The name was changed to the Post- Express and Daniel T. Hunt was 
made business manager, \\ith the title of secretary and treasurer. Mr. Rew re- 
tired from the editorship, after an industrious service of twenty-two years, and 
is now upon the staff of the Oakland (Cal.) Daily Trihiiuc. George H. Eli- 
wanger was made managing editor, and shortly afterward Albert P. Blair, now 
editor of the Saratogitni, was engaged as principal editorial writer. In the 
summer of 1882 Mr. P^Uwanger retired and the staff was reorganised with 
George T. Lanigan, late of the editorial staff of the New York World, as edi- 
tor-in-chief The present editorial force is constituted as follows: George T. 
Lanigan, editor-in-chief; Isaac D. Marshall, managing editor; George S. Crit- 
tenden, news editor; William H. Samson, commercial editor; William M. But- 
ler, Edward Angevine, William H. Lewis, William A. W'hitelocke and Frank L. 
Hughes, reporters. 

The youngest of the P^nglish dailies in the city is the Morning Herald, 
which made its first appearance on the 5th of August, 1879. It was started 
and has since been conducted by a stock company, composed principally of 
men experienced in the newspaper business who have, from the first, been 
actively engaged in the several departments of the paper. At the organisa- 
tion of the company and staff of the Morning Herald, Samuel D. Lee was 
elected president; P^rank T. Skinner, secretary and treasurer; Samuel H. 
Lowe, formerl}- of the editorial staft' of the Express, editor-in-chief; Samuel 
D. Lee, managing editor ; and C. Smith Benjamin, for a number of years city 
editor of the Express, city editor. Mr. Benjamin retired from the paper about 
three months after it was started; and Jacob A. Hoekstra, formerly of the 
Democrat & Chronicle and more recently associate editor of the Buffalo Courier, 
became the city editor. The present staff embraces, in addition to the names 
given, the following reporters: J. W. Stanley, Irving Washington, J. W. Dick- 
inson, F. R. Swift and PLdward E. Tucker. For about two years and a half 
the Morning Herald \fSiS published in Smith's arcade under many disadvantages, 
resulting from the unsuitableness of its quarters for its increasing business. In 
March, 1882, the offices and the machinery of the establishment were removed 
to the building now occupied by them on PIxchange street, which, with the 
exception of the ground floor, had been specially fitted up for the use of the 
Herald. About the time of its removal it made arrangements for the purchase 
of a Scott perfecting press, and on the 2d day of the ensuing September it was 
printed from the new press built expressly for its use. The Herald claims to 
be independent in its politics, although leaning rather to the Republican side. 
Its financial success seems to be well assured. It publishes a weekly edition 
and has recently enlarged to an eight-page form. Since the establishment of 
the Herald all the English dailies have, from time to time, reduced their price, 
and, although they all print fully as much matter as papers of other cities cor- 
responding in size and importance to Rochester, they are sold at the uniform 



360 History of thk City of Rochestp:r. 

price of two cents a cops', or five dollars a year. So far as I am informed, all 
h,i\c thus far cxpericncc(_l nnly the best results from the lo\verinL;ijf their price, 
althouL;h, nf course, the policy is yet somewhat experimental cUid ma)' result 
in " the sur\'i\al of the fittest. " With the cheapness of white [japer, however, 
and the excellent acK'ertisinij patronatje, of which Rochester is the center, there 
should be a yoml field for all of the existiuLJ dailies. 

The Sundax' papers ha\e become a prominent feature of Rochester journal- 
ism. I cannot, in this connection, discuss the ethics nf this species of journalism. 
Under the stimulus of the time it exists and will continue to exist, and the chief 
desire of good citizens, as well as that of its conductors, should be that it may 
be conformed to pure and exalted standards and thus discourage those sensa- 
tional .uul cori'iijiting Sunday publications which disgrace too many American 
citizens. Happil}', it is a pleasure to speak in high terms of Rochester in this 
regard. Its Sunday papers are enterprising, but not demoralising. C)ne prom- 
inent Sunday journal, after an honorable career, checkered, however, by many 
vicissitudes, died about two years ago. After the union of the Chronicle with 
the Democrat. Charles S. Collins, who had been the editor nf the first-mentioned 
paper, published and etlited the Xczcs Letter, after which he went to Troy, and 
the paper was followed b)' the Sunday Times, under the successive partnershi[)s 
of William S. Foster & Co.; Hynes, F(.)Ster & Co.; Hynes, Daniels & Co., 
Daniels & Peck, and Daniels & Phillips. In 1S7S it passed into the hands of 
Cyrus D. Phillips and Abraham M. Wollf, and its name was changed to the 
S/n/i/ar 7'ri/>////e: it soon passed uholh' into the hands of A. 1".. Wt.illf, then 
into that of Clifton & Marshall, after which Asa T. Soule owned it, selling to 
Flannery & Hill. It was the exclusive propert)' of Mr. Flanner)- when it was 
discontinued in 1HH2. The Sniiday Morning' Herald, which is distinct from 
the dail)', was started December 3d, 1S76, by Barber & Benjamin. It is now 
the propert)' of Barber & Luckey, with Joseph L. Lucke)- as editor. The 
Herald is an eight-page paper, independent in politics, well edited and has a 
large circulation and deserved prosperity. The Democrat & Chronicle, as al- 
ready noted, began the publication of a Sunday edition July 29th, 1879. The 
Sunday Truth, now nearl)' two )ears old, is a bright and entertaining paper, 
edited with fairness and abilit)' b)- Hume H. Cale, and is especially devoted to 
the interests ot labor reform. It is frank and fearless in its utterances, clean in 
its st\'le, and is held in well deserved esteem by the class to which it is partic- 
ularly addressed. 

German journalism in Rochester dates from 1848, when the Allgeuieiuc Han- 
dclsblatt had a brief existence. The Aiizcigcr des Nordens, weekl)' anil tri- 
weekly, was established in 1852 by Kramer & P'elix, with Lewis Hurz as 
editor. It afterward became the property of L, Mailings and was abandoned 
in 1861. The Rochester Beobachtcr — the first German paper to assume per- 
manency — was commenced as a weekly April loth, 1852, under the name of 



The Press. 361 

Beobaclitcr am Gcucscc. It was published as a weekly by H. Blauw and H. 
G. Haass. Its editor was Rev. Mr. Haass, brother of H. G. Haass. In 1S54 
Mr. Haass became its proprietor and issued it as a weekly. In September, 
1855, Adolph Nolte became editor of the paper and, in T856, proprietor. 
Two years afterward it was issued as a tri-weekly under the name of the 
Rochester Beobaclitcr, and in 1864 it was published as a daily, a weekly 
being also issued from the same office. In 1873 it was greatly enlarged and 
improved. It was uniformly Republican in politics. On the first of February, 
1883, a consolidation was effected with the Abend- Post, which came into exist- 
ence in 1882, as an independent paper, with Julius StoU as proprietor and 
Herman Pfafflin as editor, the paper now being known as the Abend Post mid 
Beobaclitcr. Messrs. Pfafflin and Nolte are the editors. It is independent in 
its politics, with Republican tendencies. It is published every afternoon. There 
are also issued from the same office, the Sontagsblatt, on Sunday, and the 
Rochester ]'oIksbIatl weekly. Voii Nah 11 nd Fern was a sprightly weekl\' 
publication, from 1874 until 1878, by G. Feuchtinger, jr. The Rochester 
Volksblatt was started as a Democratic daily, in 1853, b\- W. L. Kurtz, and, 
after passing through several hands, came into possession of Louis VV. Brandt, 
who continued it until his death in Jul}-, 1881. It was carrietl on by his 
widow until May 1st, 1883, when it was bought b)' Edward H. Makk, a trained 
journalist who had had large experience in newspaper work in other cities. 
Dr. Makk conducts it as an independent paper. There are connected with it 
a weekly edition and a Sunday edition — the Sunday Journal. The Roch- 
ester Hausfrcund was published as a weekly in 1873 by Charles E. Ockelmann 
& Co., Mr. Ockelmann being the editor and Mr. Feuchtinger printer. In 
connection with the Hausfrcund there were a literary Sunday paper and the 
Rochester Agriculturist, a monthly journal. None of these survived beyond 
the year. The Sontag und Wochen-Blatt famous for its controversies with 
Bishop McOuaid, was conducted by Frederick Donner, in 1878 and 1879. 
It was a Roman Catholic paper. The Rochester Katholische Volksr:citung, 
a weekl)- Roman Catholic journal, was established by Joseph Schneider in 1878 
and is still published. 

Rochester, the center of a rich farming section and with a national reputa- 
tion for its achievements in horiculture and arboriculture, has been for years 
the home of some of the best and most widel\- known agricultural papers in the 
l.uid. The Genesee Farmer, a weekly journal was established in 1830, by L. 
Tucker & Co., and edited by Naaman Goodsell. In 1832 it was enlarged and 
published monthly. Mr. Goodsell about this time severed his connection and 
started Goodsell' s Genesee Farmer. This soon went into the hands of Shepard 
& Strong, who discontinued it. Mr. Tucker continued the Genesee Farmer, 
under the editorial management of H. L. Stevens, then of Willis Gaylord, of 
Otisco, Onondaga county, a man of singular taste and refinement, as well as 



^62 History of the City of Rochester. 

of extensive as^rricultural information. Durintj this period John J. Tliomas 
was tlie associate editor, on the ground. In iS^y Mr. Tucker removed liis 
paper to Albany and united it witli the Cultivator. Coincident witli tliis 
change Elihu F. Marsliall and Michael B, Hateham started the AVjc Ccihicc 
FiiniiiT, with the latter as editor, an arrangement which was c<intinued until 
1S41, when lleni')- Coleman became editor and e\entually owner of the estab- 
lishment. In 1842 Charles F. Crosman purchased the paper and disposed of 
one-half thereof to Mr. Shepard. It was issued b\' Crosman & Shepard until 
I S44, when it became the propert)' of lienjamin V. Smith antl James P. Fogg. 
In 1 S45 Daniel \). T .Moore, afterward mayor of Rochester, became the pro- 
prietor, and Ur. Uaniel Lee editor, with Patrick Barr}' — who had, in connec- 
tion with George I^llwanger, laid the foundations of his immense nurseries, 
some fne \-ears before — as conductor of the horicultural department. Mr. 
Moore was succeeded in time by J.imes Vick as proprietor, and later the paper 
came into the projirietorshii) ,md editoi'ial control of Joseph Harris, b)- whom 
it was e\entuall_\' sold to ( )range Judil, who i-emo\'ed it to New \'ork and con- 
soliilated it with the Aiiicricaii Ai^ricultiirist, of which he was the owaier. 
Maori's Rural Xcio Yorker, still one of the most widel)- circulated of weekh' 
agricultural journals, was started here, in 1850, b)' D. I). T. M(5ore and was 
issued from Rochester until 1868, when it was remo\'etl to New York and has 
since hailed from that city. Tin.' Rural /foii/o is entitled to be considered the 
legitimate successor of the Gciicsio Fanucr. On the remo\aI of the last-named " 
paper to Albany, a monthl)- of a similar st_\-le, entitled the Auicrican I-'arntcr, 
was continued by John Turner, w ho had been in the empl(.)\'ment of Mr. Tucker. 
This was bought b_\' John R. Garretsee, who, a \'ear later, merged it with the 
School ]'isitoi' and issuetl the combined paper as a semi-monthly under the 
name of the AjuorhaN Fanucr cV- School I'isitor. In 1870 Mr. Garretsee sold 
out to A. .\. Hopkins who associated with himself Glezen F. Wilcox, and these 
gentlemen, who had been co-editors on the Rural Xcio )'orlccr, began publishing 
the Aincricau Rural Houic, a weekly journal, the object of which is indicated by 
its title. In 1872 Mr. Wilcox tlisposed of his interest to Piatt C. Reynolds, and 
the paper has since been published b\' Hopkins & Rc)'nolds and b\' the Rural 
Home company, which succeedetl that firm, with these gentlemen as editors. 
It has a large circulatic.m and is highly esteemed b)' its patrons. The Fruit 
Recorder lV Cottage Gar,lcuer, a weekly, was started in 1869 b\' A. M. Purd\-, 
editor and ]3roprietor. In 1871 it was greatl)' enlarged. It is devoted e.xclu- 
sivel)' to fruit-growing, flowers and vegetables, and, in its special department, 
is recognised as the leading authority in the countr)-. It is now dated from 
PalniN-ra, where Mr. Purdy resides, although printed by the Deuioerat &" 
Clirouiclc office. Mck's Illustratcil Monthly, in the interest of fl(.)riculture, was 
begun early in 1878, b)- the late James Vick and is now in its seventh volume. 
Charles W. Sel)'e has been the editor in charge from the beginning. The Zfw- 



The Press. 363 

pirc State Agriculturist, monthly, began publication in 1880, with A. C. Allyn 
as manager and John R. Garretsee as editor. It was sold in 18S4 to M. H. 
Disbrow, the present publisher. The Wool Groi^'cr & Stock Register, monthly, 
was started in 1848, with T. P. Peters and D. U. T. Moore editors. In the follow- 
ing year it was merged in the Rural Nciv Yorker. The Horticu/t?irist, a fnonthly 
publication begun elsewhere by the late Andrew J. Downing, was transferred 
to Rochester in 1853, with James Vick as proprietor and Patrick Barry as ed- 
itor. In the subsequent )-ear it was removed to Philadelphia and the acti\-e 
connection of Rochester parties with it ceased. The Rural Annual l^ Horti- 
culturist Directory wsc-. published by Joseph Harris from 1859 until 1867 in- 
clusive. 

Religious journalism in Rochester begins with the Oltservcr, a semi-monthh', 
first issued in 1827 b)- the Rev. Mr. Sill and printed b)- L. Tucker & Co. In 
1828 it was published for Samuel Cliipman b_\' I'Hisha Loomis. In 1830 it was 
printed by Albert G. Hall, and in 1832 was sold to Ho)-t & Porter, who soon 
transferred the subscription list to the New York Evangelist. The American 
Rd'i-ealist & Rochester O/'sen-e/- wd^^ published in 1833 by N. C. Sa.xton. The 
Family Journal cV Christian Philanthropist was issued in 1834 b\' W. W. Van 
Brunt, and the Liberal Advocate, a semi-monthly, appeared for a time during the 
same year. In 1842 the Christian Guardian was published by Rev. T. Whit- 
ney. The \ 'oiee of Truth & Glad Tidings of the Kingdom at Hand, a weekly 
Second Advent paper, was started by Rev. Joseph Marsh, February ist, 1844. 
In 1848 it was changed to the Advent Harbinger & Bible Advocate, and in 1855 
to the Prophetic Expositor & Bible Advocate, and so continued until 1859, 
when it ceased. The Genesee Evangelist was established in the spring of 1846 
by Rev. John IC. Robie, being the first religious weekl)' in the United States 
published for one dollar a year. Samuel Chipman subsequently became the 
editor, with John C. Merrell as publisher. Passing into the hands of R. \V. Hill, 
it became a semi-monthly and in 1859 was removed to New York. The W^cst- 
eru Luminary, a Uni\-ersalist weekly paper, published here in 1848, was re- 
moved to Buffalo. The Christian Offering was published for a short time in 
1847 by S. B. Shaw, as also was the Penny Preacher, by Erastus Shepard. The 
Advent Reviezv & Sunday Herald was published in 1850. The Earnest Chris- 
tian &f Golden Rule was started in Buffalo in 1 860 by its present editor and pro- 
])rietor. Rev. B. T. Roberts, and was transferred to this city, where it is still pub- 
lished, in 1884. The Free Methodist was published by Rev. Levi Wood in 1868 
and 1869. Our Church IVork wa.s started as a weekly, December ist, 1877, 
I))' the clergy of the Rochester parishes of the Protestant Episcopal church and 
so continued until December 27th, 1879, when, in connection with the Orbit, a 
monthly church paper published at Buffalo, it was merged in the Kalcndar, 
which is published here, is the official diocesan paper and is edited by a board 
appointed by the bishop of Western New York. It is now in its fifth volume. 

24 



HiSTUKV OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



The E.vpoiicii/. a religious family weekh-, was established by Re\'. H. F. 
McNeil ill h)cceinl)ei-, 1.S7S. In March, 1880, it was bought by Rev. C. 
StrdiiL; and in Xii\eniber 18S1, Re\'. 1{. Lansing Newman became the etlitnr 
and proprieti 11" with Mr. Strnng as ciirresponding eilitui'. 'llie Signet has 
been iniblished nxMithly, ^ince 1 879, b>- the Wniny I'enple's Christian as- 
s(>ci,itii>n dt' the hirst .Methodist l^piscojial church, and the I .iglitlioiisi, b)' a 
similar <issi>ciatii>n nf the iVsbui'y Methodist church, is in its second volume. 
The Oil It// W'orlil is Ti paper recenll)- started in the interests of the Theosoph- 
ical societ\' ami t'nrthe dissemination ("if mental litei'atnre. Mrs. Josepliine Ca- 
bles is the editMi-, The C 'askct is iniblished b_\- .\. H. xNirdlinger & Co., monthly, 
with Thiinias (didihin as editnr. It is the j^iincipal publicatinn in the United 
.States which m.ik-is tlu- business of iindertakiilL; a specialt)-. The ludnstiial 
St'liool .[(Ivihatc is ,1 iiKiiithly of eight pages, publisheel in the interest nf the 
Industrial Schonl assi ici.ition. It was first issued in 1 865, was edited until 1870 
by Mrs. (jCDrge T. linker, and since then b)- Mrs. Seth 11. Terr)-. It is printed 
at the job office of the l\iiioii-at eV Clirotiiclc. The Hoipital Rcviciv is a monthly 
of si.xtecn pages issueil in behalf of the Rochester Citv hosjjital. It is under 
the directinii of a publishing CDUimittee c<insisting of Mrs. Maltb_\- Strong, Mrs. 
X. T. Rochester, Mrs. Wm. II. I'erkins .uid Mrs. M. M. Mathews. It was first 
publishetl by W'ni. S. halls ^August 1 itli, 1864, when the care nf the sick and 
wounded snldiers was a jirincip.il feature uf Imspital work. It then containeil 
but eight pages, but in JiUiuary, 1865, it assumetl and has since retained its 
present propiirtinns. .Mrs. T. C. .Xrner was the first editor. She was succeeded 
in 1871 b\' Miss 1'.. K\. ALithews, who was followed in 1873 by Miss Frances J. 
Munger. Mrs. Seth II. Terrv has acted as editor since March, 1876. 

Labor Reform iournalism deserves specific mention, aiul I shall endeavor to 
sketch its history as concisely as possible, noting that it has been somewhat in- 
tiniatel)- connected with .Suntlay jnnrn.ilism, tn which reference has already- 
been made. The iinax'oidable omissions in that branch will here be made good 
as far as [xissible. The Workingii/irii' s .U'rociitc. a dail)-, was started in Roch- 
c-ster, October 1 ijth, I >>yj, and was the offsi)ring ni a strike among the joiirne)-- 
nien printers ot the cit_\-. A press, t\-i)e and other materials were purchased of 
Delazon Smith by (jeorge T. Frost and Cornelius S. Cnderwood, antl b\- them 
placed at the disposal nt the t\-pographical association. The establishment was 
committed t<i the care of i'"i-ost, Untlerwood & I'alls antl the editorial manage- 
ment to Ileiir)- C. Frink, who, at the same time, tlischarged the duties of fore- 
man in the book and job office of William Ailing. .\ weekl}- paper was also 
issued from the same office. i\bout April 1st, I 840, it was purchased by James 
Vick, jr., and George T. I-'rost, and published as the Eviiiing Advocate. Mr. 
h'rost afterward disposed of his interest to Alonzo ]-5ennett, who continued it 
about one year. It then passed into the haiuls of John I. Reilly & Co., and 
was merged in the Jivc/iii/g /\ist. This firm continued the J\yst, in connection 



The Press. 365 

with a large weekly, called the IVcstci-ii New Yorker, until January, ICS43, when 
they came into the hands of Erastus Shepard, who discontinued them the en- 
suing November. The National Reformer wa'a started in 1S4S, with George 
G. Cooper as editor. It was devoted to land reform, homestead e.xemption, 
the ten-hour s)-stem, etc., measures then advocated e.\tensi\-el_\'. It was dis- 
continued at the end of a year, the principal objects for which it contended ha\'- 
ing received legislative sanction. The Daily Herald, in 1850, and the Daily 
Times, its successor, already alluded to in connection with the I'liioji &>' Adver- 
tiser, advocated the demands of the workingmen, during their existence. The 
Rochester Mee/iaiiie, monthly, was started in 1875 and continued through that 
and the succeeding year by C. R. Tompkins & Co. Its object was to diffuse 
a more extended knowledge of mechanics among the class wh'o own and use 
wood-working machinery. In the summer of 1877, at the time of the great 
railroad strikes, John Mcintosh started a weekly paper called the Striker. A 
short time afterward it was merged in the Independent Worker, which was pub- 
lished under the auspices of a stock company of which Leonard Henkle was 
president and John Dowling was secretary, Mr. Mcintosh being the editor. It 
was afterward edited by Charles W. Hebard, who was succeeded b\' Christo- 
pher Kane. It died in No\'ember, 1878. In 1877, also, Edwin T. Marsh be 
gan the publication of the Trne Bine as a literary journal, and so ran it for about 
a year. F"or the year following, it was, as a weekl)-, an organ of the National 
party. It was then enlarged to a ten-column paper under the name of the 
Trne Tine & Snnilay Call, but after about four months was discontinued. The 
Liberty Bell was started in April, 1881, and ran as a weekly until November of 
the same year. The Snn, started as a weckl_v b\' J. M. Deyo and continued 
for a short time as a daily by Alfred Oakley, and the Star, by William W. 
Malay, were also labor reform publications belonging to this period. The La- 
borer s Advocate was begun as a weekly in the spring of 1882 by Coftee & 
Webb, Webb subsequently selling his interest to Coffee, and Henry E. Leonard 
acquiring a proprietary interest shortly afterward. Mr. Leonard disconnected 
himself from the paper when the Telegram, with which he was associated, 
started, and the paper passed into the possession of district number 44 of the 
Knights of Labor, which sold it to David Healy, who conducted it until Jan- 
uary, 1883. At that time it was bought by a stock association and Hume H. 
Cale became editor. In December, 1882, it incorporated v\ith itself the Snn- 
day Morning Mail, which had been started the previous August by W. E. 
Rathbun. It was published as the Laborer's Advocate & Snnday Mail, with 
Mr. Cale as editor, when it was merged in the Snnday Trnth. 

I have thus reviewed, as fully as space would permit and as accurately as I 
was enabled to do by my sources of information, the journalism of Rochester, 
from its feeble beginning in 18 16 to its present magnificent proportions, and 
have noted its continued expansion and increasing enterprise and influence, 



]66 History ok itie City of Rochester. 



frdin the time when Auijjustine G. Dauby made his meidest venture, with his 
erutJe l\aniaL;r piess, in tile \iihiL;e tif 300 iniiabitants, until now, when, with 
the swift and nimble hngers of Hoe and Scott and Bullock — those mar\-els of 
modern mechanism — it reaches out from this fair city of over 1 00, OOO people, 
co\'ers with its palm o\cr fen counties in Western New \'ork, and touches, every 
da_\-, the ]nilsc of the world. I am aware that the sketch I have attempted must 
be imperfect, lor it is impossible to preser\e the names of all the dead news- 
papers, whose numbers are like those of the butterflies of summer, and their lives 
as fleeting. To preserve the record of all these is like tr)-ing to decipher the 
inscriptions in an ancient graveyard, some of which can be faintly traced, while 
others are moss-co\'ered, and still others have been gnawed into shapelessness 
b_\- the tooth iif time. The mortality of newspapers is one of the saddest fea- 
tures of the histor\- of the press. It rejjresents so much of shattered hopes, of 
wrecked ambitions antl ruined fortunes ; but the press, to its devotees, is like 
the cocpiette to her \'ictims — it fascinates the newer train, unmindful of those 
who have ilared their fate <uul lost. Let us be grateful that so goodl)' a num- 
ber here have concjuered the .uhersities of the profession, and illustrate so well 
the prosi^erities that may attend p.itient waiting and sustained endea\-or. In 
conclusion, I wish to express my obligations, not onl_\- for many of the facts, 
but also for some of the expressions of this article to the \ery full an(.l, in most 
respects, trustworth)- re\iew of Rochester journalism contained in the History 
of Monroe County, published by Inverts, luisign & l{\erts in 1 877. I have 
alread)- acknowledged an_\' indetstedness to that store-house of valuable data 
contained in the papers of the Lite I^dwin Scrantom. 



CHAPTER XXXV 11. 

Roi iii.sri:K iL'i)(,i';s axu i.awnkrs.i 

Early D.iy- — 'I he Eh si Lawyer — Erection of the County — R.iiikling of the Eirst Court-I louse — 
I'iarliesi Sessi(.ns of Court — (.ircuit-Kiaint; — The Circuit Court — The \ice-(.hancellor\ Court — 
The (_ourt of .\ppeals — The Supreme Court and its Justices — The County Courts anil Ju.lges — 
Special County Ju.lges — The Surrogate's Court — Mav.r's c.urt — l)istrict-.\tlo) nevs — The Roch- 
ester l!ar — .( i.ist of its Members. 

A PRELIMINARY worrl as to the scope of this chapter seems to be requisite, 
that the reader ma\' be informed what it is intended to embrace and what 
is b\' design omitted. Ami, first, it is not contemplated to gi\-e a histor_\- of the 
Rochester bar. That motle of treatment, which would by custom embrace a 
biograph}- of all its prominent members, with notices of the more important 



1 This article was prepared by .Mr. E'lederick A. Whittlesey, 



Judges and Lawveks. 367 



litiijations in which they had been engaged, was forbidden as well by the limits 
of the space and time accorded, as by the lack of reliable information as to the 
facts in the lives of many of the more prominent whose biographies should be 
included, and the difficulty of selecting from the names thus to be noticed. 
Precluded by these reasons from the adoption of the ordinary method of treat- 
ment, the compiler decided to give in its stead a sketch of the different courts 
held in the city and the changes made in their structure and jurisdiction, with 
a list of the judges and the dates of their appointment or election. In c<jn- 
nection with this are short notices of the various offices held by those of this 
bar who ha\e been on the bench either of the old Circuit or the old Supreme 
court or of the court of Appeals and who are not now living or have retired 
from professional pursuits. There is added a complete catalogue of the bar of 
the city from the earliest settlement to the present year. This is therefore a 
history of the Rochester bar in that sense only in which the record of admin- 
istrations and rulers is a history of a nation. As that is, after all, the method 
in which history is oftenest written, no apolog)- is needed for the course here 
adopted. 

The )-ear 181 2, in which the bridge across the (ienesee river was completed, 
and the One-hundred-acre tract was surveyed and mapped, is the period which 
is generally recognised as the beginning of settlement of the locality now oc- 
cupied by the city of Rochester. It was then a hamlet of small proportions, 
with a single store and a post-office, which paid a revenue of three dollars and 
forty-two cents for the first quarter of its existence. The settlement was not 
promising in its beginnings. At the expiration of its third year of life it had but 
331 inhabitants. From that date (18 15), however, it began to feel the tide of west- 
ward settlement and the effects of the declaration of peace, and in three years more 
even its population was trebled, whilst its business prosperity had increased in 
larger proportions. As the first clergyman came, and the first newspaper was 
published here in 18 16, it may be confidently assumed that there were lawyers 
in the community at or before that time. The attorney would naturally be 
looked for in a population so thriving and so busy, and he is rarely slow in 
availing himself of an opening which gives the least promise of employment. 
Whether or not there was a demand for the services of the bar it is at least 
certain that there was a supply, for we learn that very earhs and probably 
about 1815, the pioneer lawyer appeared here in the person of John Mastick. 
He had been located first at the settlement at the mouth of the Genesee river, 
then known as Charlotteburgh, whither he had been attracted doubtless by a 
belief in its future as a lake port. The increasing growth of the hamlet at the 
falls, however, caused his change of location and he was for a time the only 
practitioner in his new residence, and indeed for all the territory now embraced 
within the limits of the county of Monroe. He died here about 1826, in which 
Near he was a trustee of the village. As there are two sides to every law-suit, 



36.S History ok the City of Rochesiek. 

it soon became obvious to the villai;er.s that there was need of a second lawyer 
to nian.ii;e the |)re\inusl_\- unrepresented ilefendant in such htii^atiim as the first 
had initiated, and I l.istinj^s R. l-ientier appeared U< supply tliat necessit)'. ( )|' 
liis career here there are two ilates whicll can hu fixed with certainty, for in 
Ala\', iSij, lie is recorded as receixiuL; an aiJiinintnient of clerk of the .board 
of trustees which w.is chosen at the first election untler the charter of the \il- 
laL;e of Rochesterx'ille eiiactetl b_\' the let^islature of that year. He Wiis reelected 
to the same position b_\- the board of the year I 82 J, and some \'ears thereafter 
he rennn'etl to the West. Somewhat later than these two pioneer attorne_\'s 
came Roswell Babbitt, Joseph Sjjencer and h.nos Fonieroy, the latter of \\h<im 
li\'ed to an advanced aj;e and afterwartl removed to the neiLjhboring coiiiit_\- of 
Wavne, where he tlied man_\' _\-ears at^'o. He w.is surroijate of the county from 
I S40 to 1844 ,ind tlischarged the tluties (jf that office with dignity .uul abilit}'. 

I'rior to the erection of the count}' of Monroe (1S21) the law business of 
this localit)' was to a threat extent of that petty nature of which justices of the 
peace have jurisdiction, the small litigations ol a small and poor community. 
Such cases of larger imi)ort,ince for the determination of whicli .1 coiuT of record 
is the proper tribunal were of necessitv tried at either Hatax'ia or Canandaigua, 
the county seats of (lenesee and Ontario counties respectively, in both of which 
jurisdictions the village was situated, the (ienesee river being the division line. 
Under circumstances so unpropitious it was not to be expected th.it the mem- 
bers of the bar would be tempted to choose this localit)' as a residence, unless 
they should do so in the hope of a future growth which would necessitate the 
establishment here of a court of larger jurisdiction and jjowers than the inferior 
tribunals which were then in existence. 

Those of them who settled here with that trust were not main' years in see- 
ing its realisation. It became evitleiit to all the villagers and the neighboring 
population that the convenience and well-being of all demanded the erection of 
a new county, having its center at Rochester. The project encountered much 
resistance from the counties sought to be reduced in territor)-, and in particular 
from John C Spencer, the assemblyman from Ontario. The manifest justice 
of the project, however, overcame all opposition and on the 23d of Februarv', 
I 82 I, an act was passed erecting the county of Monroe with its present bound- 
aries. Morris S. Miller, Robert S. Rose and Nathan Williams, the commis- 
sioners therein designated, located the county buildings on a lot in the village 
gi\'en for that purp(.>se b)- the proprietors of the ( )ne-liundred-acre tract, antl 
on .September 4th of that _\'ear the corner-stone of the court-house was laid. 
In I 813, when there were but three houses on the west side of the river, this 
lot was cleared and sowed with wheat and afterward was used as a pasture down 
to the year 1821. The old court-house _\'ard was divided into two platforms — 
the first on the level with West Main street, the other in the rear, raised some 
six feet abo\'e the former and divided from it b)' the court-house and two wing 



Judges and Lawvers. 369 



walls which preserved the ground at a level with Fitzhugh street on the west. 
The First Presbyterian church fronted this yard on the south, occup}-ing the 
ground now co\'ered b\- the cit\- hall. The court-house stood sevent\--five feet 
from the street and was constructed of blue stone (]uarried on the spot, with 
trimmings of red sandstone taken from the river bank at the lower falls. It 
was fifty-four by forty-four feet, with two stories and a high basement. Each 
front had a projecting portico, ten feet in width, flanked at the east and west by 
stone steps and with four fluted Ionic colums surmounted by an entablature 
and crowned by a balustrade which was continued along the whole front. From 
the center of the building arose an octagonal belfry terminating in a cupola. 
The basement was used for a police office and clerk's office. The first floor 
was divided into supervisors' and jury rooms, the former of which was also used 
by the common council when the city charter was granted. The whole of the 
second story was devoted to the court-room, with the bench on the north side. 
The whole building was a ver\- creditable specimen of a public edifice of those 
days, both in its proportions and construction. A few )'ears subsequent to the 
completion of this building, Drs. Klwoocl and Coleman erected a small stone 
office of the Doric order in front of the court-house and on the corner of West 
Main and F'itzhugh streets, and V'incent antl .Selah Mathews constructed a sim- 
ilar building on the corner of Irving place and Main street, which the}' occu- 
pied as a law office. The county subsequently obtained the former for the 
office of the clerk, and a portion of the latter for the use of the surrogate, and 
they continued to be so occupied until the erection of the present court house. 

The first court of record ever held in the village was a session of the United 
States district court on the 21st of September, 1820, and presided over by 
Judge Roger Skinner. There are no accessible records as to its sitting, but it 
is difficult to conceive that two days were occupied in the disposal of the meager 
business coming within its jurisdiction at that remote period and from a sparsely 
settled agricultural region. The first judicial officers of the new county were : 
Elisha B. Strong, first judge (the name b\- which the presiding justice was then 
designated), Timothy Barnard, sen., Levi H. Clarke and John Bowman, associate 
judges-; Elisha Ely, surrogate, and Timothy Childs, district-attorney. The 
latter gentleman was at the time a resident of Canandaigua, and his appoint- 
ment was vehenienti)' opposed by the local bar on the not unnatural ground 
that it should have been made from their own members. Mr, Childs, however, 
soon overcame any ill feeling arising from this source, and by his abilities justi- 
fied the wisdom of the choice. He was twice elected as member of Assembly 
from this county and was a representative in Congress from this district for 
four terms, serving with great acceptance in both capacities. The first county 
clerk was Nathaniel Rochester, and the first sheriff was James Seymour. 

The first state court of record was held on the 8th day of May, 1821, in 
the upper story of the tavern kept by A. Ensworth on the site of the present 



370 History of the City of Rochester. 

Powers block. The court-house was completed in the foJlowiiiLj spring and the 
first Circuit court was then lield by Jonas Piatt, one of the justices of the old 
Supreme court, as organised under the first constitution of the state, atlo])ted 
in 1777, under which the iudges sat buth /;/ banc and at the circuit. In his 
cliaige to the gram! jury on this occasion the judge said : "The splendid etlihce 
in which we are is itself a monument of the enterjirise and public spirit of the 
citizens of the new count}' of Monroe." This was the day of small things, for 
the edifice in which these worils were spok'cn was built at the total cost of 
$8,000, and they were moreo\er entirely accurate, f n' that sum in those times 
was great enough ami hard enough tn raise to be a monument oi public spirit. 
Hy the prii\isions of the state constitution which went into effect January 1st, 
1S23, the Supreme court was remodeled, the number of its justices retluced 
hdm lue til three, who sat /// hivic, and eight circuits were constitutei.l, in each 
iif which a circuit judge was appointed who presided at all civil and criminal 
trials in that court and had juristliction both in law and equity. No judge was 
(]ualihed to sit after the si.\tieth year of his age. The count)' of Monroe was 
included in the eighth circuit, together with the counties of Genesee (which 
then embraced its pi'esent territor_\", together with that of W'x'oming), Orleans, 
Niagara, I'.rie, Chautau(|ua, Livingston, Allegan)' and Cattaraugus. The three 
latter were afterward set off to the si.\th circuit. The Paiglish custoni of riding 
the circuit [irexailed in the earlier )'ears of the centur)' and IkuI iiot entirely 
ceased at the erection of this count)', in which fn' the first decatle of its exist- 
ence there are traces ot the habit. Counsel eminent for their learning and elo- 
(juence accompanied the circuit judges in their progress through the district, 
pre|5aretl to assist in the trial of the issues on the calendar. Whilst sometimes 
retained beforehaiid, the)' were niore often employed while the court was in 
session, in which event the)' neccessaril)' relied soleh' ujion the case prepared 
for them b)' the local attornc)- who selected them. This [iractice was particulai'h' 
noticeable in the trial of the numerous cases arising out of the anti-Masonic 
excitement, which f>r man)' months absorbed the larger portion of the time 
of courts and juries .ind enlisted the best talent of the bar of this [)ortion of the 
state. 

The judges appointed for this (8th) circuit under the constitution of 1822 
were: 1 823, William W K<ichester; 1 826, Albert H. Trac)'; I 826, John Birdsall ; 
1829, .Addison (iartliner; 1838, John B. Skinner; 1838, Nathan Dayton. The 
first of these. Judge Rochester, resided at Angelica, at the time of his ajipoint- 
nient, but shortly thereafter removed to this place. He resigned the judgeship 
in 1826, on his appointment to the congress of Panama. He was in the same 
year nominated for gm-ernor, but was defeated by De Witt Clinton. Afterward 
being appointed to the presidency of the United States branch bank of Bufifiilo, 
he removetl to that city and was lost at sea in the wreck of the steamer Pulaski, 
June, 1838. There was a bitter strife over the appointment of his successor. 




^J&^d 



i/t^«* 



37r 



Rt^^totjv of tuf Tttv DF RnriTKSTER. 



• ri-'iK'USC wa- ciinijlelcci iji the foUov.'ing sprini; 
•:^ 'I ill !'.! b\' jon.i> Pi.iti, one of t]ie jiistices o; 
'■':.'.-.J .■MiJv.r itic fir-;' cun;-.titiition of llie state, ..•. , 
i.L '•■i:(t^ .-;.'. h.:'.!i /// /'.v/.v and at the circuit. In 
\ ■>!', I'iiis oi.rj'iinn the jud«"c said : "Thi: splcudiH 
i niop'iniijni ■ iS ciie t-ntcrprise <iiid yniblic spii! 
:'■ ' ' ' da\' of ?nKi!l th 

!:, «iiilt at the tota' 

duit sum in tli' 
■luiinent of pub- 

into effect Janiuu y , 
- 'if !t^ iu^tirr;; rcdiv 



1 had not 
iccade of i: 
learning ■ 
oiigh the ' 
Whilst soi; 
uliile the court 
I, pen the cn=;e j,: 
' neiii. i iiis prnL' 
■ses arising out ' 
bed the larger porti' 
n! lif the bar of this ij- , . 



!i ro the 



he removed to that cit\' and was lost at sea in the wreck of the steamer I'ulaskt, 
June, 1838. There was a bitter strife over the appointment of his successor. 




J^i\^d II 



yi^n iiLc 



Judges and Lawyers. 371 



Heman J. Redfield, of Batavia, was \-ehementh- urged for the position, but 
Go\-. Clinton finally nominated Albert H. Tracv, of Ruftalo, and this appoint- 
ment was confirmed by the Senate, but was immediately declined by Mr. Trac\-. 
Moses Ha}-den and Ashley Sampson (who had been recently "first judge" of 
Monroe county) were then successively nominated but were rejected b)' the 
Senate. Finally, on April i8th, 1826, John Birdsall of Chautauqua was nomi- 
nated and confirmed. Addison Gardiner of this city Was nominated to succeed 
Judge Birdsall by Gov. Throop, and the Senate then in session in the city of 
New York as a court of errors was convened in special session there by procla- 
mation on the 29th of September, 1829, and confirmed the nomination. This 
selection met with universal approval from the people of this circuit, and was 
more than justified by the admirable manner in which Judge Gardiner dis- 
charged the duties of his office. No trial judge in this commonwealth has ever 
surpassed him in the qualifications of temperament, legal knowledge and lucidity 
of e-xposition which he carried to the bench. He served with the greatest 
acceptance to both bar and litigants for nine years, resigning his office in 1838 
and resuming practice. He was elected lieutenant-governor in 1844 and re- 
elected to the same position in 1846, although Silas Wright, the candidate for 
governor of his party, was defeated. During his first term the Senate was also 
a court and he there discharged his judicial duties in the most admirable man- 
ner. He resigned this office on his election as a judge of the court of Appeals 
in June, 1847, ^^ the first election under the new constitution of that j'ear. He 
served with the highest ability in that court the full term of eight yeare, and 
declining the nomination of his party, which was equivalent to an election, he 
retired from public life, refusing many conspicuous positions of power which 
were tendered to him. He passed the remainder of his life in this city, his 
time being divided between the care of his suburban farm and the trial of 
the man\- and important cases referred to his decision b)- the courts. He died 
here, June 5th, 1883. 

John B. Skinner, of \\'\-oming, was appointed to fill the vacanc)- in the cir- 
cuit court caused by the resignation of Judge Gardiner, but he declined the po- 
sition and on the 23d of February, 1838, Nathan Dayton, of Lockport, received 
the appointment. He was the last occupant of that bench, and the court was 
abolished b\' the constitution of 1846 and replaced by the new system of courts 
with elective judiciary. During the later years of the old circuit court it was 
found that the business of this district had increased to such an extent as to have 
become incapable of dispatch by a single judge, and in 1839 a new officer was 
created by the legislature for the 8th circuit (as it had been previously in 
the city of New York), to whom, under the title of vice-chancellor, the equity 
business of the circuit was transferred. In all the circuits (except the first and 
eighth) the circuit judges continued to sit in both legal and equitable cases, dur- 
ing the existence of the old system. There was much competition between 



372 History of the City of Rochester. 

the cities of Rochester and Buftalo in tlie selection of the new official, Millard 
h'illniore beini; iir_L;ed ui)on the L;(i\ern(ir as the choice of the latter, but after a 
fortnii;ht's tleliberati<in and mi April iGth, 1839, Frederick Whittlesey of this 
cit_\' was aitpointed to the pdsitiiin. Me had been a I'esident here since 1823, 
liad been cit\- atturne)', .md reiiresentati\'e in Ciuit^ress from this district for two 
successix'e terms frnm 1S31 tn iS35,and had conducted with abilit_\' a large and 
\aried law practice. I le entered upim the discharge nf (official dut}' with a \'igor 
anil intensity of .ipplicatiiui which speedil)- cleared a\\a\' the accumulations of 
the calendar, .md theiicef >rth kept fully up tu the great demands upon the court, 
arising from the large and iircreasing amnunt of business coming before it for 
decision. The dixision ol jurisLlicticm had been made none too soon, for the 
time of both the \ ice chancellor anil cii'cuit judge was wholly occupied by the 
trial ami determinatiun of the cases arising in the two br.mches of procedure. 
The Constitution of 1X4(3 put an end to the existence of this new court. Mr. 
W'hittlese)- w.is nominateil by his (the Whig) party for judge of the court of Ap- 
peals at the first electiim (June, I S47) of judicial officers under that constitution, 
but was defeated, ,md inimei.li,itely aiipninted b}' C"io\-. Young tn the office of 
justice of the (olil) .Supreme court in place of Judge Jewett, elected to the court 
of Appeals. This was the last vear of the old supreme court of jurisdiction 
and nn ]uly 1st, 1S4S, it went out of existence. With that date ended the pub- 
lic life of Judge Whittlesey, .ilthough he was solicited to fill several positions, 
among ntliers that of cnmmissioiiei' of the ci\il code, all of which he tleclined, 
and (.lev'iited his time mainly ti 1 the management and coiistiuction of railroads. 
He ilied in this cit_\-, September lyth, 1851. 

Tile teinis of the .Supreme court, as coiistituteil under the constitution of 
1S21, had been held onl_\- in the cities of Xew \'iu'k, AlbaiU' and L'tica, but in 
I.S41 the October term w,is Vjy statute directed to be held in this cit_\-, and 
thenceforth, and until its extinctinn, the court was held in those foul' cities onlw 
The Court for the Correction of h'.riois held a term in the court-house here in 
(October, I S46, its members iecei\ing much attention anil hi)S|iitalit_\' from 
prominent citizens. 

The Constitution of 1 S46 either entirely abolisheil or greatly remodeled all 
the courts then existing. In place of the court of lu'rors, the court of Appeals 
was constituted as the tribunal of last resort, composeil of four elected judges 
and four taken b_\- rotation from the justices of the Supreme court. At the first 
election (.if juilges (if the new court, Adtlison Gardiner, as before mentioned, 
was chosen, who, after ser\'ing his full term of eight years, was succeeded, in 
1856, b\- Samuel L. Seidell of this cit)'. Mr. Selden was born in Lyme, Con- 
necticut, in October, I 800, and remox-ed to this cit)' in 182 I, becoming a stu- 
dent in the office of Addison (ianliner, with whom, after his admission to prac- 
tice, he became a partner. He was appointed first judge of the Monroe Com- 
mon Pleas in 1831, which he held for eight years; he held also the position of 



Judges and Lawyers. Tfji 



master and clerk of the court of Chancery. In 1847 he was nominated for the 
office of justice of the Supreme court by his (the Democratic) party, which, 
thougii in a hopeless minority in the district, succeeded in electing him by the 
assistance of the votes of his political opponents, who were more concerned 
that judicial capacity was obtained for the bench than that it should be occu- 
pied b_\' a political all)-. The three candidates nominated with Judge Selden on 
the part)' ticket were defeated. He served his fidl term in this capacit)' and 
gave evidence of the po^:scssion of such consummate judicial aptitude that in 
1855 he was elected judge of the court of Appeals in place of Judge Gardiner, 
who declined reelection. Here he served with the most conspicuous ability 
until, to the great regret of his brethren of the court, and the bar of the state, 
the condition of his health induced him to resign his seat Jul)' i st, 1S62. He 
passed the remainder of his life in retirement in this cit\-, whei'e he tlied Sep- 
tember 20th, 1876. 

Henr)' R, Selden was appointed to fill the vacancy caused b)' the resigna- 
tion of his brother from the court of Appeals. He was born in 1805 at L)-me, 
Conn., and came to this then village in 1825 and studied law in the office of 
Gardiner & Selden, being admitted to practice in 1830. He began his profes- 
sional life as partner of Simeon B. Jewett, of Clarkson, where the)- conducted a 
large and successful practice for many x-ears. He removed to this cit)' in 1859, 
having for some years previous had an office here. In 1851 he was ap- 
pointed reporter of the court of Appeals, and after publishing six \'olumes of 
reports his term expired in 1854. In 1856 he was elected lieutenant-governor 
of the state and served his full term of two \'ears. Appointed in 1862 judge of 
the court of Appeals, to fill a vacanc)' as above stated, he was afterward elected 
for a full term, but resigned in Januar)', 1865, and went to luu'ope in search of 
his health, which had become seriousl)' impaired. He returned in 1867, ver)' 
greatly improved by hisjourne)', and resumed practice in connection with his 
son-in-law, Theodore Bacon. In 1870 he was nominated by the Republican 
party for the office of chief judge of the newly organised court of Appeals, but 
failed of an election, and in 1879 was compelled by impaired health to relin- 
quish all business. He is followed in his retirement from professional life with 
the love, admiration and respect of all his fellow- citizens, for those moral and 
intellectual qualities which made him easil)' first among the law)'ers of Western 
New York. 

In 1869 the court of Appeals was reorganised, and constituted with a chief 
judge and six associates. At the first election forjudges (1870) the Rochester 
bar furnished the two opposing candidates for chief judge, Henry R. Selden 
and Sanford E. Church, the latter of whom was chosen. Born in 1815, Mr. 
Church early became a resident of Albion, where he speedily established him- 
self as an able practitioner. Although a member of a party which was in a 
minority in the county of Orleans, he was in 1842 elected as member of As- 



374 IIlSKiKV OF THE ClTV oF ROCHESTER. 



seriibh' therefrom and was siibsequentK-, in 1 845, district-attorne\'. In 1850 
lie was electcil lieuteiiant-L;i i\xrni)r, altlicnigli his ])arty candidate for governor 
(Sc_\mi lur) was defeated. In lSj2 he was chosen tu the same office for a sec- 
oikI term and in 1857 was elected cumptri 'Her of the state. Chusen as member 
at large nf the constitnlinnal amendment c(jnvention <>f 18(37, l'"-' "''■'' prominent 
ill the discu^si(lns elieiti'd b\" the [irnposcd amendment to the judiciar\' .irticle 
of the ciinstitntii in, which were rm.iily adapted b\' the Cunventinn and ratified 
[))■ the [)(i|nilar \cite. This amemlment establishciJ the new court of Appeals, 
and, as has been abo\L' stated, he was in 1870 clmsen as the first chief judge. 
In this ptisition he ga\e e\'idence ot the possession of the higliest judicial ability, 
tlischargmg his duty witli an ease, readiness and \igrir which w.is the admir- 
ation ol the bar. He was successtul in inhising his associates with a portion of 
his own energetic applic.itioii to duty and thus was eiiabletl to keep abreast 
with the enormous biisiiiLSs of that Court, He was stricken in the midst of 
these laljois ami died May 14th, 18S0. for some years prexious to his eleva- 
tion to the bench he had an office ami partners in this city, where he transacted 
all his legal business .uul tin.dly, in 1868, renioxed his fiUiiily and became a 
resilient here. He afterward returned to Albion. In 1 878 Cieorge F. DiUl- 
tortli, of this cit}', was elected associate judge of the court of Appeals, a posi- 
tion which he still holds. 

In place of the old supreme court of judicature ,uid the circuit court, the 
Constitution of 1846 established a new Sujireme court, and the state was dix'itled 
into eight judicial districts, in e<ich of which were four justices, who together held 
general terms in each liistrict and singh' presided at circuit courts, etc. The 
boundaries of the judicial districts were \'er)' similar to those of tile old circuits, 
but as Huflalo and Rochester hati become too populous to be placed together, 
,is heretofore, in the s.ime jurisdiction, Monroe count\' was juiliciouslv severed 
from the eighth and placetl in the seventh judicial district, with Caxniga, Liv- 
ingston, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates counties. As a matter 
of course one of the justices has always been a resilient of this city, the busi- 
ness transacted before the court anil at chambers here being probabi)' as great 
as that of all the other counties combinetf, and hence a resident justice has been 
rather a necessity than a coinenieiice. The first justice, elected in 1847, ^'-'^^ 
Samuel L. Seidell, who, after serving his term of eight years, was succeeded in 
1856 by \i. Harwiii Smith, who held the position for twenty years continuous!)-, 
Iiaxing been twice reelected, and who, h<i\'ing attained the constitutional limit- 
ation of age, was succeeded in 1877 by George W. Rawson, who died in De- 
cember of that ye.ir. To fill the \-acaiic}' thus occm^iang, the governor ap- 
pointed James L. Angle, who serxed during the }-ear 1878, at the end of which 
he gave ]ilace to the present incumbent, i'rancis A. Macomber, chosen for a 
full term at the election of that year. The constitution having been amended 
in 1882, increasing the number of justices in the district to six, James L. Angle 



Judges and Lawyers. 375 



was chosen at the election of 1883 to fill one of the new positions. The district 
general terms were abolished by the same amendment which remodeled the 
court of Appeals (i86g), and in their place four departments were created for 
the state and three justices selected b}- the gmernor to hold general terms in 
each department. The fourth department was composed of the fifth, seventh 
and eight districts, and two of its sessions have annual!)' been held in this city. 
Justice K. Darwin Smith was appointed to the general term and held this posi- 
tion at the time of his retirac}' from the bench in i 876. By the amendment 
of 1882 the number of the departments was increased to fi\'e, and this and the 
eighth districts are placed in the new fifth department. The appointments to 
this department have been made of justices not resident in Rochester. 

The jurisdiction next in importance to that of the old circuit and present 
supreme courts is that of the count}- court, consisting at first of a first judge 
and four associates. This was styled on its civil side the court of Common 
Pleas, the criminal being known as the court of General Sessions of the Peace. 
The judges of this court have always and of course been selected from residents 
of the county, and as its sittings were much more frequent than those of the 
circuit it attracted the larger share of the ordinary litigation of the county. It 
was considered to be especially the court of the ])eople, its bench being occu- 
pied by judges, one or more of whom was certain to be an acquaintance if not 
a neighbor of every litigant before the court. The first judge was the great 
man of the county and was selected with care from the higher ranks of the pro- 
fession, and with the design of securing for the position not onl)- legal learning 
and experience, but broad common sense and knowledge of human nature. 
The first judges of these courts under the old system were: 1821, P21isha B. 
Strong; 1823, Ashley Sampson; 1826, Moses Chapin; 1831, Samuel L. Sel- 
den ; 1837, Ashley Sampson; 1844, Patrick G. Buchan. Under the constitu- 
tion of 1846 the county courts were remodeled and their jurisdiction somewhat 
modified, the civil side of the court being held by a single judge, whilst in crim- 
inal trials he is to be associated with two justices of the peace and they jointly 
hold the court of sessions. Under this arrangement the following judges have 
been elected by the voters of the county to preside in the Monroe county courts: 
1847, Patrick G. Buchan; 1&5 i, Harvey Humphrey; 1855, George G. Munger; 
1859, John C. Chumasero; 1863, John C. Chumascro; 1867, Jerome Fuller; 
187J, Jerome Fuller; 1877, William C. Rowley ; i 883, John S. Morgan. Judge 
j Munger resigned in April, 1859, and Judge Chumascro was appointed in his 
^' place and afterward elected, as above stated, for two full terms. The term of 
office of county judge, which was established at four years by the constitution, 
was by amendment thereto, adopted 1869, increased to six years. Since 1864 
1 1 officers have been elected in this county under a law passed pursuant to that 
] 1 clause of the constitution which authorises the iegisrature to " provide for the 
1| election of local officers, to discharge the duties of county judge and of surro- 



576 History of the City of Rochester. 



gate in cases of their inabilit)- or of a vacancy." Under this law George W. 
Ravvson was chosen at the elections of i S64, '67, '70, Pierson B Hulett at those 
of 1873, '/6, John S. Morgan at those of I H79, '82, The latter resigned on 
being electeil county judge in 1883, and Thonias Raines was appointed bv the 
governor to fill the vacanc)-. 

The surrogate's court has continued witlu.iut substantial change since the 
erection of the count)' to the present time, and the office of surrogate has been 
filled by the following: 1821, l-:iisha fdy ; i823,()rriii Iv Cdbbs; 1835, M'^rti- 
mer V. Delano; I S40, luios I'onieroy ; 1844, Mortimer 1^". Delano; 1845, 
Simeon R. Jeuett; 1 847, Moses Sperr\-; I 85 I , Denton G. Sluiart ; 1855, Henry 
P. Norton; 1859. Alfred G. Mudge; 1863, William P. Chase; 1867, W. Dean 
.Shuait, who was twice reelectetl, in I 87 i antl 1877, and succeeded b_\' Joseph 
A. Adlington, elected in 1883. 

The court next in importance, althijugh jnireh- local to the city in character, 
was the ma_\-or's court of Rochester, which w<is created under the first city char- 
ter antl was much resurted to b\- litigants. It had both civil and criminal juris- 
diction. Its presiding judge, styled "recorder," was a member of the common 
council, of which body he ofificiated as chairman in the absence of the mayor, a 
system admirably adapted for giving efficienc}- and coherence to the acts and 
ordinances of the council which thus had a legal adviser always in attendance. 
The recorders were: Isaac Hills, Selah Mathews, Washington Gibbons and 
Ebenezer Griffin. The court was abolished in 1849. Timothy Childs was, as 
has alread}' been stated, the first district-attcirne}'. His successors in that office 
were as follows, but the dates of appointment of the earlier ones are not easily 
ascertainable: Vincent Mathews, Hestor L. Stevens, Horace Gay, Abner Pratt, 
Jasper W. Gilbert, Nicholas E. Paine; 1847, William S. Bishojj; 1850, Martin 
S. Newton; 1853, Edward A. Raymond; 1856, Calvin Huson, jr.; 1859, Joseph 
A. StuU; 1862, William H. Bowman; 1865, Christopher C. P)avison; 1868, 
John M. Da\')-; 1871, '74, George Raines; 1877, '80, I-^dward B. Fenner; 1883, 
Joseph W. Ta_\'lor. 

The old court-house bridged o\er the period of the existence of the con- 
stitution of 1 82 I. Within its walls had been held the sittings of the old Su- 
preme court of 1777, the circuit courts, organised in 1 82 1, had been held there, 
and it witnessed the first sessions of the new courts provided for by the present 
constitution of I S46. It had been found, howe\er, ciuite inadequate to the in- 
creasing business of this wealthy county, and in 1850 it was removed, and the 
present building erected in its place, the corner-stone being laid in June of that 
)'ear. The count}' clerk's and surrogate's offices were moved into the new 
edifice and the small buildings in its front, up to that time occupied by them, 
were removed. Down to the year I 874 the new building was occupied both as 
city hall and court-house, but at that date the city completed, and removed to, 
its building in the rear, and since then the court-house has been occupied ex- 



Judges and Lawyers. 377 



clusively by the count)'. It has ah-eady become inadequate for the large and 
increasing business there transacted and must shortl}- in its turn gi\'e place to 
an edifice of greater capacit}-, and more in accord with tlie requirements of the 
public affairs of this growing and wealthy communit\-. It will be none too 
spacious if it is made double the size of its predecessor. 

The bar which has had the conduct of the litigation of this citv-, and from 
whose ranks the benches of the courts above noticed have been recruited, has 
not been unlike in its composition the bars of the other cities in the state. 
Like them it has had men of all degrees of capacity in its ranks, the very good 
and the undeniably bad, with all the different grades of excellence or the lack 
of it which are comprised between those two extremes. All this goes without 
the saying, but at the same time it should be added that, whether through a 
freak of fortune or owing to the superior abilities of its members of the first 
rank, this bar makes an unparalleled record as a possessor of the higher judicial 
honors of the state. In this matter the civil list shows that two of its members 
had a seat on the old circuit court for twelve )-ears of its existence, a longer 
period than it was occupied b_\- the resitlents of an\- other coinit_\- in the circuit. 
From it was selected the only vice-chancellor who ever sat as a separate court 
in the district. It also furnished the only judge of the old Supreme court who 
was ever appointed from any city of the state west of Utica. As to the court 
of Appeals, the record is remarkable in the fact that from its ranks have been 
nominated by one or the other of the great political parties no less than six of 
its members (two of whom were twice so nominated) for a position on its bench, 
and that there has been no time since the creation of the court in 1847 when 
some one from its number has not either occupied or been entitled to occupy 
a seat there. The only break in actual occupancy was a period of five years 
after the resignation of Judge Henr\- R. Selden in 1865, when there was no mem- 
ber of this bar in the permanent part of the court, but the time for which he was 
chosen did not end until after the accession of Chief Judge Church in the newly 
modeled court, and ever since that time there has been an uninterrupted occupa- 
tion b\' some judge from t'.iis cit)- of a seat on the bench of that court. No 
other city of the state can produce a record so remarkable. 

The following list embraces, it is believed, every name upon the roll of the 
bar of this city. The years under which they are arranged are not meant to 
indicate that those are the dates upon which the lawyers whose names are ap- 
pended began practice here, but simpl}- that at those periods the names first 
appear in a directory or the persons are otherwise known to have been ad- 
mitted to the bar : — 

1812-21. — John Mastick, Hastings R. Bender, Roswell Babbitt, Joseph 
.Spencer, Jesse Dane, Enos Pomeroy. 

1821-27. — Daniel D. Barnard, Rufus Beach, Selleck Boughton, Moses 
Chapin, Timothy Childs, Palmer Cleveland, Joh;i Dickson, Addison Gardiner, 



T,j» History of the City of Rochester. 

James H. Gregory, Ebenezer Griffin, Flctclier M. Haight, Isaac Hills, Anson 
House, Harvey Humphrey, Richartl C. Jones, Charles M. Lee, Vincent Math- 
ews, Richard N. Morrison, William W. Mumford, Charles Perkins, Ashle)- 
Samijson, Samuel L Selden, Mlisha H. Strong, Theodore F. Talbot, W. C. \^an 
Ness, Ejihr.iim Iv Wheeler, Frederick' W'hittlesey. 

1834. — William S. Bish(.)p, Patrick G. Buchan, I). K. Cartter, Isaac R. 
I^lwood, Simeon Ford, Horace Gay, Theodore R. Hamilton, C)rlando Hastings, 
1-;. Smith Lee, Thnmas Letterts, D. C. Marsh, Selah Mathews, Samuel Miller, 
Wm. R. M(intgnmer_\-, Geurge H. Mumford. John C. Nash, Henr_\' E. Roch- 
ester, 1-'.. D.iruin Smith, Ilestnr L. Stevens, .\. \\'. Stowe, Ariel Wentworth, 
S. 'L Wilder. 

1838. — Graiiam II. Chapin, John C. Chumasero, Carlos Cobb, Mdrtimer 
V. Delano, James R. Doolittle, Joseph A. Eastman, Jasper W. Gilbert, Simon 
H. GrcUit, Sanfcird M. Greene, Robert Haight, Alba Lathrop, Hiram Leonard, 
Abner Pratt, 1*". Peshine .Smith. 

1.S41.— Charles A\-rault, S. W. Hudlong. Charles Lee Clarke, B. W. Clark, 
.Samuel 1>. Chase, John B. Coole\-, John W. Dwinelle, I. S. Fancher, Washing- 
ton Gibbons, Jciseph I). Husbands, luhan A. H(.>pkins, Elisha Mather, James 
M. Schermerhorn, IC T. Schenck, Hiram A. Tucker, Delos Wentworth, Henry 
M. Ward. 

1844. — Leonard Adams, Joel H. Bennett, William Breck, Daniel Burroughs, 
jr., James C. Campbell, George F. Danfnrth, Geurge Dutton, jr., Alfred VAy. 
lleman Iv l*dy, Lysander I-arr.u', Hiram Hatch, Thomas B. Husband, Henry 
Hunter, Nathan Huntington, Erastus Ide, Henry C. I\-es, Hiram K. Jerome, 
Leonard W. Jerome, Alexander Mann, Belden R. McAlpine, Thomas C. Mont- 
gomei')-, Chauncey Nash, Martin S. Neutim, John W. Osborn, Nicholas E. 
Paine, Stephen M. Shurtliff, L. Ward Smith, Sanford J. Smith, John R. Stone, 
W'illiam C. Storrs, Juhn Thom])son, jr., James S. Tryon, John C. \^an P-pps, 
Horatio G. Warner, L)a\'id L White, Daniel Wood. 

1845. — James .Abrams, James L. Angle, Charles Billinghurst, Seymour 
Bdughton, Rufus L. B. Clark, I^'rederick L. Durand, Samuel B. Dwinelle, Almon 
Gage, Christopher Jordan, George IL. King, Daniel Marsh, Lewis H. Morgan, 
Hiram C. Smith, James E. Squire. 

1849. — Truman AbrcUiis, Horace B. Atlams, James Ames, Daniel B. Beach, 
C)li\er M. Benedict, .Samuel .S. Bowne, Charles A. Bowne, James S. Bush, Wil- 
liam P. Chase, Charles H. Clark, James C. Cochrane, William F. Cogswell, Zimri 
L. Davis, Frederick Delano, Alexander Ely, Lorenzo D. I'err\-, Edward W. 
Fitzhugh, Thomas Frothingliam, Truman Hastings, Luther H. Hove\-, Calvin 
Huson, jr., F). Cameron Hyde, Kasimir P. Jervis, Byron U. McAlpine, Benja- 
min G. Marvin, Alfred G. Mndge, Thaddeus S. Newell, Chauncey Perry, Charles 
T. Porter, Edward A. Raymond, William A. Root, Henry Sargent, Henry R. 
Selden, Ebenezer B. Shearman, Anson Sherwood, Eliphaz Trimmer, Chauncey 
Tucker. 



Judges and Lawyers. 379 



185 I. — William L. Brock, Philander M. Crandall, John B. Curtiss, Charles 
R. Davis, Gideon Draper, jr., William A. Fitzhugh, Albert M. Hastings, Jarvis 
M. Hatch, James G. Hills, Henry T. Johns, William H. McClure, John H. Mar- 
tindale, George W. Miller, James M. Miller, George G. Hunger, Sylvester H. 
Packard, jr., William J. Parker, Charles H. Peirce, John N. Pomeroy, John L, 
Requa, W. Dean Shuart. John W. Stebbins, Matthew G. W^arner, jr., Frederick 
A. Whittlesey. 

1853. — John J. Bowen, Phedcrus Carter, Philip I. Clum. Charles P. Crosby, 
Caleb B. Crumb, George Ely, George Gardner, Issachar Grosscup, George H. 
Humphrey, Charles G. Loeber, John McConvill, George E. Mumford, George 
Murphy, 01i\'er H. Palmer, George W. Rawson, George P. Townsend, Henr\' 
E. White, Robert A. Wilson. 

1855. — George B. Brand, Isaac S. Hobbie, Charles W. Littles, D. W. Sher- 
wood, Wells Taylor, Seth H. Terry, John Van Voorhis, Albert G. Wheeler. 

1857. — Theodore Bacon, Michael Canfield, Wm. R. Carpenter, Byron G. 
Chappell, Andrew J. Ensign, Edward Harris, John H. Jeffres, G. W. Johnson, 
Edgar Knickerbocker, E. S. Llewellyn, A. G. Mehin, Wm. J. McPherson, George 
T. Parker, Charles J. Powers, Charles K. Smith, Vincent M. Smith, T. Hart 
Strong, Joseph A. Stull, Seymour G. Wi!co.\, Charles C. Willson. 

1859. — William H. Andrews, Daniel L. Angle, Almon B. Benedict, Henry 
C. Bloss, T. B. Clarkson, John Craig, Oscar Craig, S. C. Crittenden, George P. 
Draper, James S. Garlock, Pierson B. Hulett, A. H. Jones, James W. Kerr, 
David Laing, Chas. P. Landers, J. H. McDonald, John A. McGorray, B. G. 
Marvin, Henry S. Redfield, George E. Ripsom, William C. Rowley, T. D. 
Steele, J. W. Tompkins, George Truesdale, Quincy Van Voorhis, J. B. Vosburg, 
H. H. Woodward. 

1861. — Charles S. Baker, Thomas K. Baker, Hiram S. Barker, J. D. Brown, 
Wm. S. Campbell, D. L. Crittenden, Samuel J. Crooks, Joseph Deverell, Seth 
W. Eldridge, De Witt C. Ellis, H. B. Ensworth, Philip Hamilton, Byron M. 
Hanks, Frank W. Hastings, H. S. Hogoboom, K. J. Holmes, Walter Hurd, 
Wm. S. Ingraham, Henr}' B. James, Francis A. Macomber, Abel Meeker, Wm. 
Powell, D. P. Richardson, Wm. H. Rogers, Jesse Shepherd, Tlieron R. Strong, 
Andrew J. Wilkin. 

1863. — Charles P. Achilles, Wm. H. Bowman, Chas. H. Cherry. Martin 
\\'. Cooke, Wm. Graebe, \\'. \\\ Hegeman, Francis J. Mather, Wm. F. Peck, 
Charles F. Pond, James Rau, Archibald Servoss, W. S. Staples, George S. 
Tuckerman. 

1865. — Wm. M. Bates, George W. Blackmore, Lyman W. Briggs, Sanford 
E. Church, James L. Clark, John M. Davy, C. C. Davison, J. Felix, C. Hap- 
good, A. C. Hogoboom, Ralph O. Ives, J. L. Luckey, John C. O'Brien, Samuel 
S. Partridge, O. H. Robinson, Richard H. Schooley, Wm. J. Sheridan, O. H. 
Stevens, Homer Stull, Edward Webster, Wm. H. Webster, M. Van Voorhis. 

25 



^1 



380 History of the City of Rochester. 

,866 — C, W. Baker, (). M. Benc-dict, jr., M. Campbell, J. W. Kerr, H. h 
Mason, W. S. Oliver, !•'.. S. Otis, SaniUL-l Stevens, J. C. Wells, Henr\- Widne 

lSOj, — \V. G. Ashby, l'.. l^urke e'dllins, (]. S Cuttini;, 1). C. k'eel)-, John !V 
Dunnin-, \V. H. Fish, \' . B. 1 lutehins..n, John W. Kell_\-, Donald McNaugh 
ton, r. Mclntyre, ("ieiirL;e Raines. 

I, SOS, — A, S. Barton, josiali II. Hissell, Milton H. I )a\ is, C, G. Hapj^ooc 
James S. Mathews, S. R. Robinson, W'm. II Shejjard. 

1869.— John W. Deuel, I{d\v<u-(1 B. l-enner, I., J. God.lard, B. h'rank MaN 
Son, J. Breck I'erkins, h.duard W'ithersjioon, 

I S-c— Charles M. .Mien, John Clark, jr., h'.phrann C. ImsIi, J. K. Chene> 
jr., John h:. Roe, J. V X'arnum, J. W. Wilson, L. M. Wooden. 

1S71. — Henry N. Allen, J. Sherloek Andrews, James M. Ani^le, W. I 
Crouchen, Charles !•'. Dean, Charles H. Gorh.nii, Daniel I., Johnston, W. H 
Mitchell, Milton W, No>es, J. C. (J'ReL,ran, Jacob Spahn, D. D. Sull)', A. L 
W'albridge. 

1S72. — Wni, A. Combs, Jose[)h N. Crane, J. R. h'anninL,^, James A. Jor 
dan, lohn J. I'.dmer, J.niies H. I'ike, George W. 'Hioni.is, Wm. K. Tow nseni 
Thom.is v.. White, William II. Yerkes. 

1873. — Wm. I',. lulmonds, Cieorge W . I'isher, John S. Morgan, George F 
Jackson, Chas. J. McDowell, luluard F. Stilwell, George W. Sill, H. D. Tuckei 

1874. — Nathaniel h'oote, ir., William S. James, Meiritt G. McKinne_\-, Mar 
ens Michaels, luigene H. Sattcrlce. 

1875. — Walter W. Adams, L. C. Benedict, Horace 1.. Bennett, George A 
Benton, S. D, i^entley, M, H. Briggs, S. J. iiudlong, Paris C. Clark, Pomero; 
P. Dickinson, Iv W. Fiske, L. H. (iillettc, Richard H. Lansing, IC A. McMath 
T. P. ( )'Kell\', Wm. W. Webb, Richard K. White, Solomon Wile, Isaac A. Wik 
l^_\ron C. Willi.inis, Ch.irles M. Williams. 

1876. — tieorge Armsti'ong, W'm. H. l-lakcr, Wm. R. Carpenter, J. A. Col 
well, Henry R. Curtis, F. A. Hitchcock, .Angus McDonald, W.'H. Olmsted 
William II. St. John, John C. Simons, IIenr_\- J. Sulliwui, Josiah Sullivan, S 
Wheeler, Cieorge V \'eonKin. 

1877. — J, Aaron Atlams, Joseph A. Adlington, John \. Beckle>-, Walte 
Buell, Darius L. CoviU, lulward O. Dowd, J. H. Hopkins, W. S. Hubbell 
Thomas A. Hungerford, W. Martin Jones, J. Horace McGnire, Heman W 
Morris, M. F. O'Dea, H. G. Pierce, W. G. Raines, T. F. Stark, Samuel H 
Torrey, George ¥,. Warner, 'F. D. Wilkin, Wm, H. Whiting. 

1878. — Louis A. Amsden, P'l-ank M. Bottum, Wm. L. Brock, G. F. Bau^ 
sum, Frederick L. Churchill, J. Lwing Durand, P'rank W, l{luc,)oi.l, \\ Hebard 
Marcus Hirschfield, Robert Jarrard, D. K. Parsons, Arthur C. Smith, J. T. Pin- 
gree, Ivan Powers, H. J. Sampson, George B. Selden, W. H. Shuart, Herber 
L. Ward, C. F. Yale. 

1879. — W. B. Crittenden, A. N. Fitch, G. W. Lamb, Fdwin A. Medcalf 



The Secret Societies. 381 

James H. Montgomery, W. F. Rampe, Edward M. Redmond, Joseph Welling, 
W'm, E. VV'ernen. 

1880. — James Briggs, John A. Burgess, Isaac W. l^utts, P. Chamberlain, 
jr., Fred H. Church, Walter S. Coffin, Adelbert Cronise, Henry G. Danforth, 
J. Desmond, Frank W. Dickinson, George D. Forsyth, Frank M. Goff, George 
W. Hall, Henry J. Hetzel, Joseph S. Hunn, Wm. W. Jacobs, Bartholomew 
Keeler, C. D. Kiehel, Henry M. McDonald, Samuel P. Moore, James B. Nellis, 
P'red. P. Nutting, Wilber F. Osborn, Thos, G. Outerbridge, Thomas Raines, 
C. B. Rebasz, S. L, Selden, Allen R. Sheffer. John G. Snell, G. C. Wolcott. 

1881. — Adoniram J. Abbott, John B. Abbott, John H. Bishop, Geo. M. 
Cone, Wm. D. F)lhvanger, Chas. C. Herrick, John H. Keefe, Edmund Lyon, 
Spencer S. Markham, P'rank W. Miller, William S. Scr\-is, . John M. Steele, 
Plolmes B. Stevens, PLdward F. Turk, E. F. Wellington. 

1882. — F. H. Baker, Angus Cameron, E. S. Clarke, W. N. Cogswell, H. 
W. Conklin, W. H. Davis, Edw. W. Hall, W. A. Hawthorn, David Hays, 
David Herron, Henrj- AL Hill, F. J. Hone, J. L. Hotchkiss, J. D. Lynn, E. 
W. Maurer, W. A.Sternberg, H. J. Tuttle, Roy C. Webster, C.S.Wilbur, 
Casterline Williams, John W. Wilson. 

1883. — D. C. Barnum, J. A. Bernhard, Myron T. Bly, p; H. Bowlby, 
Selden S. Brown, C. J. Browning, Ralpji Butler, P. A. Costich, Raleigh P'ar- 
rar, Seward P^rench, William Johnson, C. H. Kingsbury, G. R. Lose)-, L. B. 
Marcy, H. L. Osgood, P^arl B. Putnam, A. J. Shaw, G. P"ort Slocum, G. J. 
Trenaman, R. B. Wickes, Charles \i. Wiltsie. 



CHAPTER XXXVI H. 

IlIE .SECRET SOCIETIE.S oK KdCllKSTER.' 

Kreeinasoniy in ihu Village — Inslitution of Wells Lodge in 1817 — UruvvUi of llie I Inlcr — History 
of the Lodges, Chaplers, Councils, etc. — Monroe Comniandery — Its Drill Corps — Cyrene Com- 
mandery — The Scottish Rite — Lodges of Perfection — Masonic Relief Association — The Odd Fel- 
lows — History of the Lodges of this City — The ( iood Work of the ( hder ~ The Knights of Pythias 
— .\ncient Order of United Workmen — The Foresters — The Elks — Other Secret Societies. 

THP2 pioneer settlers of Rochesterville (as this locality was first called) were 
prominent in the introduction of P"reemasonry into this section of the 
Genesee valley. Pearly in 1817 Wells lodge, number 282, was instituted, 
working under a charter from the grand lodge of the state of New York. This 
lodge flourished for about eleven years, and then succumbed, with the other Ma- 

1 This article on Freemasonry was prepared by Mr. Thomas Gliddon. 



382 HlST(_iRV OF TlIK ClTV OF RoCIlESTEK. 



sonic bodies of this locality, to the adverse elements of A nti- Masonry, which 
broke (lilt tUiriiiL;' the \-ear 1S29, .iinl the name of Wells lodge became obsolete. 
Its reciirds are undi lubtedl)' lust, l)iit tradition Ljives ns the names of Levi H. 
Clark, William Xeafus, William Cobb, Davis C. West, Samuel J. Andrews, 
(jlo\er k'enn, William Hrewster and Abelard Reynolds as the principal mem- 
bers and officers. I'rom the same scmrce we j^^et the infornKition that the as- 
sembliiiL; place of the Ciirliest of the secret society men was in the buildinLJ 
owned by Abelard Re_\-nolds, on Huffido (now West Main) street, the site nf 
the Reynolds arcade. 

The second step in the histor\- of l^'reemasimry was the ori^anisation of 
Hamilton R. .\. chapter, number 62. ( )f this boily we ha\e authentic inform- 
ation, for luekil)' its records are intact. During; the year 1 8 1 S elex'en breth- 
ren, namely, Le\i II. Clark, Willkim Neafus, Chaunce)' Dean, William Cobb, 
William )ohnson, Solomon Close, Davis C. West, Samuel J. Andrews, Benja- 
min Abel, Chauncey Cobb, Closer l'\'nn, membei's of Wells lodqe, associated 
toLjether for [jrocuriny in the usual foiiii \c'j,a\ .uithorit)' to work- in the capitular 
rite The papers were projjerh' prepared, and at the aimual eon\'ocation of 
the Cirand R. A. chajiter at Albany, I'\-bruary 3^1, 1S19, the warrant was given 
to Levi II. Clark, William Xeafus and Chauncc)- Dean. The nearest chapters 
established at tliat early tlate were located at Richmond, Gene\a and Canan- 
daigua in ( )ntario count)', and LeRo_\- in Genesee county. I'^or reasons not 
stated, the convocations of Hamilton chapter were generally held during the 
first years in the afternoons. The 17th of March. iSiy, was probably the first 
distinguishing day to the citi/ens of the village, and therefore is memorable in 
the annals of the fraternit)'. " Hamilton chapter and Wells lodge formed in 
procession," is the cjuaint [ihraseology of Benjamin Austin, the secretar\-, "ac- 
companied by the Rochester band of nuisick, and marched to the meeting- 
house, where an or.ition was pri.inounced by our M. Iv Comp. Le\'i H. Clark." 
After the oration, Re\'. Alanson Welton, I'. H. I', of Richmond chajjter, dul)- 
installed the officers elect of Hamiltcm chapter — Le\'i H. Clark, high priest; 
W'illiam Cobb, king; Chauncey Dean, scribe; Henjamin Abel, captain of host ; 
Da\is C. West, principal sojourner; Benjamin Austin, secretarv ; Williant At- 
kinson, treasurer. I'rom this time onward the chapter continued its meetirigs", 
but nothing of general interest in the record is observable till the death of 
William Johnson is announced. He was present at the convocation held 
August 4th, when he acted as secretary //v /(■;«., and jotted down in the min- 
ute book the regular proceedings. He was the first Mason that had died in 
the village, and doubtless the brethren of Wells lodge took occasion to attend 
his obsequies in accordance with the time-honored custom of the fraternity. 
Rev. Comfort Williams, the e;irliest resident Christian minister of Rochester, 
had been attached to Hamilton chapter through exaltation February ist, 
1 8 19 — Lbenezer Watts, William Brewster, Augustine G. Daub)-, Benjan-iin 



The Secret Societies. 383 



Austin, Oliver Culver and Ira West being among the other candidates of that 
day — and acted as an officer, but he did not remain long here. Jacob Gould, 
Hamlet Scrantom, Charles J. Hill, Abelard Reynolds and Warham Whitney 
are mentioned in quick succession as e.xalted R. A. Masons, and filled impor- 
tant duties in the chapter. 

In examining the carl}' records of Hamilton chapter, we get occasional 
glimpses of the cordialit}' existing between the companions and the brethren 
of Wells lodge. Both bodies met in the same rooms, and, if changes were 
desirable, a full discussion took place in lodge and chapter before accomplishing 
anything. William Cobb, the second of the pioneers, died in the summer of 
1 82 1. The ne.xt year Orlando Hastings, Burrage Smith and Jacob Howe are 
among the newly admitted members, and a little later were added the names 
of Re\-. F. H. Cuming, Jonathan Child, Robert Martin, Bill Colby, Charles G. 
Cumings, Jehiel Barnard and Elbert W'. Scrantom. During 1827 and 1828 
the adversaries of Freemasonry were gaining strength, especially throughout 
Western New York, in consequence of the supposed abduction of Morgan by 
prominent Masons residing within a radius of twenty or thirt)' miles of Roch- 
ester, and, in view of the morbid condition of public sentiment, Hamilton 
chapter voted to discontinue its meetings. 

The introduction of the orders of Christian knighthooel occurred in 1826, 
and the chief instrumentalists were the men we have named above, who were 
zealous in the work of the lodge and chapter. The first date in the original 
record book relating to the organisation of Monroe encampment (old style) of 
Knights Templars is June 14th, 1826, and "pursuant to a notice given," the 
sir knights assembled in first regular conclave on the lOth of Jul_\' and com- 
pleted the organisation by the election and appointment of the following : 
Rev. Francis H. Cuming, grand commander ; Jonathan Child, generalissimo ; 
Abelard Reynolds, captain-general ; Jacob Gould, prelate ; Edward Doyle, 
treasurer; Henry B. Williams, secretary; Simeon P. Allcott, senior warden; 
Ebenezer Watts, junior warden; Charles G. Cumings, standard-bearer; Joseph 
Frazer, sword-bearer ; Charles C. Lathrop, warder ; Hezekiah Eldridge, cap- 
tain of guard. Burrage Smith, James Truesdale, John Whitney and George 
Fisher were the additional members present. The above-named officers were 
publicly installed Jul)' ijtli, 1826. The minute book contains this very brief 
and quaint record : — 

" Pursuant to previous arrangements tlie installation of the Monroe encampment 
took place at the Episcopal church,' by the M. E. Grand Commander Nathan Beers, 
assisted by Captain-General Beers and the grand prelate, the Rev. Mr. Gear, of the 
Ithaca encampment." 

Remarkable prosperity and unanimity attended the conclaves of this 
knightly body, which had been legally warranted by the grand encampment 

' This was the original St. Luke's church on Fitzhugh streel, near the Erie canal, of which Rev. 
F. H. Cuming was rector. 



384 History of tiie City of Rochester. 

uf the state of New \'iirk as a subordinate, numbered 12, which has never been 
chani;ed, althouL;h at one time the early numbers were re-arranyetl for the en- 
campments stationed in the eastern portimi (if tile state. Members were added 
from tile jirosperous class in the xillaLje, and really briLjht was the outlook for 
the clii\alrous Christian yeiitlemen thus banded together. Unfortunatel}' "the 
\\,ii' between Masonry and Anti-Masonry" broke out in liS28, and fiercely did 
the battle ra^e. The officers and members of Monroe encampment, number 
12, I in h'ebruar)' 271)1, I(S29, r.ither tlum intensify the rancor, concluded to re- 
turn tlieir charter and abstain fi-i.ini their regular meetings. This action was 
the practical disbanding of the Mascmic bodies in Rochester, and for over six- 
teen \-ears the fratirnity had no abiding place nor a chance to \-intlicate 
itself friini the attacks of \\il\- politicians who were so noisy in tlenouncing 
it as a "wicked institution." The changed feeling in the communit)-, or rather 
a more health)' tone concerning the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, 
was the excuse in i S45 for revi\'ing the institution in this city, which hail grown 
to such proportions as to I'easonably .issure the success of a gootl working 
lotlge, with the prosjiects of one or more offshoots within a re.isonable length 
of time. 

Valle\- lotlge was chartered ,it the annual communication of the grand lodge, 
June Sth, 1846. L)'nian H, I.angw urtliy, a sur\i\or of the membership 
of oki Wells lodge, w.is instrumental in getting together the brethren lo- 
cated in the cit)- for a [.ireliniinary consultation some time in 1845, 'i'""-' 
hoped to procure the old charter, and thus resuscitate the lodge of former daj's. 
The archives of the grand lodge were examined for the original document, but 
it could not be found. Hence the organisation under the new name, Valley 
lodge, number 109. Continuoush' to the ]3resent time this lodge has pm'sued 
its course, and all the time occupied a conspicuous place in the annals of the 
craft, leading in numerical strength on the I'oll of the grand lodge, a position it 
still holds. We append the list of past masters: W'ni. A, L.angworthy, 1845, 
Samuel Richardson, 1845; Asahel S. Beers, 1846; Clias G. Cumings, 1847 
-48; Nicholas E. Paine, 1849; Sylvester H. Packard, 1850; Ebenezer T. Oat- 
ley. 1 85 I, 1854-59; Pldward Whalen, 1852; Jacob Howe, 1853; Roswell H. 
.Smith, i860, 1866-70; John W. McElhinny, 1861-62; Solomon M. Benjamin, 
1863-65, 1 87 1 ; John Alexander, 1872, 1884; John M. Brown, 1873, 1875; 
William C. Brown, 1874; Henry J. Durgin, 1876; William B. ^[ather, 1877; 
John H. Bird, 1878, 1880; Fred. H. Beach, 1879; B. Frank La Salle, 1881-82; 
John W. Merriam, 1883. Clifton C. Gifford was raised a M. M. in this lodge 
April 2d, 1855; at the same communication was elected secretar)-, and has con- 
tinued to fill that office acceptably e\'er since — doubtless an unprecedented 
case in Masonic liistory. 

Vonnondio Lodge. — The success which marked the earl}- years of Valley 
lodge encouraged a few of the brethren to assume the burden of orijanisins a 



The Secret Societies. 385 



new lodge early in the )-ear i<S50. Consent was given (in accordance with 
custom) to carr}- out the project b)- Valley lodge on the first of April, and 
William Brewster, Chas. G. Cumings, Nicholas F.. Paine, Wm. E. Lathrop, 
Cornelius G. Palmer, Nathaniel Clark, W'm. F. Holmes, Lansing B. Swan and 
Abram Karnes became the charter members, all of whom received demits 
from the mother lodge for the purpose indicated. The course of events in this 
lodge has not been dissimilar to the onward march of the elder lodge. Just at 
present it enjoys distinction as having a special charity fund set apart by reso- 
lution of the lodge, and its finances are in the most satisfactory condition. The 
jiast masters are: Nicholas E. Paine, 1851 ; William E. Lathrop, 1851-58; 
Charles Vaill, 1859; William W. Bruft", 1860-61 ; Alvah M. Ostrander, 1862- 
64; William F. Holmes, 1865 ; Charles W. Watson, 1866; Henry B. Knapp, 
1866-68; William S. Coon, 1869-71; James T. Southard, 1872; Fred. F. 
Boorman, 1873; John Mitchell, 1874; PJax^d K. Cartter, 1875; Thomas L. 
Turner, 1876-77; Henr\- M. Plant, 1878; Willard S. Bradt, 1879; John A. 
Davis, 1880; William J. McKelvey, 1881; Robert Salter, 1S82; y\lonzo D. 
McMaster, jr., 1883; William H. Jones, 1884. Through the exertions of Wm. 
H. Jones a grand reunion of Yonnondio lodge was held in the Masonic temple, 
March i ith, 1884, when the third degree was worked in full by the fourteen 
surviving past masters of this lodge, on five well-known young citizens, in the 
presence of Deputy Grand Master William A. Brodie, and D. D. G. M. Henry 
C. Lathrop. At the close of the ceremonies the large assemblage of breth- 
ren were marshaled into the banquet hall to a superb collation, and speeches 
were made commemorative of the interesting event b\- William A. Brodie, 
Samuel C. Pierce and Thomas Gliddon, Ma\- 1st, 1884. Yonnondio lodge 
reported 375 members. 

Genesee Falls lodge was organised August 14th, i860, with the following 
charter members : W'm. E. Lathrop, John 1^". Whitbeck, Charles Vaill, Wm. H. 
Burtis, Hiram D. Vosburg, P'red. DeLano, A. B. Rapalje, John T. P"ox, Oliver 
Cuher. At the annual communication of the grantl lodge in June, 1861, Genesee 
P'alls lodge, number 507, was voted a charter and has enjoyed constant pros- 
perity during all the succeeding years. The names of those who have served as 
master are appended: William E. Lathrop, 1860-61; John F. W'hitbeck, 1862, 
1864; Hiram D. Vosburg, 1863; Jeffrey W. Vary, 1866; WiUiam Shelp, 1868; 
L J. W. Vary, 1870; George F. Loder, 1871; Everett C. Bradstreet, 1872; 
Franklin S. Stebbins, 1873; Julius L. Townsend, 1874; Daniel T. Hunt, 1875; 
Walter Liddell, 1876; William H Bosworth, 1877, 1884; Samuel C. Pierce, 
1878; Varnum M. Colvin, 1879; W. Lincoln Sage, 33°, 1880; Thomas A. 
Raymond, 1881; John H. Putnam, 1882; William H. Whiting, 1883. Of the 
above, W'illiam Shelp served as district deputy grand master of this Masonic 
<li--trict for two )'ears, and George F. Loder for one year. W. Lincoln Sage, 
33' (now residing in J^oston), was respecti\'el)- junior grand deacon and grand 
marshal on the staffs of Grand Masters Anthonv, Tavlor and Flagler. 



;S6 History of the City of Rochester. 



Rochester lodge, number 660, was the result of the activity of the late Ed- 
ward M. Smith, and was organised l^'ebruary i6th, 1867, with the following 
charter members: Juhn W. Mcl^lhinny, William Carson, I'",. Meigs Smith, Thomas 
l.eiglitiiii, Nicholas Taniblingsiin, Philander Cutmingham, Har\e_\- P. Lang- 
worth_\', Andrew J. W.irner, Charles A. ( iardiner, Le\'i S. Fulton, William H. 
Mdiire, Samuel (Jnthout, Chauncey W. Clark, Russ Coats, H. P'rank Paicis, 
Alexander Scutt, James Wing, \'incent ^P Smith, P)aiiiel Richmond, Cornelius 
K. Parsons, John McConvill, Samuel W, P). Moore, John Pisk, Lewis H. P:)ur- 
land, William fP Crennell, (ieorge W. Stebbins, Jacob (P Maurer, P)avid Up- 
ton, R. K. Ciould, Maurice Smith, James IP Kelly, Luther C. Spencer, C)'rus 
Beardsley, John G. Haetzel. The past masters lia\'e been : John W. McP'.lhinny, 
1867-68; Wm. Carson, i86g; Ivoscius K. (iould, 1870; Wm. Carsnn, 1871; 
Jacob Ci. M.uirer, 1872; P'dwin .-\, Luder, 1873; John K. Morey, 1874; 'Phos. 
Brooks, 1875; P^dwin IP Ch.ii)in, 1876; Daniel S. Benjamin, 1877; P'rank 
Ta\-loi-, 1878: Jnii. W. Stebbins, 1879; P'rank J. Craigie, 1880; .Andrew J. 
Hatch, 1881; ^Plrcus ilirshheld, 1S82; P'rank K. Crlen, 1883; James H. 
Kell>-, 1884, 

Phis Iddge had ajjartments, in conjunction with C_\'rene commandery, Ionic 
chapter and Ciermania lodge, in the old rnioii cV Advirtist'r buikling on West 
Main street. In the spring of 1878 these bodies abandoned the above quarters, 
and for ti\ e years held their meetings in the Masonic temple on PLxchange 
street. Huring the summer of 1883 a new suite of rooms were tittetl up in the 
Cox building on P.ast Main street, for Rochester lodge, Ionic chapter antl 
Cx'rene commandery, and these botlies are now meeting in that place. B. 
P'rank PLnos was electeil secretary on the organisatiiin of Rochester lodge, and 
has continuously held the office to the present time. In numerical strength and 
financial resources this lodge makes a most splenditl showing, and has a remark- 
able reconl in the archives of the grand lodge. Jacob G. Maurer serx'ed for 
three years as district ileputy grand master fir the 22d Masonic district, com- 
prising the counties of Monroe, Livingston, Genesee and Wyoming. 

Germania lodge, numbei' "22. was organisetl March 7th, 1872. As its 
name indicates, its membership was to be of citizens of the German tongue, and 
much credit is due to the succeeding corps of officers for the unflagging inter- 
est the}- have manifested in keeping up the high standing of the fraternity in 
this city. Charter members: George P'. Merz, John Neun, Vincent Aman, 
John C. Ganger, Fred Zimnier, J. Geo. Baetzcl, John Lutes, August M. Koeth, 
Charles Vogel, John Rei(-henb.ich, George Gucker, Henry Aman, Charles T. 
Wolser, Charles (lilbert, John Dismeyer, August Witzell, Francis Boor, C. F. 
Weissinger, Christian J. Shaefier. This is the most recent of the blue lodges 
organised in this cit>-. The restricted nature of the material from which it 
draws its membership has necessarily limited its numerical strength. It has, 
however, been fully as prosperous as the bodies working in the ICnglish tongue. 



The Secret Societies. 387 



George F. Merz was the first master of Germania lodge. He was succeeded 
by J. George Baetzel, and John Neun and John Viehmann have also filled 
acceptably the presiding chair. John Hilficker is the present master, 1884. 

Hamilton Chapter. — The particulars of the organisation of this Royal Arch 
chapter hav« already been briefly stated. It is of the resuscitation that we are 
now concerned. William Brewster, Ebenezer Watts, Erastus Cook, Charles 
G. Cumings, H. A. Brewster, William E. Lathrop, Samuel Richardson, 
Charles C. Lathrop and Luther A. Allen met February 6th, 1846, and effected 
a preliminary organisation, and on the 17th of March subsequently the chapter 
was fully intrusted with all the rights and privileges warranted by the grand 
chapter, with the original charter restored, and William Brewster, H. P. ; Eben- 
ezer Watts, K. ; Erastus Cook, S. ; Luther A. Allen, secretary ; Charles C. 
Lathrop, treasurer. Unexampled prosperity has attended the workings of 
this chapter, and, in the annals of the grand chapter, Hamilton chapter, number 
62, has long held its place at the head of the roll, both in membership and in 
contributions to the treasur}-. We gi\-e the entire list of high priests, from the 
organisation in 1819: Levi H. Clark, 1819-20; William Cobb, 1821-22; Wil- 
liam Brewster, 1823-26; Burrage Smith, 1827; Jacob Gould, 1828; Robert 
Martin, 1829-30; William Brewster, 1846-48, 1854; Charles G. Cumings, 
1849-50; A.sahel S. Beers, 1S51; William E. Lathrop, 1852, 1855, 1863; 
Sylvester H. Packard, 1853, 1856; Wm. S. Thompson, 1857-59; Wm. F. 
Holmes, 1860-62; Charles W. Watson, 1864-65; Francis H. Marshall, 1866- 
68; William Shelp, 1869-71; George Hamblet, 1872-73; George Hamilton, 
1874; James T. Southard, 1875 ; John W. Merriam, 1876; Thomas Seed, 1877; 
Varnum M. Colvin, 1878; Samuel C. Pierce, 1879; Julius L. Townsend, 1880; 
John A. Davis, 1881 ; William J. McKelvey, 1882; Frank H. Vick, 1883; 
Jacob G. Maurer, 1884. At the annual convocation in December, 1865, John 
Alexander was elected secretary, and has through devotion, fidelity and effi- 
ciency merited the unanimous reelections which have been accorded him. For 
more than twenty years John H. Kalbfleisch has been organist of this chapter, 
and for a like period in Monroe commandery and Valley lodge. He is at pres- 
ent also the organist for Yonnondio lodge, Genesee Falls lodge and Doric coun- 
cil. James T. Southard held the office of grand master of second vail for two 
\-ears in the grand chapter, and William J. McKelvey for the same length of time 
as grand principal sojourner. Comp. McKelvey is now (1884) assistant grand 
lecturer for the sixth district, comprising the counties of Cayuga, Livingston, 
Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne and Yates. On the 14th of Octo- 
ber, 1875, while the grand commandery of Knights Templars was in session in 
the asylum of Monroe commandery, stationed in this city, James T. Southard, 
H. P., who was also at that time a grand officer, ordered a grand banquet in 
honor of the grand R. A. chapter officers, which was enjoyed by more than 
200 distinguished companions of the jurisdiction then sojourning in the city. 



388 History of the City of Rochester. 

The histiiR' of this cha[)tcr has been fully written b\- TliDmas Gliddon, for 
which he was satisfactorily conijjcnsatctl b}- bciiiL; un.iniiinnisly voted a life 
nienibershij). 

Ionic Chai^ter, — A nu iiierousl_\'sii;necl petition from the iiienibershii) of Ham- 
ilton chapter, headed lj\- William F. Holmes, was laitl before the yrand hii^h 
priest, SeNMiiour H. Stone, of Syracuse, to yrant a tlispensation to ori;anise Ionic 
chapter tluriuL,' the year 1S67. In I-"ebruar_\-, 186S, the WiU'rant was granted 
to William h'. Holmes, 11. 1',, Gee.rge W. Stebbins, K.. and Albert G. Wheeler, 
S , and their associates, to hold a chaptei- at Rochester, to be known as Ionic 
chapter, number 3 1 o, with the following charter members: Wm. V. Holmes, 
John M. l-'isk, Wm. S. Thomiison, hldwin H. Hurd, James S. (Oarlock, A. G. 
Wheeler, H. I'. Langworthw E. M. Jennings, George W. Stebbins, Wm. H. 
Gorsline, Wm. H. Moore, James Wing, George N. Deming, S. N. Oothout, 
Andrew J. Ross, Wm. Cai'son, B. Frank I'',nos, C A. (ianliner, W. Dean 
Sluiart, X. 'r.imblingson, Maurice Smith, George A. Re\-nokls, J. W. Mci'',I- 
hinnv, lulwin TaN'lor, h'rank J. Amsden, Abram Karnes, 1). Copeland, jr., 
.Andrew J. Warner. The following companions ha\e ser\ed IiMiic chapter as 
high i)riest : Albert G. Wheeler, 1869-71 • Hiram Wood, 1872-73; John 
I). Robinson, 1874; Roscius K. (ioukl, 1875; lulwin A. Loder, 1876; B_\-ron 
HoUey, i>^77-7^\ Andrew J. Hatch, 1879; l'"rank Taylor, 1880; Solomon 
Wile, 18S1 ; James H. Kellw 1882; William K, H.irlow, 1883; Frank A. 
Parker, 1884. George G. Cooper was the first cantlidate initiated, P~ebruary 
1st, 1867. Ionic chapter now meets in the Cox building. Fast Main street, on 
the seconil and fnirth Tuesdays in each month, and has a membership exceed- 
ing 200. Ilinim Wootl has been the efficient and courteous secretary of Ionic 
chapter, and to him the writer hereof desires to return his cordial thanks for 
valuable assistance. 

iJoric Council. — The movement for the organisation of thfs council of " ro\'al 
antl select m.isters" occurred in i860, and the following were the charter mem- 
bers : William F. Holmes, W. W. Bruff, Wm. II. Burtis, A. J. Warner, Dan- 
iel Warner, William S. Ailing, John Hax'uood, jr., George Shelton, Charles 
Vaill, Samuel C. Steele, William K. Lathrop, L. C. Spencer, John Lutes, R. 
K. Lothridge, Nathan 1'. Stone, 1{. Trimmer, George W. Aldridge, Nicholas 
K. I'aine, George B. Redfiekl, John C. Hol_\-land. Under the management of 
the following presiding officers, this council has prospered beyond any other 
in the jurisdiction: William E. Lathrop, 1860-61, 1863-64; Andrew J. 
Warner, 1862; Charles W. Watson, 1865-67: W. B. Crandall, 1S68-69; William 
Shelp, 1870-73; Henr)' M. Plant, 1874—75 ; Thomas Seed, 1876; James T. 
Southard, 1877; Charles Norman, 1878; Thomas Gliddon, 1879, 1883; John 
W. Merriam, 1880; William C. Brown, 1881 ; Eastman C. Peck, 1882; Wil- 
lard S. Bradt, 1884. In September, 1878, the late Charles Norman was 
elected grand jirincipal conductor of work in the grand council of the state 



The Secret Societies. 389 



of New York, and was reelected at the annual assembly in New York the fol- 
lowing year, although at the time he was dangerously ill at his residence in 
Rochester. His death occurred une.xpectedly the following morning, Septem- 
ber 14th, 1879. The grand master, George M. Osgoodby, of Buffalo, issued 
his dispensation to Doric council, number 19, to proceed to the election of a 
"thrice illustrious master to fill the \acanc_\- for the unexpired term," which re- 
sulted in the choice of Thomas Gliddon. This act was supplemented by the 
appointment of Comp. Gliddon to fill the office of grand principal conductor 
of work of the grand council pro tcin., made vacant by the death of the lamented 
Norman. By successive promotion in the grand council of royal and select 
masters, Thomas Gliddon has been called to the presiding chair, and is this 
year (1884) filling the important office of grand master. 

Monroe Commandery. — The early triumphs and trials of this commandery 
of Knights Templars have already been recounted in this chapter. The revival 
and the success which has attended its long career must now be briefl\- alluded 
to. December 27th, 1847, a petition was signed by Robert King, Erastus 
Cook, C. C. Lathrop, E. \V. Scrantom, Wm. E. Lathrop, Chas. (t. Cumings, 
Ebenezer Watts, Wm. Brewster, Samuel Richardson and Abelard Reynolds, 
praying for a return of the warrant of Monroe, number 12. This was in due 
time complied with, through an official order from R. R. Boyd, grand master, 
dated Januarj^ 7th, 1848, and from that time onward a career of almost unex- 
ampled prosperity in chivalric history marks its annals. The record of May 
25th, 1848, reveals an interesting incident. There were present at that special 
conclave, William E. Lathrop, Charles G. Cumings, Robert King, Abelard 
Reynolds, E. W. Scrantom, Nicholas E. Paine, Ebenezer Watts, William F. 
Holmes, Henry A. Brewster and Asahel S. Beers — a galaxy of the brightest 
Masonic lights of that day in Western New York. It was on this occasion 
that the distinguished John L. Lewis received the orders of knighthood. He 
forthwith engaged in the work of forming Jerusalem encampment, number 17, 
stationed at Penn Yan, the warrant for which was granted June 8th, 1850, and 
he installed as first generalissimo. John L. Lewis was that same _\'ear elected 
grand captain-general of the grand commandery of the state of New York. 
A short time prior to this. Salem Town encampment, number 16, at Auburn, re- 
cei\'ed a dispensation, and was subsequently warranted while William 1^. 
Lathrop was grand generalissimo. He, with Hubbard S. Allis, Jarvis M. ffatch 
and others of Monroe number 12, went to Auburn and took part in the formal 
work of instituting that chivalric bod\-. John L. Lewis, of Penn Yan, was also 
present. 

The place of meeting from the reorganisation till this time was in the build- 
ing on Exchange street, opposite Spring street, and then owned by Jonathan 
Child. Then followed a ten years' occupancy of the upper floor of the old 
Burns block, corner of State and West Main (formerly Buffalo) street ; thence 



390 



History of the City of Rochester. 



to the u[)])cr chamber of tlie opposite corner in the Wilder block. lii the fall 
of 1872 the asylum 1 if Monrcje commandery was again changed to the Ma- 
sonic temi:)le on I'l.xchange street. Three coninianderies are the offspring of 
the parent organisation — namely, Batavia commander)-, Januar_\- iSth, 1865; 
Cyrene commandery, l"~ebruar)- 4th, 1867 ; Zenobia commandery (at PalnuTa), 
April 24th, 1867. On the 26th of May, 1876, Sir Knights Thomas Gliddon, 
Lewis Suntlerlin, lulward A. I'^rost, John H. Kalbflcisch and Fred F. l^oorman 
were appointi-'d acumniittec to prepare for a suitable commemorative ser\'ice of 
the semi-centennial anniversary (June 14th, 1876) of this commandery. The 
principal feature of the celebration was a sumptuous banquet. 

In the annals of the grand commander}- of the state of New York we find 
that, in Its long list of officers, the following ha\-e been chosen from among our 
local fratres : 1827 — Re\-. F. H. Cuming, grand prelate; 1848-49 — William 
v.. Lathrop, grantl generalissimn ; 1850 — William \i. Lathrop, deputy grand 
master; 1851-54 — Willi, im F. L.ithrup, grand master; 1851—52-53 — Jarvis 
AL Hatch, gr.iiul capt.iin- general ; 1857 — Carltiui Dutton, griUid jimior war- 
den ; 1858 — Carlton Dutton, grand senior w.iriien ; 1858 — William I-". Holmes, 
grand warder; 1859 — William 1-". Holmes, grand senior warden; 1859 — 
Aaron Car\-er, grand standarti-bearer ; i860 — William H. liurtis, grand cap- 
tain-general; 1861-62 — William H. Burtis, grand generalissimo ; 1863 — Wil- 
liam IF Burtis, dep. grand c<jmmander ; 1864 — Horace TuUer, grand junior 
warden; 1865 — H(.)race Tuller, grand senior warden ; 1867-68 — Williani B. 
Crandall, grand junior warden; 1875 — Samuel R. Carter, grand captain of 
guard ; 1874 — Simon V. Mc Dowell, grand warder, antl, b}- successive promo- 
ti(jn, 1881 — Simon \'. McDowell, grand commander. 

TABLEAU OF THE OFFICERS OF MONROE COMMANDERY. 



VK.Mis. E\nM-.Nr IIIMMANM.I 


<. la.NM; M.lsslMo. 


( VIM ai\-i;k.\kk \i . 


1826 Rev. Fiaiuis 11. ( umint;. 


Jonathan Child. 


Abelard Reynolds. 


1S27 E.hvar.l lloyk-. 


Jonathan t hild. 


.Vhelard Reynolds. 


1828 Jonathan Child. 


Abelard Reynolds. 


Robert Martin. 


1S48 William K. I.alhrop. 


Samuel Richardson. 


Charles G. Cumings. 


1849 Williani K. Lathrop. 


Samuel Richardson. 


( harles C. Cumings. 


1850 William E. Lathrop. 


C. T. Chaml.erlin. 


Nicholas E. Paine.' 


1851 William E. Lathi-op. 


C. T. Chambcrlin. 


Nicholas E. I'.aine. 


1852 William E. Lathmp. 


C. r. Chamlierlin. 


Nicholas F. Paine. 


1853 William E. Lathrop. 


Jarvis M. Hatch. 


Nicholas F. Paine. 


1854 William E. Lathrop. 


larvis .M. Hatch. 


( . r. Chambcrlin. 


1855 William E. Lathrop. 


iarvis M. Hatch. 


Robert Kiny. 


iSs6 (/arllon Dutton. 


Robert King. 


Wni. S. Th.impsim. 


1S57 William F. Holmes. 


Charles Yaill. 


Hcman Miller. 


1858 William H. Burtis. 


Charles Vaill. 


Harrison S. Fairchild. 


1859 William II. Burtis. 


Charles Vaill. 


Thomas (Iranniss, jr. 


i860 William H. Burtis. 


Hor.ace Tuller. 


1 laniel Warner. 


1861 Charles Vaill. 


Horace duller. 


Robert K. Lothridge. 


1S62 Horace Tuller. 


lolm F. Whitbeck. 


S. .\. Hodgman. 


1S63 Horace Tuller. 


Charles W. Watson. 


Wm. B. Crandall. 


1864 John F. Whitbeck. 


Charles W. Watson. 


Geo. W. Aldridge. 



Jacob Could. 
Rev. Francis II. (_"umiiiy 
Edward Doyle. 
William Brewster. 
.\sahel S. Beers. 
Asahel S. Beers. 
Jarvis M. Hatch, 
jarvis M. Hatch. 
C. r. Chamberlin. 
Abelard Reynolds. 
.Abelard Reynolds. 
.\belard Reynolds. 
.■\belard Reynolds. 
Abelard Reynolds. 
Abelard Reynolds. 
Abelard Reynolds. 
Abelard Reynolds. 
Abelard Reynolds. 
.\belard Reynolds. 
Abelard Reynolds. 



The Secret Societies. 



391 



VKARS. EMINENI- COM.MANDK.R. CK.NKRAl.ISSIMd. 

Charles W. Watson. 



1865 Will. B. Crandall. 

1866 Will. B. Crandall. 

1867 Charles W. Watson. 

1568 Charles W. Watson. 

1569 Francis H. Marshall. 

1870 Francis H. Marshall. 

1871 William Shelp. 

1872 William Shelp. 

1873 Henry M. Plant. 

1874 Simon V. McDowell. 

1875 George F. Luder. 

1876 W. Lincoln Sage. 

1877 Daniel T. Hunt. 

1878 John B. Southworth. 
1S79 Will. J. McKelvey. 

1880 Geo. F. Loder. 

1881 Fred. F. Boorman. 

1882 Samuel C. Pierce. 

1883 John A. Davis. 

1884 Thomas C. Hodgson. 



CAPTALN-llENEKAr,. 

Henry B. Knapp. 
Geo. W. Stebliins. 
William Shelp. 
William F. Holmes. 
L. I). Patterson. 
I.. I). Patterson. 
Simon V. .McDowell. 
.Simon V. McDowell. 
George F. Loder. 
James L. Brewster. 
W. Lincoln .Sage. 
Isaiah F. P'orce. 
Wm. J. .McKelvey. 



PRELATE. 
AI.elard Reynolds. 
Al.clard Reyn..lds. 
.Abelard Reynolds. 
.■\belard Reynolds. 
.\helard Reynolds. 
.\belard Reynolds. 
.\belard Reynolds. 
.■\belard Reynolds. 
.Abelard Reynolds. 
.\belard Reynolds. 
.\belard Reynolds. 
.■\belard Beynolds. 
.\belard Reynolds. 
.\belard Reynolds, 
[olin (J: Allen. 
John G. Allen. 
John G. Allen. 
John G. Allen. 
John G. Allen, 
lohn (;. Allen. 



Henry B. Knapp. 

Koswell H. Smith. 

Roswell H. Smith. 

Geo. H. Goodman. 

Cieo. H. Goodman. 

Henry M. Plant. 

Henry M. Plant. 

Simon V. McDowell. 

George F. Loder. 

James L. Brewster. 

Daniel T. Hunt. 

John B. Southworth. 

William J. McKelvey. P'red F. Boorman. 

Fred. F. Boorman. Samuel C. Pierce. 

Fred. F. Boorman. Samuel C. Piei'ce. 

Samuel C. Pierce. John A. Davis. 

John A. Davis. Thomas C. Hodgson. 

Thomas C. Hodgson. Frank P. Crouch. 

Franklin S. Stebbins. John W. Hannan. 

This record would be singularly incomplete without a brief narrative of 
the famous Monroe commandery drill corps. As early as the year 1873, mainly 
through the exertions of George F. Loder, the sir knights met for the special 
purpose of instruction in the tactics and drill. This was then a novel feature 
in Templar display, but it had already some enthusiastic advocates. The 
movements had been formulated by the lamented Orrin Welch, and received 
the sanction of the grand commandery. Commander Loder soon discovered 
the necessity of some organisation of the Templars who would be willing to 
devote sufficient time to acquire proficiency, and from this grew the Monroe 
commandery drill corps, acting with the cordial approval of the commandery. 
When the sixty-second annual conclave of the grand commandery was held in 
Rochester October, 1875, a great number of sir knights from all over the state 
were gathered here, and the most magnificent Templar procession that ever 
graced our streets occurred Wednesday, October 13th, 1875. On the Roch- 
ester driving-park there was a spirited contest for the possession of a Templar 
banner between St. Omer's, number 19, stationed at Elmira; Central City, num- 
ber 25, stationed at Syracuse, and Hugh de Payens, number 30, stationed at 
Buffalo. The decision of the judges was in favor of Hugh de Payens, com- 
manded by Christopher G. Fox, and the banner went to Buffalo. Loder's 
command, sixty strong, ga\;e an exhibition drill the same afternoon, winning 
the enthusiastic plaudits of an immense crowd of spectators. The next year 
(June 24th, 1876) the commandery made a short pilgrimage to Buffalo, in 
honor of the dedication of the new Masonic temple in that city. The drill 
company, forty-eight inen in line and ten officers, for the second time displayed 
its proficiency. Its more noted pilgrimages since then have been to Cleveland, 
to Chicago, to Poughkeepsie, to Binghamton, and to New York city and Al- 
bany, in each of which places the drill corps gave complimentary exhibitions. 



392 



History ot the City of RocHESTf;R. 



Loder has had command of the corps from its organisation. This corps has 
also assisted in benevolent enterprises — notably on the Rochester driving-park 
for the benefit of the Rochester orphan asylum (1878), for the benefit of Milton 
p{. Smith (1878), and for the benefit of the flood sufferers (1884) in the state 
arsenal, on the invitation of the Red Cross society. A full history of this 
commandery was published in 1882, by Thomas Gliddon, in a neat little volume 
of 200 pages. 

C}rene Commander}-. — The prayer of the petitioners to organise Cyrene 
commandery was granted by resolution in Monroe commandery, number i 2, 
December 21st, 1866. On the 4th of February, 1867, Grand Commander 
Pearson Mundy issued the dispensation to John McConvill to act as eminent 
commander ; William H. Cumings, generalissimo, and William Carson, cap- 
tain-general, with the following sir knights as charter members : Luther C. 
Spencer, Charles A. Gardiner, John F. Whitbeck, Abram Karnes, John Mc- 
Convill. Harvey P. I-angworthy, William H. Cumings, Jesse W. Gifford, 
William Carson, William H. Gorsline, William S. Thompson, Egbert B. Jennings, 
William H. Briggs, James B. Wing, James K. Lattimer, George W. Donnelly, 
Levi S. F"ulton, Edwin Taylor, Charles M. St. John, George N. Deming, An- 
drew J. Warner, John Barker, Chauncey B. Woodworth, George W. Stebbins, 
W. Dean Shuart, George A. Reynolds, Robert Boyd, John M. Fisk, Cyrus 
Beardsley, Orrin E. Castle, Charles Vaill, Bernard Hughes. 



^ E.\R. 


K.MI .S KNl CI l.M M.AN TIER. 


I.ENKKAI.l.SSTMIl. 


(;aptai.n-ge.nkr..ii. 


1867 


John McConvill. 


\V. H. Cumings. 


Wm. Carson. 


1868 


•' 


" 


. 


1869 








1870 








.871 


John y. V\ hitlieck. 


W'ni. Carson. 


K. B. Jennings. 


1872 




Hiram Wood. 


Pierson B. Huleit. 


1873 


.\ll.crl (,. Wheeler. 


Byron Holley. 


Edwin A. Loder. 


1874 


Hiram Woo-I. 


F E. Witherspoon. 


Henry C. Daniels. 


!«-.> 




\\'. K. Witherspoon. 


Wm. M. Quiml)y. 


1876 


.\nflrew J. Hatch. 


I. Clinton Hall. 


S. P. Robins, 


1877 




S. P. Robins. 


John C. .Smith. 


1878 




" 




T879 




h'rank Taylor, 


Wm. G. Raines. 


1880 


Wm. (.. Raine,s. 


Henry S. Mackie. 


John C. Smith. 


1881 


Kr.iTik Taylor. 


Byron Holley. 




1882 


fiyron Holley. 


Henry S. Mackie. 


Curtis H. Haskin. 


1883 


.\nrlre\v J. Hatch. 


Chas. R. Pratt. 


S. S. Eddy. 



Charles M. .St. John was elected recorder at the time of the organisation of 
Cyrene commandery, and reelected continually until retiring April 25th, 1884, 
when he was succeeded by Byron Holley. The record of Andrew J. Hatch, 
as commander, is indeed a most honorable one. For a longer period than any 
other elective officer he has labored zealously and effectively for this comman- 
dery, and his merits have been recognised by the officers of the grand ( 
mandery, who have claimed his services for the important post of assi 



The Secret Societies. 393 



grand inspector, which office he still holds. An interesting little pamphlet, 
containing the detailed history of this commandery, was published in 1883 by 
Andrew J. Hatch. 

The Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. — The four coordinate bodies of this 
ancient rite of Freemasonry have brought great Masonic renown to this city. 
Just when the initiatory steps were taken to organise a lodge of Perfection here 
we have no information. The late George W. Stebbins was probably the most 
active of the brethren in the preliminary movement. A dispensation was pro- 
cured from Orrin Welch, 33°, of Syracuse, who was then the deputy of the 
supreme council for the state of New York, February 24th, 1866. With this 
instrument for authority, the organisation proceeded to confer the ineffable 
grades and inaugurate the popularising of the Scottish rite throughout all this 
section. The desire immediately took form to add as soon as practicable the 
coordinate bodies, so that the Orient of Rochester would be the seat of the con- 
ferring of the historical, doctrinal and philosophical grades up to and including 
the 32°. This request was acceded to by the supreme council of the northern 
Masonic jurisdiction for the United States of America, and charters were granted 
May 16th, 1867, to Rochester grand lodge of Perfection, Rochester council 
Princes of Jerusalem, Rochester sovereign chapter of Rose Croix, Rochester 
consistory S. P. R. S. The following are the names of the first class of candi- 
dates who received the degrees of perfection in this city, February 24th, 1866, 
from the personal instructions of Orrin Welch, Charles T. McClenachan and J. 
H. Hobart Ward, eminent brethren of the Scottish rite, and of the 33° : George 
W. Stebbins, G. W. Aldridge, F. H. Marshall, W. H. Gorsline, C. W. Watson, 
John T. Fox, F. H. Crafts, C. A. Gardiner, Jeffi-ey W. Vary, W. S. Thompson, 
Jno. F. Whitbeck, W. B. Crandall, Martin Taylor, James H. Gould, Wm. Car- 
son, W. S. Sherman, L. J. W. Vary, John Boyce, S. C. Steele, Wm. R. Dryer, 
John Lutes, Walter W. Jerome. Rochester lodge of Perfection was on the same 
day fully organised with the following officers : George W. Stebbins, T. P. G. 
M. : Jeffrey W. Vary, H. of T. D. G. M. ; John F. Whitbeck, S. G. W. ; Wm. 
B. Crandall, J. G. W. ; Samuel C. Steele, grand treasurer ; Wm. R. Dr\'er, 
grand secretary. On the death of the lamented Stebbins, George W. Aldridge, 
33°, was chosen as his successor. Then followed in succession as presiding offi- 
cers P. Strong Wilson, William Shelp and William H. Whiting. The last- 
named served several years, retiring February, 1884, when William Shelp was 
again elevated to the office of T. P. G. M. In Rochester consistory the office 
of commander-in-chief is held for three years. General William E. Lathrop 
was the first incumbent, succeeded by Otis Cole, 33°, and by W. Lincoln Sage, 
33°, and he by William G. Raines, the present incumbent. 

There is a lodge of Perfection and a council of Princes of Jerusalem at 
Buffalo, but no chapter of Rose Croix or consistory in that city ; hence it is 
that Rochester has an extended jurisdiction west of Syracuse to the boundary 



394 History of the City of Rochester. 

line. A careful examination of the roll of both Rochester chapter of Rose 
Crnix and Rochester consistory will reve.il a large membership throughout 
Western New \'ork. inckuling man)- influential citizens of I-Jufialo, Lockport, 
Albion, Bataxia and DuiikirK. The number of S. P. R. S. owing allegiance to 
our local consistory is now about jOO. Earl)- in the year 1876 the brethren of 
Palm(_>ni Indge of Perfection, at BuHalo, and Rochester and Germania lodges 
of Perfection, in this cit)-, \-oted permission f)r the establishment of a new- lodge 
of Perfection at Lockjjort, to be called Li.ick Cit)- lodge of Perfection, with 
John Hodge as first T. P. G. M. This organisation was effected and has been 
remarkably successful. For the devotion and zeal displayed by Bro. Hodge, 
who is a member of Rochester consistor)-, in the successful work tlone at Lock- 
port, he was subsequently honored b\- the supreme coimcil with the honorary 
degree of sovereign grand inspector-general, ^t,''. 

Gu the 20th da)- of .April, 1881, the council of deliberation of the state of 
New York, b)' \irtue of the call of Robert AI. C. Graham, ^2i^, deput)- for the 
state, met in this cit)- for the transaction of the business of the annual meeting. 
Never before or since has so distinguishetl a comjjan)- of brethren eminent in 
the dissemination of the work of the Ancient Accepted Scottish rite been as- 
sembled in this cit)-. There was also in attendance at the grand reunion exer- 
cises of the local cuiirdinate bodies, then being held, ten illustrious brethren of 
Ohio consistor)- namel)-, Stith M. Sullivan, ^^'^. Rev. Thomas J. Melish, Kd- 
ward W. Masterson, H. H. Woodward, William Michie, John .\. Wiltsie, Jacob 
Menderson, William B. Melish and A. L. Laurie. 

Restrictetl space compels us to mercl)- mention that Rochester council 
Princes of Jerusalem and Rochester chapter of Rose Croix have necessarily 
enjo)-ed corresponding prosperit)- with the other coordinate bodies. Vov the 
\-ear 18S4 Courtland .\\-er)- is the presiding officer in the council, styled JVL H. 
S. l\ G. M., and Robert C, Titus in the chapter, styled M. W. and P. M. With 
the excei)tion of an insignificant period, Samuel C. .Steele has been the treas- 
urer of all four bodies since the organisation in 1867, and for the past five 
)ears Thomas Gliddon has been the secretar)-. 

Germania lodge of Perfection is the only body of the Ancient Accepted 
Scottish rite that has e\er been chartered b)- the supreme council of the north- 
ern Masonic jurisdiction of the LInited States with permission to work iii the 
German language. To encourage it in the organisation some others than of Ger- 
man ancestr)- are found among the names of the charter members, which are 
appended: Otis Cole, Johii Lutes, Kmll Kiiichling, August M. Koeth, Fred 
Cook, Andrew Kaltenbach, Chas. Vogel, D. L. Johnston, Henr)- B. Baker, 
Adolph Roda, Fred Zimmer, John Dufiier, C. F. Wolters, John Hohenstein, 
Geo. F". Merz, Henr\- .Vman, W. Guggenheim, Casper Wehle, A. Stern, Albert 
Schififner, Fred Stade, Francis Boor, Max Levison, Joseph Shatz, John Straub, 
Chas. E. Rider. The date of the charter is August 19th, 1874, and under the 



The Secret Societies. 395 

supervising care of August M. Koeth, 23'^< 'ind his associate officers, it has 
prospered beyond expectation. 

Western New York Masonic ReUef Association. — The articles of associa- 
tion under which this mutual life insurance society was organised May 25tli, 
1 87 1, were signed by Wm. F. Holmes, Francis H. Marshall, \Vm. Carson, L. 
D. Patterson, Wm. Roades, J. W. McElhinny, Wm. Shelp, Wm. W. Bruft", Ed- 
ward M. Smith, S. M. Benjamin, Jeffrey W. Vary, E. T. Oatley, Porter W. 
Taylor. The association took form under the statutes, but was avowedly 
" formed for the purpose of more effectually aiding and assisting worthy brethren, 
their widows and orphans." This benevolent characteristic has never been lost 
in the management by the succeeding boards of trustees, but its history is in 
every respect similar to the numerous mutually insuring societies that have been 
carefull)- managed during the past dozen years. Officers for 1884-85 : Jacob 
G. Maurer, president; John W. Stebbins, \-ice-president; Newman S. Phelps, 
treasurer; Clifton C. Giftbrd, secretary ; Dr. B}'ron I. Preston, medical adviser. 
Trustees. — Valley lodge, number 109, William G. Congdon, 1885; John Sid- 
dons, 1886; John M. Brown, 1887. Yonnondio lodge, number 163, John 
Mitchell, 1885; John B. Southworth, 1886; Thomas Gliddon, 1887. Genesee 
Falls lodge, number 507, Alfred H. Cork, 1885; James C. Gray, 1886; Samuel 
C. Pierce, 1887. Rochester lodge, number 660, George Weldon, 1885; Curtis 
H. Haskin, 1886; Hiram W^ood, 1887. Germania lodge, number 722, J. 
George Baetzel, 1885; John Neun, 1886; John Viehman, 1887. 

Many incidents of purely local character must necessarily be omitted in this 
narrative, yet we cannot fail to notice May 28th, 1873, when the fraternity 
turned out cfi masse, and, after parading our principal streets, assisted Grand 
Master Christopher G. Fox, of Buffalo, in laying the corner-stone of the city hall 
with full Masonic ritual. A few organisations known as Masonic in their char- 
acter ha\-e been started in this city at various times by a number of enthusiastic 
brethren, only to live for a few years. It is hoped that the two chapters of the 
order of the Eastern Star, named respectively Ruth, number 56, and Monroe, 
number 57, will have a different fate. The former meets in the Masonic tem- 
ple. Exchange street, and the latter in the Co.x building. East Main street. 

AMERICAN ODD FELLOWSHIP.' 

For the first successful organisation of a subordinate lodge of the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows in America we are indebted to Past Grand Sire 
Thomas Wildey, who was born in the city of London on the 15th of January, 
1772, and was initiated in lodge number 17, of the London order of Odd Fellowsin 
1804, in which he served in every capacity, from the humblest to the highest. In 
July, 18 1 7, he embarked for America and landed at Baltimore, in September fol- 
lowing. The prevalence of the yellow fever, thatautumn, exciting his benevolent 

1 This article was prepared by Mr. Isaac Looniis, P. D. D. G. M. 

26 



396 History of the City of Rochester. 

s)-mpatliics, C(in\-inced him of the urgent necessity of an oriier of ( )dtl Fellows. 
MeetinLi with his ciiuntr_\-nKin .md brother, John Welch, they nuitually agreed 
to endea\-or ti.i organise a lodge in Baltimore. They caused a notice to be in- 
serted in a [lajJer for a meeting March 2d, i8ic), for four weeks, which drew 
onl_\' t\\ 1-1 othei' h'nglishnien, when three were necessary. The call was re- 
newed for the 13th of April, when John Duncan, John Cheatham and Richard 
Rushworth (three other Englishmen) met with them, and the preliminary ar- 
rangements were made for the organisation of Washington lodge, number 1, 
upon the J6th of April, iSnj, to work after the London order of()dd Fellows. 
-V ch.u'ter was sought .uul obtained through Past (irand John Crowder, of 
] )uke of York lodge, I'restoii, luigland, l-'ebruary 1st, 1820. It was issued in 
due f)rni ( )cttiber 23d, following, and the work changed to that of the Man- 
chester Unity of Otld Fellows. Franklin lodge, number 2, 1. O. of (.). F., was 
instituted; also Columbia lodge, number 3, in No\'embei', 1823, which was 
the first subijrilinate lodge chartered b_\- the grand lotlge of Maryland antl the 
L'nited States. On h'ebruar\- 2lst, ada\- selected as the anni\ersary of the 
birth of Washington, tile committee of past grands assembled at the lodge 
Idem on h'rederick street. The noble grand of Washington lodge then made 
his appearance, antl in a formal manner surrentlered into their hanels the war- 
rant recei\-eil b_\' the lotlge from the Duke of York l()dge, Preston, P'ngiand. 
He then retiretl, whereupon the committee proceeded to organise as a grand 
lodge, under the st}le .uul title of " the grand lodge of Maryland and of the 
United States. " 

The new body was put in motion by the installation of the f)llowing officers : 
Thomas Wilde_\', graiul master (coach-s[)ring maker) ; John I'. ICntwistle, clep- 
ut\' grand master ([)rinter) ; William S. Couth, grand wartlen (currier); John 
Welch, grand secietar)- (house and ship painter) ; John J^Dyd, grand guaidiau 
(mahogau)" saw_\er) ; William Larkman, grand contluctor (cabinet-maker) — 
all (.]f number I. The session being now ojien, the first business transactetl b_\- 
the grand lodge was the tido|ition of the following: " Resolved, that a tlispen- 
sation be preseiitetl to W'.ishington lotlge, number I, of Mar_\-lantl, as a subor- 
dinate lodge." In April, 1S24, a circular letter, signetl b\- (i. S. and approved 
by G. M. and D. Ci. M., was sent to the brethren in England, giving the status 
of the order in America, as follows ; " In the United States at present we 
number five grand lodges, and eight subortlinate lodges. " The grand lodge 
of New York was organised in 1823. On the 26th of April, 1826, a final 
antl successful effort was made, fi.\ing the anniversary of the ortler on that 
day. 

I'rom 1828 to [834, when the tragical disappearance of William Morgan, a 
master Mason, caused such a furor as to drive every secret society out of e.\- 
istence in Western New York, the young men, for the want of other social in- 
tercourse, for several years had attached themselves to the several fire companies 



The Secret Societies. 397 



and"ran with the machine." In the winter of 1 841 it became known that organ- 
isations for the promotion of the principles of friendship, love and truth were in 
active working order in New York city, Albany and Buffalo, known and distin- 
guished as Odd Fellows, and in March of that year'a notice from a member 
of the brotherhood, Daniel Curry, appeared in the Rochester /?(?//)' Democrat, 
requesting any Odd Fellow, or others who were favorably inclined to organise 
a lodge of Odd Fellows, to meet him at the Eagle Tavern at the time men- 
tioned. At the time appointed Wm. H. Perkins, George Peck, A. K. Ams- 
den, Wm. Penfield, Hiram A. Tucker, D. M. Dewey and others responded to 
the call, to ascertain what were the necessary requirements to organise a lodge 
of Odd Fellows in Rochester. They found that, besides those members of the 
order residing in the city, four persons would have to be initiated into its mys- 
teries. After duly canvassing the matter, it was voted that Messrs. Perkins, 
Amsden, Peck and Tucker should proceed to Buffalo and qualify for that pur- 
pose. Accordingly they took passage in the old stage coach in .^.pril for 
Buffalo, and, after riding over logways and laboring through the mud, at the 
close of the first da\- made Batavia, where the}' rested the first night, and next 
morning, after starting on another day's pilgrimage, arrived at its close in the 
city of Buffalo, more wearied in body and mind than a trip to California would 
cause at the present time. In a few days they were duh' initiated into the 
mysteries and rites of Odd Fellowship and dul\' proclaimed qualified to become 
charter members. 

In due time a petition was prepared, asking the grand lodge of the state 
of New York for a charter at its session upon the fifth day of May, 1841, to 
be called the "Genesee Home lodge," signed by William H. Perkins, Alonzo 
K. Amsden, Daniel Curry, William Penfield, George Peck and Hiram A. 
Tucker, which was granted and the name changed to " Genesee lodge, number 
51, I. O. of O. F., Rochester, N. Y ." This lodge was duly instituted upon the 
second day of June following, at 2 p. m., by Nelson Small, grand master, 
accompanied by his associate grand officers. The first officers of the lodge 
\\ ere : William H. Perkins, N. G. ; Hiram A. Tucker, V. G. ; Alonzo K. Ams- 
den, quarterly scribe; George Peck, treasurer; Daniel Curry, conductor; Fran- 
cis G. Macy, warden; William Penfield, I. G , and William Barker, O. G. None 
of the charter members are now living. A. K. Amsden died November 15th, 
1872. Daniel Curry became a dormant member in 1844 and the other original 
members withdrew b}- cards in 1S42 and 1846 to become charter members in 
Teoronto and Rochester City lodges in Rochester, and D. M. Dewey is the only 
brother known to be living at the present time who was initiated in 1841. 

In May, 1871, A. K. Amsden offered a resolution that "every Odd P'ellow 
e\er initiated into Genesee lodge, also all ancient and venerable Odd Fellows, 
be cordially invited to be present as its guests, it being the first anniversary 
the lodge has ever held." The N. G. appointed the following named past 



39S History of the Crrv of Rochester. 

grands to constitute the committee to make suitable arrangements therefor: 

A. K. Amsclen, Isaac Loomis, (leorge Untlerhill, Charles Wells antl Charles 
M. Syme. On Frida_\- evening, June Jd, 1S71, Cenesee lodge IkkI a large 
gathering ant! the proceedings throughout were unusually interesting. 

H\' retiuest of the chairman of the committee the brothers joined in sing- 
ing the following anci'ent ode: — 

'•Attend, most ancient brothers, 
For honor o'er us hovers ; 
Attend, most ancient brothers, 
For honor's court is here. 

'I'he man diat honor binds not 
,\ welcome with us linds not; 
'The man that honur binds not 
Can ne\er erUer here. 

Tile man that lionnr holds dear 
.Mone a welrome t'mds here: 
Tile man tli:it honor holds dear 
.Alone I an entei here. 

Our mottoes, 'mirth and harmony, 
Friendship, truth :uid unitv;' 
( >ur iiinttoes, 'mirth and harmony. 
In brotherhood < ombmed.' " 

The success of Cienesee lodge having become established, in the year 1842 
Teoronto lodge was organised and permission given to occup)' the same lodge 
room. Its charter members were : II. .\. Tucker, G. G. Clarkson, H. S. Stevens, 
R. Keeler, I. V. Mack, T. H. Ilamilt.)!!, B. R. McAlpine, H. Hanker, (George A. 
(Mbbs and N. H. Northrop. 

The rapid growth of the order soon re\ealeil the fact that there should be 
still another lodge, aiul within five \-ears from the first organisation the third 
lodge was demanded and Rochester Cit\' lodge was instituted, its charter mem- 
bers being: Wm. H. Perkins, John \V. Dwinelle, Rufus Keeler, James M. Fish, 
C. T. Anisden, H. S. b^airchild, L. A. Allen, B. R. McAlpine, J. I. Robins, George 

B. Harris, Her\ey Warren, John Craigie, Wm. C. Prindle, N. B. Northrop, 
W. H. Cheney, S. I-:. Aklen, G. B. Redfield, Lucius Bell, Richard H. Wells, 
Hiram C. Smith, John L. h'ish, J<ihn l'. Hoyt, Thomas E. Hastings, Sanford 
]. Smith, J. H. (joodman, Samuel Wililer, James Brackett, James W. Sibley, 
Charles W. Sibley, Charles J. Hill, John B. Re>bertson, J. A. Lay, Cornelius A. 
Burr, Lrastus Cook. 

The continued growth and prosperity of the order demanded that there 
should be another lodge, one in which our German fellow-citiz.ens should receive 
the benefit of (])dd Fellowshi[). In January 185 I, Humboldt lodge was organ- 
ised, with L. (jarson, George Siebert, John Bcehm, Louis Bauer, Joseph Bier, 



The Secret Societies. 



399 



Solomon Ran, Jacob Ragel, G. August, George Bohnlein, and J. Levy as char- 
ter members. 

In May, 1866, Monroe lodge, at Brockport, was institutetl, and in 1868 
Parma lodge was instituted, with five charter members. 

In March, 1871, Orient lodge was instituted, with 124 charter members, 
most of whom took cards from Teoronto lodge for that purpose. In June, 1 87 I , 
Floral lodge was instituted, with thirty charter members who took cards from 
Genesee lodge for that purpose. In February, 1874, John G. Klinck lodge was 
instituted, with thirty-four charter members, who took cards from Genesee lodge 
for that purpose. 

In August, 1871, Kcerner lodge (German) was instituted, with twenty-one 
charter members, who took cards from Humboldt lodge for thatpurpose. 

In December, 1873, Scottsville lodge was instituted, with sixteen charter 
members. 

December 4th, 1874, Temple lodge, 412, was instituted, with 135 charter 
members. 

In October, 1877, Aurora lodge, 466, was instituted, with 79 charter mem- 
bers, mostly from Orient lodge. 

The following compose the higher branch of the order in this district : 
Mount Hope encampment, number 2, with 216 members; Gore encampment 
(Brockport), number 47, with 68 members; Glide encampment, number 75, 
with 89 members ; King Solomon encampment, number 82, with 86 members. 

The subordinate lodges have 1,851 members in good standing . Their rev- 
enue during the past year was $13,003.00, and the amount they paid for relief 
in the same time was $4,292. The revenue of the encampment branch was 
$1,692.50, and amount paid for relief was $383.25, making a sum total of over 
$4,675 paid by the order of Odd Fellows in Monroe county for the relief of 
the sick and burial of the dead in one year, as by the last report. 

In January, 1882, as the lease held by the encampment and four old lodges 
meeting in "O. F. Hall," at the corner of North St. Paul and Main streets, 
would expire with the year, a committee was appointed to look up other apart- 
ments, which a month or two later reported that the Phcenix club building, sit- 
uated upon North Clinton street, would be sold in March to meet incumbrances 
upon the same. After due consideration the committee was authorised to pur- 
chase said building for the use of the order, which it did, meeting with a lively 
contestant in the Eureka club. The building is fifty-three feet front on Clinton 
street, extending back sixty-two feet, with an area of four and a half feet in the 
rear for light, four stories in height, exclusive of basement, containing two stores, 
two lodge-rooms, ante-rooms, wardrobes and closets, library, ladies' parlor, dress- 
ing-room and closet, dining-room and kitchen, with a large French range, with 
ten-feet hall from the street up to the fourth story, where there is a splendid hall 
fifty feet square, with an eighteen-feet story, a stage with footlights, drop cur- 



400 History of the City of Rochester. 

tain, beautiful scenery all nicely arranged. A few months later, the committet 
Ic.irniiig that the adjoiniuL;- lot, of t\vent>'-si.x and one half feet front on Clintor 
and si.\t\-six ieet on L)i\-isii)n street, was for sale, it was ordered purchased. 
A five-story buildinL;, the full size of the li>t, from tlrawings b)' L(iomis & Rich- 
ardson, architects, is now in process of erection — containing one store, thret 
lodge-rooms, one encampment room, with ante-rooms, water closets, basins and 
water-coolers in each stor_\-, with fire-proof safes for preser\-ation of records, a 
platform stair-case from the entrance on Dix'ision street up to the fifth story, 
with hydraulic elex'ator to run to the roof (all to be heated b\' steam), with a 
tower twenty-four feet square at the base, rising to a height of I08 feet from 
the sidewalk, with crestings, raih'ngs and balconies — and is to be completec 
in December ne.xt, wllen the ( )dd I'ellows of Rochester will ha\e, probably 
the best building for their work of ,uiy in the state. The whole jiropert)' h 
\alued at $70,000.00, tlixided into sixt_\- shares, which are held by the follow- 
ing named organisations: Mount Hope encampment, mnnber 2. two shares; 
(ienesee lodge, number 3, twenty sh.ires; Teoronto lodge, number 8, eighteer 
shares; Rochester City lodge, number 66, two shares; Humboldt lodge, num- 
ber 138, fourteen sh.ires; John (i. Klinck lotlge, number 378, four shares. 

Upon the 2d day of September, i86y, the Odd Fellows' Mutual Aid and 
Benefit association of the county of Monroe was organised. George W. Har- 
rold, V. (i., was its president for two years, when Jacob Fonda, P. G. P. (who was 
initiated in Mohawk Valley lotlge, number 12. in 1843, at Schenectady, N. Y.), 
was elected as its jiresident and has been unanimousl}- reelected every year up tc 
the present time. Its board of directt)rs consists of thirteen, elected at the annua' 
meetings in Januar)' of each )'ear, who serve faithfully without salary or fees of 
an)- kind, with the exception of the financial secretar_\', who shall keep just and 
true accounts between the ass(.iciation anel its members and of all financial 
transactions of the association, and shall send all notices of assessments. He it 
recjuired to give securit}' in such amount as the directors shall require. Foi 
such service he has been paid $100 per year. Within sixty days after proof of 
the death of any member in financial standing, the president and treasurer makes 
a draft on the treasury for a sum representing $2 per member, less the amount 
reserved according to the length of time the deceased brother had been a mem- 
ber of the association as fixed in the schedule and published in the b}- laws. Since 
its organisation there have been eighty- two assessments levied upon its mem- 
bers for the benefit of the families of deceased brothers, as aforesaid. The treas- 
urer's last annual report shows that during the year he had paid $3,894.20 as 
benefits to the widows of deceased brothers; amount received $4,828.05 ; cash 
on hand in sa\'ings banks $5,185.85. H\' the above it appears that the I. O. O. 
F. in Monroe county paid for the burial of brothers and relief of families alone, 
in one year, according to the last official rep<irt, the sum of $8,569.45, no in- 
significant sum for a brotherhood of about 2,000 members to contribute of their 
funds in one j'ear for the amelioration of the condition of mankind. 



The Secret Societies. 401 

the knights of pythias. 
There are two lodges of this order now in the city — the Aurora Grata and 
the BUicher. The former, of which J. S. Beach is now the chief chancellor, 
was established in 1871 ; the latter was instituted in 1873; John J. Karle is the 
present chief chancellor. Besides these, there is an "endowment section," which 
was organised in 1876; the president is Christian Mannes, the vice-president 
J. S. Beach, the secretary and treasurer George Karle. It is an insurance as- 
sociation, in which the survivors of a member receive' $1,000, $2,000 or $4,000, 
according to his policy. 

THE .VNCIENT ORDER OF UNITED WORKMEN. 

This association, which is in its nature both beneficiary and fraternal, has 
been in e.xistence in this cit)- for nearly seven years. During the illness of any 
member an amount of money regulated by the necessities of the invalid and 
determined by a committee is given to him every week, and at his death $2,000 
is paid to the person whom he may have designated to receive it, that inherit- 
ance being, b\- law, exempt from e.xecution. There are now not far from a 
thousand members of the order in this city, and the average annual cost to each 
is in the neighborhood of fifteen dollars. Of the seven lodges here, the oldest 
is the Rochester lodge, which was instituted November 13th, 1877, and has 
now a membership of 113; the next was the Lincoln, organised in the same 
year; then the Genesee Falls in 1878; then the Americus on the 29th of Jan- 
uary, 1 879 ; then the McChesney, the next day, the name of which was changed 
to the Garfield on the loth of November, 1881, by authority of the grand lodge ; 
then the Occident, established January 26th, 1880, and finally the Monroe, 
which was instituted on the 23d of February in that year. Besides these there 
are the Lamberton legion and the Rochester legion, composed of members of 
the lodges who have undergone a more rigid examination than the others. 

THE FORESTERS. 
Two courts of this order now hold swa\- in this city — the court of William 
Tell, instituted in 1877 and having now about thirty members, and the court of 
Prosperity, established in 1878 and having thirty menibers. It is in the nature 
I if an insurance compan)-, having three classes, of $1,000, $2,000 and $3,000 
each. 

THE EMPIRE ORDER OF MUTU.\L AID. 

This order is restricted to the state of New York and is duly incorporated 
by the legislature of the state. Its object is to improve the moral and social 
condition of its members, to aid and assist their families in case of sickness, and 
to provide for the payment of a beneficiary fund at their death. Prior to De- 
cember, 1878, the Independent Order of Mutual Aid had attained quite a mem- 



402 History of the City of Rochester. 

bership in this state, but dissatisfaction in the management of the supreme lodge 
caused tlie New York lodges to witlulravv. They assumed the present name of 
" ]{mpire Order Mutual Aid." Two lodges had been instituted in Rochester 
j^rior to the secession — Mour City, number 5, and Security, number y, both 
of which were instituted early in 1 S78. Upon the first organisation of the grand 
lodge at Buffalo, December 12th, 1878, S. A. Ellis, of Rochester, was elected 
vice-president. The order now has si.\ subordinate lodges in Rochester, with 
a membership of 400. Each lodge holds weekly meetings, the sessions being 
secret and conducted according to a ritual adopted by the grand lodge. All 
applicants for membership are subjected to a rigid medical examination, which 
must also be approved by a state medical examiner. The heirs or designated 
representatives of the deceased member are paid $2,000 upon due proof of 
tleath. This is raised by assessments of one dollar each, made from time to 
time, as necessar)-, upon the entire membership of the state. The present 
membership is about S.ooo. The grand lodge met in Rochester in Januar)-, 
1872, and the Flower cit}' has also been designated as the place of the annual 
meeting for 1885. Herbert M. Dayfoot, M. D., of Rochester, is the present 
grand medical examiner; John M. Steele is chairman of the committee on laws, 
and Henry T. l^raman ' is a member of the finance committee of the grand 
lodge and district deputy of Monroe county. 

THE ItENEVoI.ENT I'ROTKCTI VK ORDER OK ELKS. 

Rochester lodge, number 24, was organised January 4th, 1884, and officers 
were installed by Thomas W. Keene, district deputy exalted grand ruler at 
large, January 6th. The officers of Rochester lodge are: Exalted ruler, George 
F. Loder ; esteemed leading knight, Henry V. Plant; esteemed loyal knight, 
Samuel C. Pierce; esteemed lecturing knight, h'rank H. Vick; esquire, George 
C. Gray; secretars', Thomas Gliddon; treasurer, PLlmer E. ;\Im_\'; trustees — 
Frank L. Murray,- Edgar O. Rogers, Darwin W. Truss. The order of Elks 
was established about se\'enteen years ago. The objects are benevolence and 
protection and social enjoyments. There is a mutual benefit association con- 
nected with the order. All lodges in existence are subordinate to a grand 
lodge, which meets in New York once a year. The membership of the order 
is composed largely of actors, managers, journalists and professional men. 
Rochester lodge meets every Tuesday evening at the New Osburn House. A 
social session is held once a month. 

1 This sketch was furnished by Mr. Braman. 

2 This sketch was furnished by Mr. Murray. 



The City Hospital. 403 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

CH.ARITV .\.\n liKXKVOLKXCK. 

The City Hospital — .St. .Mary's Hiispital — I'lie Kcm.ale < haritaljle Society — Tlie .Monroe Counly 
Bible Society ^The Rochester Orphan .\sylum — The t.'atholic Orphan Asylums — The Jewish Or- 
phan .\syluni — The Home for the Friendless — The Industrial .School — The Church Home — The 
Home of Industry -— The Deaf Mute Institution — The Humane Society — The .Mms House — The 
Insane .\s\'luni. 

THE Rochester City hospital' is a daughter of the Rochester Female Char- 
itable society. The parent society, feeling the pressing need of a suitable 
place for the sick poor who could not be properly cared for in their own homes, 
agitated the subject of providing the city with a hospital, and, in 1845, 'Ap- 
pointed a "hos[iitaI committee." The Rochester Cit\' hospital was incorpo- 
rated Ma\' 7th, 1847, '^•''d the following directors are named in its charter: J. 
B. Elwood, Wm. Pitkin, I. Hills, T. II. Rochester, P. Kearney, F. Starr, R. 
Lester, E. M. Moore, J. Williams, E. F. Smith and D. R. Barton. Twelve 
others were elected June 1 ith, 1847 : J. Webster, W. Brewster, L. A. Ward, J. 
H. Thompson, J. Child, V.. Peck, A. Champion, J. Newell, A. Kelse\% J. Gould, 
F. F. Backus and H. F. Montgomery. Of these, E. M. Moore and H. F. 
Montgomery are the only survivors. 

In 1 85 I the common council of Rochester conveyed to the directors of 
the City hospital the Western cemetery lot, a tract containing about three acres, 
on condition that the directors should immediately inclose it and extinguish the 
rights of the lessees of the burial lots. The terms were accepted, the grounds 
inclosed, but as many of the lessees had died, or left the city, and others would 
not surrender the leases, negotiations were necessarily slow. In 1855 the com- 
mon council agreed to transfer to the directors of the hospital $7,000, the 
residue of the alms house fund, if they would raise $5,000. The directors 
applied to the Charitable society, and the ladies raised nearly $6,000 and placed 
it in the directors' hands. In 1857, having failed to secure a title to the ceme- 
tery lot b}' negotiations, the directors applied to the legislature, and by an act 
of that body acquired a perfect title, and, the conditions of the transfer being 
complied with, the residue of the alms house fund was then given to the direc- 
tors. Plans were made for the hospital, the central portion of the present edi- 
fice put under contract and building commenced. The erection of the hospital 
wings was to depend on future needs. 

In i860 the directors received from the Charitable society $500, a legacy 
<if Everard Peck, and $700, the avails of a lot donated by Colonel William 
P'itzhugh, and for these gifts they conferred on the Charitable society the right 
to a perpetual free bed in the hospital. In the autumn of 1862 the exterior of 
the hospital was nearly completed, but funds were exhausted. An unsuccess- 

1 This article was prepared by .Mrs. Seth H. Terry. 



404 History of the City of Rochester. 

fill attempt was niatlc to obtain a state apjiropriation ; the civil war niaile larLje 
tlrauL;lits 1111 the citizens and work was sus|)eiided. 

In the summer of 18G3 the trustees of the Roclicster Collct^iate Institute 
tlonated if 1,000, and it was decided to provide ten or fifteen beds and open tlie 
hosi)ital for patients, if the Charitable society would assume its management. At 
its annual meetiuL;, Noxembei', iSOj, in response to a communication from G. 
II. Mumfori.1, president of the hospital board of directors, the Charitable society 
ajipointed two committees, an executi\'e and a visiting committee, to confer 
with the directors and (_le\ise plans for completing and lurnishing the hos|)ital. 
These committees were t<i make tlieir own arrangements, fill \ acancies anil 
report to the society. Fhe executive committee met with the directors, a solic- 
iting Committee was appointeil, the ladies r.iised ii\e thousand dollars, work 
was resumed, and the building completed. Churches anil imlix'iduals responded 
t(3 appeals, and generously anil tastefully furnished wards and private rooms. 
The directors appointed physiei.ms, anil reipiestetl the Charitable societ)' to 
take the entire management of the hospital, with the exception of the medical 
department. The trust was acce[:)ted,. and delegated to the executive and vis- 
iting committees, who wi-ix- to incur no pecuniary res[Kinsibilit\' for the societ}-, 
and make to it an annu.il report. The members of these two committees are 
the present lady man.igers of the hospital association. 

Januar)- jSth, 1864, the hosjiital was dedicated, with appi'opriate exercises. 
An aildress was made b)' (i. II. Mumford, from which, and the records of the 
societ}, we have gleaned man}' of the preceiling facts. On the 1st of Febru- 
ar}- it recei\ed the first patient. The edifice wds fift}- b}- si. xt}' feet, four stories 
high, with two entrances and a central hall. In the basement were kitchen and 
laundr}- ; on the first floor, two female wards, an accouchement room, parlor 
and matron's room ; on the second, a male waril, private rooms, ri'sident phy- 
sician's room and dining-room ; on the thiril, private rooms and wards; above 
all, the dome. Dr. Henr}- W'. Dean was ph}-sician ; Dr. H. 1''. Montgomer}', 
surgeon; Di'. C. IC Rider, resident physician ; John M. SI}-, superintendent; 
his wife, matron; Miss h' ranees 1^. Ilebbard, our present matron, was assistant. 
The directors were G. 1 1. Mumford, \i. M. Snnth, II. V. Montgomer}-, J. H. hdwood, 
J. II. Thompson, IC M. Moore, A. Kelse}-, R. Keeler, S. D. Porter, K. F. Smith, 
J. Gould, B. R. McAlpine, L. A. Ward, A. I-lrickson, W. Pitkin, W. Brewster, F. 
Starr, A. Champion, I. Hills, J. Williams, J. Brackett, D. R. Barton, J. Thomp- 
son, jr., and Samuel Wilder. The lad}- maiiagers were Mrs. M. Strong, Mrs. G. 
H. Mumford, Mrs. J. Craig, Mrs. W. H. Perkins, Mrs. M. Rocliester, Mrs. M. 
M. Mathews, Mrs. K. D. Smith, Mrs. A. Bronson, Mrs. I. R. Elwood, Mrs. W. 
W. Carr, Mrs. N. T. Rochester, Mrs. F. Starr, Mrs. F. M. Smith, Mrs. C. F. 
Smith and Mrs. L. A. Ward. Six of these directors survive ; James Brackett 
and Samuel Wilder are still members of the board of directors. Eight of the 
original lady managers are living; Mrs. M. Strong has always been their pres- 



The City Hospital. 405 



ident ; Mrs. M. M. Mathews their corresponding secretary, Mrs. W. H. T'er- 
kins tlieir treasurer, except during a short absence from the countr)-, wlien 
George Breci<, superintendent, kept the accounts ; Mrs. M. Rocliester, tlie first 
recording secretary, remained in office till March, 1867; Mrs. N. T. Rochester 
is still a member of the board. 

Three months after its dedication, the hospital was thrown open to the sick 
and wounded soldiers ; every a\"ailable place, except the two female wards, was 
given up to them ; between June 7th, 1864, and September, 1865, 448 were 
received. In 1865 the east wing was completed ; it was eighty feet long, 
with a transept forty by twenty-five feet ; three stories high, including base- 
ment, witli room for sixty or seventy beds ; the mansard roof has since been 
added. In 1 871 the west wing was completed, and private rooms in the 
third story were attractively furnished by churches and individuals, as also 
were those in the east mansard, which were finished in 1879; some of these 
are memorial rooms. In 1880 a morgue was built ; in 1S82 the hall pavilion 
was erected. In 1883 another pavilion was built, from funds contributed by 
three of the medical staff, Drs. W. S. Ely, E. V. Stoddard and J. B. Whitbeck. 
An elevator, donated by A. J. Johnson, was also introduced into the building, 
twelve new rooms were constructed in the dome, and the sewerage was made 
as perfect as possible. 

The hospital grounds extend from West avenue to Troup street. The build- 
ings can accommodate 150 patients. The wards are large, light, well ven- 
tilated, heated by steam, and designed for medical and surgical cases of both 
sexes. The private rooms are well furnished and attractive, reached by ele- 
vator, and the patients choose their own physician, who may be of any school. 
The sanitary condition of the building is considered perfect. Contagious dis- 
eases are treated in isolated buildings. A training school for nurses has been 
in successful operation three years. There is a chapel service Sunda}- after- 
noon. St. Luke's flower mission make weekly offerings. On the first floor 
i of the present central edifice are parlor, office, operating-room, dispensar)' and 
1 resident physicians' rooms; on the second, the chapel, matron's room, dining- 
room, bath-room and linen room ; on the third, private wards and rooms ; in 
the dome, rooms for nurses. In the east wing are the male medical and sur- 
gical wards ; in the west, the female medical, surgical, and lying-in-wards ; in 
both mansards are private rooms. The kitchens, laundry, some dining-rooms, 
store rooms, etc., are in the basement. 

The hospital has an endowment fund from gifts, bequests, memorial offerings 
and free beds, the interest of which only is available ; it has an income from 
private city and county patients, but these sources are inadequate to its sup- 
port, for which it relies largely on the cash receipts at its annual donation fes- 
tival in December. Three of the faithful physicians, whose services long 
blessed the hospital, have died; Henry W. Dean died January 13th, 1878; 



4o6 History of the City of Rochester. 

W. W. Ely. March 27th, 1879; John V. Whitbeck, December 8th, 1881. 
Two of these lia\'c sons on the medical staff. H. I*". Montgomery, the first 
surgeon, has always been on the surgical staff. The Hospital Rcviciv, pub- 
lished month])', ie])orts the work and needs of the hos[)ital. It was first issued 
August, 1S64, and edited till 1 87 1 by Mrs T. C. Arner; from then till 1873 
by Miss K. G. Mathews; from then till 1876 by Miss Frances J. Mungcr; 
since then by Mrs. Seth H. Terry. 

The hospital is now under the direction of the fnUowing persons: Directors 
— D. W. Powers, president; M. F. Reynolds, \'ice-president; H. S. Hanford, 
secretar)- and treasurer; J. Brackett, S. Wilder, F. S. lUtenheimer, C. C. Morse, 
J. H. 1-irewstcr, (i. H. Perkins, J. I.. Angle, J. F. Pierjjont, G. H. Thompson, 

C. F. Pond, G. !■:. Mumford, L. P. Ross, J. J. l^ausch, S. j. Macy, N. Stein, A. 
S. Hamilton, W. H. (lorsline, W. S. Kimball, S. Sloan, R. A. Sibley. Lady 
managers — Mrs. M. Strung, president; Mrs. W. H. Perkins, treasurer; Mrs. 
M. M. Mathews, corresponding secretar}-; Mrs. D. B. Beach, recording secre- 
tary; Mrs. N. T. Rochester, Mrs. G. F. Danforth, Mrs. G. J. Whitney, Mrs. A. 

D. Smith, Mrs. J. H. l^rewstcr, Mrs. C. Johnston, Mrs. H. H. Morse, Miss A. 
S. Mumford, Mrs. F. Clarke, Mrs. M. Adams, Mrs. M. Landsberg, Mrs. H. F. 
Smith, Miss A. F. M. Wilde, Mrs. L. S. Chapin, Mrs. A. S. Hamilton. At- 
tending physicians — William S. Ely, M. D., E. V. Stoddard, M. D., John W. 
Whitbeck, M. D. ; attending surgeons, H. F. Montgomery, M. D., David Little, 
M. D., H. H. Langworthy, M. D. ; special — C. E. Rider, M. D., ophthalmic 
and aural surgeon; assisting visiting plu'sician and surgeon, C. A. Dewe)', M. 
D. ; resident assistants, F. H. Welles, M. D., H. H. Bingham, M. D. ; matron, 
Miss P'rances PI Hebbard; recorder, Mrs. Mary A. Gilman ; supervising nurse, 
Miss L. A. ALirkham. 

During the \-ear ending October 1st, 1883, 478 patients ;\ere received at 
the hospital, there were nineteen births, 447 were dismissed, fift\'-five died, 
seventy-two remained, twent\'-eight were supported entirely by charity. 

St. Mary's hospital' was established September 8th, 1857. It had a very 
small beginning, indeed, but through the energy of its first superior (Sister 
Hieronymo), through the hard labors of the Sisters, through the charitable do- 
nations of the people of Rochester and through the blessing of Almighty God, 
it has grown to be the most prominent house of charity in the cit\', a monu- 
ment of hard work and sacrifices, and an ornament to the cit)-. It is situated 
on West a\'enue, corner of Genesee street. Rt. Rev. Bishop Timon of Buffalo 
obtained in 1857 three Sisters from limmettsburg, Maryland, and Rt\'. M. 
O'Brien, pastor oi St. Patrick's church, bought for them a lot on West a\enue, 
the present site. Two stone stables on the premises were converted into a hos- 
pital by Sister Hieronymo and on September 8th, 1857, she opened the house 

1 This article was ])r(.-iiarecl Iiy Rev. I). Laureii^is, under the supervisiiin of Rt. Rev. Bishop -Mc- 
Ouaitl. 




f" //^A-i/wt^:^ 



The Female Charitakle Society. 407 

for the admission of patients. Sister Hieronymo remained superior until Sep- 
tember, 1870. 

The first year (185S) about 250 sick people were received and cared for in 
the small hospital. The building being too small for the wants of the sick, Sis- 
ter Hieronymo, trusting in divine providence, commenced in 1858 the east 
wing of the present building and finished it the same \'ear. In 1 86 1 she began 
the erection of the present edifice and finished it in 1865. The whole building 
is of Medina stone, from four to four and a half stories high. 

As God often turns evil into good, so the time of our civil war was a great help 
to the hospital, it being filled with wounded soldiers, for several years. Many 
a donation was made to the institution, by the poor sick soldiers on account of 
the kind treatment they received from the hands of the Sisters. ' The wounded 
soldiers came in by the hundreds, so that the superior was obliged to erect sev- 
eral pavilions in the yard in order to accommodate them. On June 7th, 1864, 
nearly three hundred arrived. During the war about 3,000 soldiers found a 
kind home in the hospital. The number of patients now averages about 210. 

Last year 529 were recei\'ed and discharged. Since its establishment about 
22,500 have been received. The present superior (sister servant) is Sister Ella 
Rose, assisted by about fifteen Sisters. The hospital is supported by the city 
and county, by the fees of private patients and by donations. 

The Rochester Female Charitable society,' the mother of many of our city 
charities and beneficent institutions, was organised February 26th, 1822, at the 
house of Everard Peck; Mrs. Levi Ward was elected president; Mrs. E. Peck, 
treasurer;' twelve directresses and fifteen visitors were chosen, and the village 
was divided into fifteen districts. This was the origin of district visiting in this 
city, and the city of New York soon followed this example, as we have been 
assured by one of the first trustees. The object of this society was the relief 
of indigent sick persons, and the establishment of a charity school. Previous 
to 1822, a charity school had been taught in a room on State street, gratuitously 
granted by Josiah Bissell, on premises now occupied by the Flour City bank. 
The educational wants of the poor, and other destitutions consequent upon 
sickness in a new country, prompted, for more efficient action, the formation of 
this societ)-. Nutritious food, bedding, clothing, and other comforts for the 
sick poor were then and ever since have been provided, as necessity required. 
In the charity school the elementary branches and sewing were taught; the 
children were clothed by the ladies. In 1824 a lot was presented to the society, 
by Colonel William Fitzhugh, on the outskirts of the village, near the forest, 
now North Washington street, upon which a small building was erected and 
used for a charity school. This school was continued until the common schools 
were established ; the building was then used for a sewing- school, and in 1847 
rented to the city for a school for colored children. The lot was sold in 1849, 
and the money invested for future use. 

1 This article was prepared by Mrs. Maltby Strong. 



4o8 HIs■^()R^ ok the City of Rochester. 

Tlie records from 1822 to 1S27 were unfortunately lost, but the original 
constitution is preserved: Dnlynne |K-rs(_)n of tin ise whose names are affixed 
is now lixiiiL;, Mi's. Abelartl Re}'niikls. whu September 231!, 1SS4, completer 
her hundredth \'ear. The business was conducted b}- the entire society until 
1S27, when it was delegated to a board of managers. The Charitable societ) 
was incuri.iorated A])ril 3d, 1X55, with S. (i. Andrews, L. A. Ward, John Wil- 
li, mis, N. Osburn, Moses Chapin and W. N. -Sage, trustees; previoush' J. T, 
T.ilm.ui, I-",. I'eck ;md S. 1). I'urtir had charge of the investments. 

In rexiewing the liistnry i>l this assciciatinn, we hnd the germs of sexeral 
institutions. In 1844 this societ\' sent to the coninnui comicil the first peti- 
tion f>r a wiii'kdiouse. "This subject was ;it once entertained and nevei 
di'<iiiped," until iiur penitinti.u'y and adjacent buiklings were erected. In 1845 
being unable prnperly to care f(.)r some of the sick, in their own homes, it ap- 
[lointed a " hnspit.il cnmmittee," to consult with the ph_\'sicians and other gentle- 
men (if the city, in reference tn building a hospit.il, anil in the meantime t< 
furnish sume |)l,ice where the sick cnulil have suitalile attention. The Houk 
fur the iM'iendless accepted the ch.u'ge foi- one _\'eai-, being paid fii' their care 
hv the Ch.u'itable societv, that .itterw.ird, for a short time, rented rooms anc 
l)roviiietl nurses. In Ma\-, 1S47, the Cit\' hosjiital was incorporated. In 1851 
the Charit.ible societ}' petitioned the common council foi' the Western cemeter) 
lot, for the purpose of erecting a hospital, intending to appropriate toward il 
$700, the a\ails of the charit}' school lot, and a gift frnm Jenn\- Lincl. At the 
close of the _\-ear the lot was e(.)n\e)-ed to the directnrs n{ the hospital, on cer- 
tain eonditiiins, which were accepted, but .1 clear title could not be secured till 
act]uired Liy cUi act <.if the legislature, in 1S57. In 1855 the common council 
agreed to transfer to the hospital directois the residue of the alms h(.)use fund, 
$7,000, if they would raise the additional sum of $5,000, for building a hospital. 
The directors apjilied to the Charitable society for aid. The ladies speedily 
raised neai'ly $6,ooo ; they .ifterward appropriated $500, the legac}' of E. Peck, 
and $700, the .ivails of the charit)' school lot, and placed this money at the 
tlisposal of the directors, thus secui'ing to the Charitable society a perpetual free 
bed in the City hospital. v\fter the title to the cemetery groimds was secured, 
the central portion of the present edifice was commenced, but not completed as 
designei-l, the funds being exhausted. In I 86 1 this societ}' petitioned the leg- 
islature for a House of Refuge for girls. 

In November, 1863, at the annual meeting of the Charitable society, a 
Communication from Ci. II. Mumford, president of the board of directors of 
the Cit\' hospital, was presented, requesting that a committee from the Char- 
itable societ}' be apjjointed, to confer with theni and devise jjlans for complet- 
ing and furnishing the hospital. An executive and a visiting committee were 
appointed, with full power to make their own arrangements, fill vacancies, and 
report progress to the society. The executive committee -were Mrs. M. Strong, 



The Female Charitable Society. 409 

Mrs. G. H. Mumford, Mrs. W. H. Perkins, Mrs. J. Craig. The visiting com- 
mittee were Mrs. F. Starr, Mrs. N. T. Rocliester, Mrs. L. A. Ward, Mrs. M. 
M. Mathews, Mrs. A. Boody, Mrs. I. Ehvood, Mrs. A. Bronson, Mrs. I. Butts, 
Mrs. W. W. Carr, Mrs. E. M. Smith, Mrs. C. F. Smith, Mrs. M. Rochester. 
Mrs. W. H. Perkins, treasurer of the Charitable society, was appointed treas- 
urer of the hospital committees. The e.xecutiv^e committee conferred with the 
directors; a soliciting committee was appointed, $5,000 was raised, and churches 
and individuals were appealed to, who generously responded by furnishing 
private rooms and wards. The directors appointed the medical and surgical 
staff and requested the Charitable society to take the entire management of 
the hospital, with the exception of the medical department. The society ac- 
cepted the trust, delegating it to the executive and visiting committees (now 
called the board of Iad\- managers of the Cit)- hospital), on conditiDU that the 
society should incur no pecuniary rcsponsibilit)', and receive an annual report 
from the liospital committees. 

The sick poor are not the only ones that have been aided b_\- this society. 
It decitled who should partake of the Thanksgiving dinner given by the \\'hig 
part)' to the city poor in 1851 ; it dispensed, through its visitors, the funds raised 
for the relief of the sufferers by the flood in I 865, ami by the Front street fire in 
1868; it distributed two hundred barrels of flour, donated, in 1869, by Aaron 
Erickson, and also a gift of wood by Brackett H. Clark. The managers of 
this society were, man}- of them, prominent in organising the Rochester orphan 
asylum, the Home for the Friendless, the Industrial school and the Church 
Home, and we find in all these boards ladies who have been and still are en- 
gaged in the work of this society, which has revealed to them the need of the 
other organisations. 

The endowments of the Charitable society consist of legacies and memorial 
gifts, man)- of which are from ladies who have been faithful workers in this 
charity. As the interest of these investments only can be used, the societ)- is 
largely dependent on funds contributed in response to its annual appeals, for 
means to give the needed assistance. The societ)' has no buildings and no 
salaried officers; its annual and monthly meetings are held in some central 
location, gratuitously loaned for the purpose. With the exception of a trifling 
sum paid for printing, ever)' dollar gi\en to the treasury goes to the relief of 
the sick poor. The managers meet every month to hear the reports of the 
visitors and make appropriations. The visitors, ninety-five in number, are 
selected in proximity to their districts, of which there are seventy-five, and are 
expected to ascertain and relieve the wants of the sick poor within them, and 
with rare exceptions expend the money themselves. 

We cannot report in this record of sixty-two years the money disbursed, 
suftering relieved, evil prevented, or good accomplished, nor does space per- 
mit us to give the names of the early managers, but they were from the families 



4IO History of the City of Rochester. 

of the founders and prominent citizens of Rochester, whose benevolence and 
energ)' have been ti"ansniitted to their cliildren and _L;raiulchiidren, as evinced 
b)' tiieir efficienc\- in this and kinth'ed associations. The folhjwinL,^ is a Hst 
of the presidents, previous to 1X59: Mrs. L. Ward, Mrs. J. K. Livingston, 
Mrs. S. O. Smith, Mrs. H. Norton, Mrs. J. F. Talbot, Mrs. M. Scoville, 
Mrs. A. Sampson, Mrs. V. V. Backus, Mrs. N. Goodsell, Mrs. H. Ely, Mrs. 
J. Stroni;, Mrs. W. Atkinson, Mrs. J. Hissell, Mrs. VV. Mumford, Mrs. S. 
L. Seidell, Mrs. S. Mathews, Mrs. W. Pitkin, Mrs. J. Webster, Mrs. J. R. 
Gregory and Mrs. C. Dewey. The following earl_\- officers of the society are 
now living: Mrs.' F. Whittlesey, Mrs. C. M. Lee, Mrs. W. W. Reid, Mrs. E. 
W. Armstrong, Mrs. J. T. Talman, Mrs. !•:. N. Huell, Mrs. C. Gates, Mrs. Wm. 
Pitkin, Mrs. S. Hamilton, ami Mrs. }{. Humphre)-. 

In 1859 Mrs. M. .Stnmg, who had been an officei' in the society since 1836, 
was elected presiilent, ,ind has held the office since then. Mrs. F". Clarke has 
been vice-president since 1865, Mrs. A. Morse since 1869, Mrs. W. C. Rowley 
since 1873; Mrs. Oscar Craig has been secretary since 1869; Mrs. X. 11 
Northrop was assistant treasurer si.xteen )-ears. The following directresses, 
now in office, ha\e been so man\' years: Mrs. J. G. Whitnc)', Mrs. S. G. 
Andrews, Mrs. 1). M. Dewc)-, Miss C. L. Rochester, Mrs. A. McVean, Mrs. 
S. H. Terry and Mrs. W. H. Ward. 

The following is a list of the ct)rporate officers for the present }'ear : Trus- 
tees — W. N. Sage, \\ A. Whittlesey, Oscar Craig, G. F:. Mumford, W. H. 
Ward, M. F. Rej-nokls ; officers of the society — Mrs. Maltby Strong, presi- 
dent ; Mrs. F'reeman Clarke, first vice-president ; Mrs. .Adolphus Morse, sec- 
ond \ice- president ; Mrs. W. C. Rowley, third vice-president; Mrs. Oscar 
Craig, secretary ; Mrs. H. P. Brewster, treasurer ; Miss Louisa Northrop, as- 
sistant treasurer ; directresses — Miss C. L. Rochester, Mrs. G. G. Clarkson, Mrs. 
N. A. Stone, Mrs. G. T. F'rost, Mrs. J. M. Smith, Mrs. G. J. Whitney, Mrs. E. 
B. Chace, Mrs. C. H. Webb, Mrs. S. H. Terry, Mrs. H. Montgomery. Mrs. J. 
]■:. Baker, Mrs. W. H. Ward, Mrs. J. B. Perkins, Mrs. D. M. Dewey, Mrs. S. 
G. Andrews, Mrs. T. Jlacon, Mrs. A. McVean, Mrs. A. M. Bennett. 

THE MO.XROE COUNTY lUKLE SOCIETY. 

This societ)-, which is auxiliar\' to the American Bible society, was organised 
in March, 1821, having for its object the supplying of every family in the city 
and count)' with the Holy Scriptures. The Bible society is the oldest organis- 
ation in the city of a character at once religious and benevolent, and it has, 
from its beginning to the present da\-, fulfilled all the high expectations that 
entered into the minds of the founders. Since its organisation nine different 
explorations of the city and county have been made. The ninth canvass, com- 
pleted in 1872 (the semi-centennial year of the society), was more than usually 
thorough and effective. This event was celebrated by its officers and friends 



The Monroe County Bible Society. 411 

of the society at a public meeting held at the First Presbyterian church. 
Many were the congratulations, as the results of fift)- \'ears' faithful sowing of 
the seed were made to appear. Among the notable presidents of the county 
society, who, during the past sixty years, have rendered valuable services, are 
the names of Levi Ward, who was the first president, Henry Brewster, of Riga, 
Vincent Mathews, Ashley Sampson, James Seymour, Everard Peck, James K. 
Livingston, Frederick Starr, William S. Bishop, Emmett H. Hollister, Samuel 
D. Porter, and William Ailing, who was elected March 27th, 1875. Dr. Ches- 
ter Dewey was for many years its able and faithful corresponding secretary. 
Samuel D. Porter was also an important factor for over thirty years as record- 
ing secretary, director and president. George A. Avery, William Ailing and 
Oliver D. Grosvenor have held the office of treasurer and librarian from ten to 
twenty \^ears each, doing acceptable service for the Master. During these 
many years annual reports were made, from time to time, in some one of the 
local churches to large and interested congregations. Li October last, after an 
interval often \-cars, and with a desire to unite with the national society in 
their fourth general canvass of the whole country, this societj' determined upon 
another supply of the county — the tenth — and, to make it thorough and 
effective, employed an agent who has had large experience in several counties 
of this state to take charge of the work. It is estimated that it will require 
two years and will cost, to supply the destitute and meet the incidental ex- 
penses of the canvass, about $3,000. This, it is believed, the church and in- 
dividual offerings will cheerfully meet. 

As an illustration of the work of the society in supplying the destitute with 
the Scriptures, the following brief extracts from a report of the agent employed 
are given: During three months of labor a portion of four different wards of 
the city and one entire village were faithfully visited, house by house and family 
by family, and the work and claims of the society were presented in eleven dif- 
ferent churches and congregations, and the contributions and cooperation of 
many benevolent individuals were personall}' solicited. The Cit\' hospital was 
visited, many patients purchasing and the needy being supplied gratuitously. 
A suppl}" of Bibles was also given b\' the society to the inmates of the Monroe 
county penitentiary, upon the application of the chaplain of that institution. 
Many cases of special interest were met with of families without a copy of the 
Bible, of poor laboring people, scarcely earning their daily bread, who were 
eager to buyHhe Scriptures, and others still more destitute in whose hands the 
society wa,s enabled to place the book as a gift. Such cases and many others 
are found and gratuitously supplied by the society's agent in the thorough visita- 
tion now in progress. The generous contributions of our churches and the be- 
nevolent public will be solicited during the present year for carrying on and 
completing this tenth revisitation and supply of the entire city and county with 
the Holy Scriptures. The officers for the present year are: William Ailing, 

27 



412 History of the City of Rochester. 

president; Rev. J. P. Sankey, vice-president; Prof. A. H. Mixer, corresponding 
secretary; Rc\-. l)a\id l)icke_\-, recording sccretar\-; O. D. Grosvenor, treasurer 
and librarian; C. J. Hayden, A. S. Hamilton, J. E. Pierpont, D. Copeland, C. 
A. U.uis anil Hiram I)a\is, directors. 

THE ROCHESTER ORPH.W ASYLUM. ^ 

Tlie Rochester orplian asylum was organised by the benevolent ladies of 
Rocliester, l-'el)ruar_\- 28th, 1837, "fnr the purpose of protecting, relieving and 
educating ori.ihan antl destitute children in the cit_\'." A constitution was 
adopted and tin.' fojldw ingofficers were elected: h'irst tlirectress, Mrs. David 
Scoville; second, Mrs. Thorn, is H. Rocliester; third, Mrs. J. K. Li\-ingston; 
fourth, Mrs. W'm. Atkinson; secretary, Mrs. Samuel 1). Porter; treasurer, Mrs. 
lAerard Peck; board of managers, Mrs. Lindlay Murray Moore, Mrs. Silas O. 
Smith, Mrs. l-'don (ialusha, Mrs. Ira West, Mrs. W. W. Reid, Mrs, E. F. Smith, 
Mrs. John F. liush, Mrs. Selah Mathews, Mrs. W'ni. lunerson, Mrs. Pharcellus 
Church, Mrs. Caleb Hanmioml. These officers w ere reju'csentative ladies from 
ever}' religious denomination in thecit)-. Rut two of the number are now living 
— Mrs. W. W. Reid of Rochester, and Mrs. Pharcellus Church, now of Tarry- 
town. A Committee was appointed to solicit aid, a small house on y\dan]s 
street was rented, Mrs. Tobe\- was engaged as matron, and in April the house 
was opened for the reception of children. The first inmates were nine little ones 
taken from the alms house by Mrs. W. W. Reitl anil Mrs. L. M. Moore, with 
the stipulation that the same amount should be paid for their support in the 
asylum that was alloweil the keepers of the count)' poor. During the first )ear 
forty-six ehildien were the recipients of this charit)'. 

By a special act of the legislature passed March 23d, 1838, the societ)' was 
incorporated under the name of "the Rochester Orphan Asylum." In April, 
1840, the charter was amended to authorise " the election of seven trustees (of 
whom the mayor of the city of Rochester shall, ix-oijicio, be one) to manage 
the estate anil financial concerns of the institution." in April, 1871, this act 
was further aniemled, increasing the number of trustees to ten. The first trus- 
tees elected were : Thomas H. Rochester, PLverard Peck, Silas O. Smith, Silas 
Cornell, David Scoville and Moses Chapin. In June, 1839, John (jreig of Can- 
andaigua gave to the asylum an acre anil a half of land fronting on Hubbell 
jjark anil extending from Greig to Exchange street; afterward Alonzo I'"rost 
planted it with shade trees, and finally Hiram Sibley inclosed it with a substan- 
tial fence. ( )n this site the central building of the present structure was erected 
in 1843 anil '44, and in April of the latter )'ear the children were removed to 
their new home. In 1S69 the managers decided to extenil their work by re- 
ceiving children under two years of age, a class for whom no provision had 
been made by any institution in the city. More room was required for the 



I Thii ailiile \vas preixued by Mi-.. William N. Sage. 



RoCHESTliK ()R1'1IAN AsVLUM. 413 

proper care of these little ones and in 1870 the east wing was built for their ac- 
commodation, at a cost of over $10,000. The two upper stories furnished 
pleasant day and night nurseries for the children under five years of age, while 
the basement ga\'e to the older ones ample bath-rooms, fitted up with basin, 
towel, soap and brushes for the hair and teeth, for each child, a luxury to which 
they had before that time been strangers. In 1S73 a low wooden building- 
used for laundry, school-room and dormitories was found to be so much out of 
repair as to be unsafe. It was torn down and replaced b}- a substantial brick- 
structure, known as the west wing. The roof of the main building was raised 
and another story added. The new wing and improvements on the main build- 
ing, the introduction of steam heating and Hemlock water, furnishing, etc., 
cost $21,169. Of this amount $7,500 was received by a grant from the state 
legislature for this special purpose, which, with $1,000 given a few years be- 
fore, constitutes the entire sum received by the. asylum from the state treasury. 

Less than a decade of years had passed when the steady growth of her 
asylum, with its corresponding demands, forced upon the managers the con - 
viction that still more room must be provided. The school-room was crowded, 
the laundry was no larger than one required for a private famil}-, and the hos- 
pital was a small room, poorly ventilated and without bath-room or water. 
The necessity for additional room was evident, but the managers saw no wa}- 
of raising the mone)'. In the midst of their perplexity, a venerable citizen, 
the late Henry S. Potter, nobly came to their relief, and to his liberal gift of 
$12,000 the asylum is indebted for the " Potter memorial building," erected in 
1 88 1. The improvements which were required to adapt the west wing to the 
new edifice, a new building for boilers, coal-house and drying-room, steam 
heating, plumbing and gas cost about $6,000. This amount was taken from 
invested funds which the asylum could legally use for permanent improve- 
ments. During the forty-seven years of its existence the asylum has received 
b\- legacies $44,416, and has expended from this source, on buildings and 
grounds, $21,433, leaving $22,983 now invested in bonds and mortgages. 

Since the organisation of the asylum 3,734 children have been sheltered 
within its walls. Some of these little ones have had a temporary home for a 
few weeks or perhaps months, while their parents were sick or out of work 
and unable to care for them; when better days returned the children were taken 
home, carrying with them some new ideas of life, prompting them to make 
their homes more comfortable by putting into practice a little of the order and 
neatness which they had been taught at the asylum. A large number were 
orphans or half orphans and many have been rescued from homes of destitu- 
tion and from the cruel abuse of intemperate or vicious parents. An important 
feature of the institution is procimng pcrmaneni homes for the children. The 
asylum is designed as a temporary home, a stepping-stone to something higher 
and better. While in the institution the children receive motherly care and 



414 



HiSTORV OF THE ClTV OK RiiCHESTER. 



moral and mental instruction designed to fit them to become members of re 
spectable families. (ireat care is taken in giving out children to choose thosi 
wlio are adapted to the homes they are to enter; those qualified b_\' nature t( 
fill onl\' subordinate positions are placed in such, while for those more highl; 
gifted, and especially for the \-ounger children, are sought homes by adoption 
Since the organisatinn of the as_\'lum mure than five hundred children v\'hos{ 
onl\' seeming inheritance w as po\'ert_\' and degradation ha\'e been thus ab 
sorbed into the better classes of the communit)- and educated under the disci 
pline of well ordered famil}- life. During the ten }-ears ending October ist, 1883 
two hundred and forty-nine chiklren have been provided with permanen 
homes; one hundred and forty-one of these were legally adopted b\' people o 
means, and will be given e\er\- acKantage of education ami culture enjoyet 
by tlmse born untler mure auspicious circumstances ; the otiier one hundre( 
and eight arc in respectable funilies, where they will receive a good commoi 
school education, be trained to h.ibits of industr_\- and be fitted to become self 
supporting citizens. The great number of children thus placed in homes i 
one iif the most etficient means of breaking uj) hereditary jjauperism, and ha 
done mure toward reducing the " [loor ta.\ " than all the cit_\' and county hav< 
exerpaid fnr the suppuit of children in the asylum. The average number 
childien in the as_\-lum during the last fi\e _\ears was loi ; the present numbc 
is 103. 

Children are received from the county fir $1.50 per week, and from the cit; 
for $1.60. These jirices were fixed by the l)oari.l of supervisors antl b_\- thi 
common cuuncil in 1S76, and include buai'tl, clothing, schooling and ever_\' ex 
peiise of whatever nature. I'or the thirty-nine _\-ears previous to 1876 the cit; 
and county had paid but $1.00 per week for the support of children in thi 
as\lum. The aveiage expense of maintaining a child in the asvlum is $2.0( 
per week. The children uf puoi- muthers, who b)- reason of the de.Uh, intern 
perance or desertinn of their husbands ha\e been c<im[5elle<-l to put their chil 
dren in the asx'luni and go out to service or to dail_\' labor, are received fo 
$1.00 per week and in some instances where there are several children in oni 
family they are taken for seventy-five cents each, and for many children nc 
compensation is received from any source. The amount received from al 
these sources averages less than one-half the cost of maintenance ; the remain 
der, or about $5,000 a j'ear, nurst come fi'om voluntary contributions in mone) 
ani.1 supplies. 

An annual "dunation " is held at the asvlum on the secuud riiursdav ii 
November, the receipts averaging $2,500. In December, bags capable of hold 
ing about half .1 bushel are freely distributed in the city and neighboring towns 
Christmas week the bags are returned to the asylum, bountifully filled wit! 
food and clothing, fruit, nuts, confectioner}' and to_vs. The flcnir, sugar, pota- 
toes and other household supjilies contained in these " Christmas bags " fur- 
nish a valuable sujjplement to the November donation. 



St. Patrick's Orphan Asylum. 415 

The school room occupies the entire first floor of the Potter building ; it is 
well lighted and ventilated and fitted with c\cr\- needed appliance for school 
work. The school is under the direction of the board of education, b\' whom 
the teachers are appointed and paid. The course of study and text books are 
the same as in the public schools. All expenses of the schools, e.xcept teachers' 
salaries, are paid b\- the asylum. 

The older children attend church regularly on Sunday morning. In the 
afternoon, Sunday school exercises are held in the school rooms. Everard Peck, 
Samuel D. Porter, William R. Seward, Horace McGuire, Frank EUery and Prof 
Forbes ha\e successively served as superintendents. Prof Forbes, of the Roch- 
ester Free academy, and Mrs. Forbes are still rendering valuable service. 

During the early years of the asylum rotation in office seemed to be the 
rule. Among the exceptions may be found the name of Mrs. Chester Dewey, 
who with occasional inter\-als served as president twenty-five years, her first 
term of office dating from 1840 to 1850, and her last from 1857 to 1870, when 
failing health compelled her final resignation. She was succeeded by Mrs. Ly- 
sander Farrar, who filled the office acceptabh- until October, 18S3, when she 
declined reelection, on account of contemplated absence from the cit)-. Two 
secretaries have served ten years each — Mrs. S. H. Terry, from 1S56 to 1866, 
and Mrs. Martin Briggs, from 1873 to 1883. Mrs. E. N. Buell acted as treas- 
urer seventeen years, from 1845 to 1862. She was succeeded by Mrs. William 
N. Sage, who served in that capacity until November, 1883, a period of twenty- 
one years, when she declined reelection. The present officers are : President, 
Mrs. E. H. Hollister ; vice-president, Mrs. Geo. G. Clarkson ; secretary, Mrs. 
Martin Briggs; treasurer, Mrs. Joseph Curtis; trustees — C. R. Parsons, mayor 
cif the city (ex-officid) ; William N. Sage, president of the board ; Jonathan E. 
I'ierpont, secretary ; Ezra R. Andrews, Thomas C. Montgomery, James L. 
Angle, H. Austin Brewster, Charles F. Pond, David Copeland and Henry F. 
Smith. 

ST. patrIck's orphan asylum. 1 

The incorporate title of the asylum is "The Roman Catholic orphan asylum 
society of the city of Rochester." This asylum for girls is situated on F"rank street, 
corner of Vought. It is a brick building, three stories high, with a basement 
for kitchen, dining-rooms, etc. It was commenced in 1841 by a society called 
the " Orphan Asylum society." The orphans were under the care of matrons 
hired by the society. At a meeting called by Rev. B. O'Reilly September 17th, 
1843, the society was reorganised. It was resolved to hold meetings every first 
Sunda\- of the month, and that the board of managers consist of the officers of 
the society, viz., president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. Father 

iThe articles upon the three CathoHc orphan asylums and the Home of Industry were prepared by 
kev. D. Laurenzis, under the supervision of Bishop McQuaid. 



4l6 IIlSTURV (IF THE ClTY OK ROCHESTER. 

O'Reilly remaining president, Rev. Charles D. French was elected vice-presi- 
dent, CicorLje A. Wilkin treasurer and P. ]-!arr)' secretar\-. At a meeting I'^eb- 
ruar_\' <^th, 1S45, it was resolved tu ha\e the society incorporated by an act of 
the legislature, May I4tli, 1S45, under the above-mentioned name. The first 
trustees were : Re\-. Bernard ()'Reilly, Re\-. Charles D. French, Rev. Lawrence 
Cari'oll, Hugh I?raille_\-, Patrick Doyle, I'atrick Barry, James (^'Donoughue, 
James (ialler\- and Michael Mullen. On Jul)- 13th, 1845, a code of b\'-laws 
was adopted. Meetings were to take place once a month, elections yearly, in 
June. Membership cotdd be obtained b)- p,i_\-ing monthly twelve and a half 
cents, III' membership for life by [jaying fiftv dollars into thefumls. The pastor 
of .St. Patrick's church was president i.r officio. The asylum was supported by 
the fees of members, Christmas collections in the churches, and fairs. The or- 
phan bo_\-s were sent to Lancaster and afterward to Lime Stone Hill and paid 
for by the society, until 1864. 

In March, 1844, the managers of the as_\'lum applied for Sisters of Charity 
to take care of the orphans. The\' petitioned the superior at lunmettsburg 
(St. Josejih's House), Maryland. But they were not obtained Lintil the spring 
of 1845, when the)' arrived from Emmettsburg. The first suj)erior was Sister 
Martha. The builtling was enlarged in 1847, '•''"^' ■' ^^'ing put to it in 1864- 
65, along Vought street. At a special meeting called November 5th, 1863, it 
was resolved to give to the Sisters of Charit)- the entire management of the in- 
stitution, and a meeting of the society was called for the first Sunda)' of Decem- 
ber, 1863, to adopt this resolution. The change was effected June 25th, 1864, 
when at a special meeting the resignations of Rev. M. O'Brien, A. B. Hone, 
Thomas h'lanner)-, Philip Little and George A. Wilkin were accepted and Sis- 
ters of Cluirity elected in their places. Sister M. Beatrice was elected president 
and treasurer. The Sisters of Charity managed the asylum until the end of the 
year 1870, when they resigned. Bishop McOuaid then put the Sisters of St. 
Joseph in charge of the asylum, the first superior being Sister M. Stanislaus. 

The present superior is .Sister M. de Chantal; she is assisted by about ten 
Sisters. The present number of orphans is seventy-eight. The total number 
of orphans received since the foundation of the as)'Ium is 2,004. The institu- 
tion is supported by the city and county, bv' the Christmas collections in the 
English-speaking Catholic churches in the cit)', b)' a yearly fair and concert and 
by private donations. Two teachers, Sisters of St. JoseiJh, are paid for by the 
city. 

ST. M.VRV'S ORPHAN HOYS' .\SYLUM. 

The Catholic orphan boys of Rochester were, for many years, sent to Lan- 
caster, N. Y., and Lime Stone Hill, near Buffalo. They were paid for in these 
institutions by the Roman Catholic orphan asyhmi society of Rochester, which 
took care of the St. Patrick's orphan asylum, hi tlie year 1864, however, Rt. 



St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum. 417 

Rev. Bishop Timon opened an asylum for boj-s near St. Mary's church on South 
street, in a house which now is a part of the convent of the Sisters of Mercy. 
The orphan boys then were withdrawn from Lime Stone Hill and sent to this 
place. Nine sisters of the congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph came to 
this city and took charge of the asylum, Mother M. Stanislaus being the superior. 

In 1868 a new site was bought for the asylum, and in the same year the 
institution was opened on the present lot, in the old building, on the corner of 
Genesee street and West avenue. The old house being too small to accommo- 
date the orphans, a new building was erected in 1871, which is the present 
asylum. It is of stone, three stories high, with a basement for kitchen, dining- 
room, etc. The old building is now used for a branch school of St. Patrick's 
parochial school, for the care of the orphan babies during the tla)', antl for a 
baker)'. The large frame building in the rear is used for a laundr_\'. 

The present number of orphans is about one hundred. About nine hundred 
have been received since 1864. The first superior was Sister M. .Stanislaus. 
The present superior is Sister M. Xavier, assisted bj- si.xteen Sisters. The in- 
stitution is supported by the cit_\- and count}-, b>- a Christmas collection in the 
English-speaking churches of the city, by a yearly fair and concert and by pri- 
vate donations. Two teachers. Sisters of St. Joseph, are paid for bj' the city. 

ST. JOSEPH'S ORPH.\X .ASYLUM. 

The incorporate title of this institution is " the St. Joseph's German Ro- 
rfian Catholic orphan asylum of Rochester and Monroe county." This asylum 
is situated on Andrews street, near Franklin. Its object is to take care of the 
German Catholic orphans of this city and count\\ It is under 'the manage- 
ment of the Sisters of Notre Dame. Mother Cartjline came from Milwaukee 
in 1854, with two Sisters, to teach St. Joseph's parochial school. .She left Sister 
Ignatia the first superior. In course of time some members of St. Joseph's 
church formed a society to take care of the German Catholic orphans. They 
formed a corporation under the abo\e-mentioned name and obtained the incor- 
poration act April 23d, 1863. The first members mentioned in the act were: 
Joseph Hoffman, John Groh, John Wegman, M. Weigel, Bernard Klem, Louis 
Ernst, Roman Schlitzer, Vitus Saenderl, Joseph Schutte, John Soeder, B. Gom- 
menginger and E. Weigel. The affairs of the society are transacted by a board 
of trustees, annually elected. The pastor of any German Roman Catholic con- 
gregation in which a branch of this society shall be organised is a trustee r.i' 
(ifftcio. Members must pay monthly twenty-five cents. 

The society owns a large tract of land at the terminus of North street, 
which is rented or sold for the benefit of the orphans. About 1866, the asy- 
lum took its beginning in a frame house on the present site, Sister Angelica be- 
ing superior. Then two small adjoining buildings were used for the accommo- 
dation of the orphans and sisters. In 1874 the main part of the present build- 



4i8 ' History of the City of Rochester. 

ing was L-rcctcil, four stories high, of brick, with a basement for dining- room, 
etc. Tile l)uil(liiig was enl.u'geil in lS,S2. In the first \'ear si.x orphans were 
recei\'ed. 

,'\t present there are nearly one hundred orphans (bo}s and girls) in the 
.isyluni. To the present da\- .about h\e hundred chilelren ha\e found shelter 
in the institution. Sister M. Paula is superior at present, assisted b)- about 
tweKe .Sisters. The asylum is sujjported by the cit_\' and count)', by a Christ- 
mas Collection in St, Jose])h's church, b_\' a Nearly entertainment ,uid by jirix'ate 
don.itions, Tud teachers are paitl for by the city. 

THE JEWISH ORI'H.W .\SVl,t'M. 

The Jewish ( )iphan As_\lum association of Western New York, which was 
started in November, i^/J, to accumulate a fund tor the erection of an orjihan 
as)Ium, has its i')ffice at Rochester, and the as)'lum is perniaiientl)' located in this 
cit\', althiuigh it h,is not _\ et hail a home of its own. A jilace has just been [iur- 
chasei-l on Noith St. I'aul :^treet, between Scrantom and h".\ergreen, and the 
building now standing there is to Ije put .it once into a pro[)er condition fir ,m 
asylum. The association is formed by the three Jew ish oriihan asylum societies 
of Rochester, Hulfalo and Syracuse. There are si.x huiulretl .uid f uty-one men:- 
Ijcrs of the association, of whom two hundred and eight)- are in Rochester; the 
accumul.ited capital is $55,913.70, of which $9,75<S.S9 is cash in the treasur)-, 
$4,727.30 of this amount being in this cits', de])osited in two of the savings 
banks. Members pa)' .ui .uinual contributioii of $4.ooor more. The society hSs 
now under its charge se\'cn or])h,'ms, which are place(.l with a famil)'. Re\'. Dr. 
M.'i.x Landsberg is the secretar)' of the association, Lewis Stern the financial 
secietai')' antl \\. S. I^ttenheinier the Rochester trustee of the consolidated fund. 

i\ numl)er ol bene\olent societies arc maintaineil b)' the Jews. The oldest 
.md largest is the Hebrew l^'uevolent societ)', t-.\isting since 1S50, which counts 
o'.ei' 500 contributing members. Its work is supplemented b)' the Ladies' 
Hebrew Bene\'olent societ)' since I 865, the Hebrew Ladies' Aid ar.d Hospital 
societ)', founded in I 87 1, and the \'oung Ladies' Sewing societ)' in 1883. 

I'lIE ROniFSTER Iii).\lE FOR THE FRIEXDl.ESS. ' 

The Rochester Home for the l'"rieiulless, whose substantial building stands 
u[)on the corner of Last a\'enue and .Alexander street, was one of the first 
bene\'olent institutions established in Rochester, hax'ing been founded in the 
year 1849. In jxiint of time it was preceded onl)' b)' the Female Charitable 
societ)' .md the Protestant orphan as)'lum. Like all beneficent plans, which, 
unaccompanied b)' selfish, personal motives, seek to uplift and bless others, it 
had a humble beginning; but its germ was divine, being an emanation of the 
spirit of Him whose coming to earth brought good will to men. It is impos- 



1 I'liis .iitiOe was ])rc|urecl liy Mrs. C'li.-irles If. \Vel)b. 



The Home for the Friendless. 419 

sible now to ascertain whose kind heart first conceived the project, but b\- the 
united interest of several of Rochester's earnest, superior women it overcame 
its many early difficulties, and by gradual growth secured a permanent found- 
ation. Its organisation was effected in April, 1849. at the house of Mrs. Chas. 
Church, under the name of "the Rochester association for the relief of home- 
less and friendless females." Its first board of managers were: Mrs. Samuel 
L. Selden, president; Mrs. Charles Church, treasurer; Mrs. Samuel D. Porter, 
secretary. Mrs. Selah Mathews, Mrs. S. L. Selden, Mrs. E. Scrantom, Mrs. 
IngersoU, Mrs. Dr. Mathews. Mrs. J. H. Gregory, Miss M. G. Porter, Mrs. 
Samuel Hamilton, Mrs. Roby, Mrs. Dr. Jonah Brown, Mrs. R. Lester and Mrs. 
Stoddard were its first directresses. Its original design was to provide a tem- 
porary home for virtuous, unprotected females, while seeking employment in 
the cit\', and it was intended to make the institution, as far as practicable, self- 
supporting, by the industry of its transient inmates in such labor as the public 
need demanded, by wasliing, ironing or needle-work. Its first location was 
the half of a tenement house, upon Edinburgh street, for which a rental of 
$50.00 a year was paid. Mrs. Alvin IngersoU was its first matron. These 
were its struggling days, when faith and zeal supplemented its feeble treasury 
and encouraged the patient workers. The following year the society occupied 
a small house on Monroe street, and in 185 i a house was purchased on Adams 
street of Ebenezer Ely, for the sum of $1,400, $200 being being paid at once, 
and six annual payments of the same sum promised. In this year they received 
their first legacy of $50, by the will of Mrs. Everard Peck, a warm friend of 
the new society, which, in the words of the record, "greatly relieved the em- 
barrassed treasurer." In August of this year also Nicholas E. Paine, the mayor 
of the city, sent the association $300, a part of the proceeds of a concert gix^en 
by Jenny Lind. In 1852 a board of trustees was elected, consisting of J. W. 
Bissell, A. G. Bristol, E. Scrantom, A. A. Morse, H. A. Brewster, E. ¥Ay, J. 
H. Martindale, Wm. Pitkin, W. A. Reynolds and S. D. Porter. 

In 1853, through tlic agency of Mr. Bissell, the present location, upon 
which then stood a small and inferior building, was selected and b\- gradual 
payments purchased. The removal took place the following spring, and the 
new quarters were gratefully appreciated. Children were now received, and 
cared for until suitable homes were found for them with adopted parents, to 
whom after careful investigation they were indentured. A teacher was pro- 
vided, who gave them daily instruction, and a sewing-school was conducted by 
_\oung lady friends, for the education of the girls. Day scholars were received 
into this school and taught to sew, and prizes given to promote efficiency. 
An employment exchange was also established, by which householders could 
obtain servants, and servants secure situations. 

Meanwhile the new institution grew silently, and steadily gained the con- 
fi.dence and sympathy of the public. The records tell how resident clergymen 



420 History of the City of Rochester. 

delivered lectures for its benefit, amateur nuisicians pla\-ed and sang in its be- 
half, concerts were given in [iriwite draw ing-rooms, literary men contributed \'nl- 
umes from their own libraries U> furnisli reading for the inmates, and surrounding- 
towns sent to the institution boxes of clothing and bedding, supplies of \eget- 
ables and gifts of money. In iS5 5the sucietywas incorporated under the 
name of the Rochester Hume fir the I'riendless. Its board of trustees con- 
sisted of S. G. Andrews, Sel.ih Mathews, 11. A. Brewster, J. W. Hissell, S. D. 
Porter, I{dwin Scrantom, K. VAy. In this )-ear, too, its first donation day was 
observed, when the house was thrown oj.ien to recei\e \'isits and gifts from its 
friends. I'hi^ has since been an annual custom anel forms an important sc.iurce 
of revenue. In iSqj the managei's undertook the publication of a monthly 
paper, called the J(>unuil of ihc Hoiih\ \\hose object was to acquaint people 
out of the cit\' with the aims antl neetls ot the institution. Its first editress 
was Mi's. Ale.xantler Mann, who w.is succeeiled b)- Mrs. V.. (i. Robinson, Mrs. 
N. S. J^arnes, Mrs, T. C. Arner, Miss Caroline Kendrick, Miss Mary Bliss and 
Mrs. Isaac Hills. The paper was continued for eighteen years. During this 
)-ear by the eftbrts of John 'I'. L.icy, the city's representative, an .ippi'opriation 
of $500 was obtaineil from the legislature. 

In 1859 the constitution was amended l)y a proN'iso that the institution, in 
addition to its care (.)f the homeless and friendless, should become a permanent 
home fir aged women, and as such it is now distincti\'ely known, although it 
still recei\'es frienilless ami homeless women, to its temporary shelter and pro- 
tection. The care of children was gradually relintpiished, after the establish- 
ment (.if the Industrial school, as it was no longer a necessit}', but the nurture 
,ind educ.ition i.if children, which was begun in the Home for the l'"riendless, 
and continued f h' many years, was the suggestion and origin of the present 
Industrial school. Hefiri- the eixction of the City hospital, the Home for the 
{•'rientlless also received and cared for some of the sick poor, who were pension- 
ers of the i*"emale Charitable societ)\ By large and special gifts from indivithial 
friends, the building has been twice enlarged and remodeled. ( )n the first of 
these occasions we reatl, that the managers "thanked God and took courage." 
During thirty-five years of the Home's existence it has had but si.\ presiding 
officers, namel_\': Mrs. Samuel I,. Selden, Mrs. Selah Mathews, Mrs. Frederick 
Starr, Mrs. D. R. Barton, Mrs. C. ]•.. R<ibinson and Mrs. Samuel I'orter. Mrs. 
Selah Mathews twice hekl the office, the last term coxering a period of twenty 
years. The [)rescribed limits of this sketch f irbid the eiumieration of the names 
of noble women who lia\e been identified w ith the work of the institution, whose 
characters ha\'e establishei.1 its reputation and influence. The_\- aie reconled in 
an immortal boLik. 

The present number of inmates in the Hcmie is fift)--four. Its conditions of 
admission require the api^licant to be at least sixty-five \-ears of age, and the 
paj'ment of a sum of mone)' proportioned to her age, b}' which an agreement 



The [{ome for the Fkiexdle.ss. 421 

is made to provide for her a comfortable home through Hfe, and Christian 
burial. The interest upon any propert}- which she possesses, aside from the sum 
required for her admittance, is devoted to her exclusive use during life, and <ifter- 
ward belongs to the Home. In no other way do the inmates contribute to the 
support of the institution. The Home is under the constant and immediate 
supervision of a wise and judicious matron, whose duties are systematised and 
lightened by the stated visits and counsel of the several committees in their dif- 
ferent departments of care. The character and influence of the Home are en- 
tirely parental; indeed it is like a large household over which a kind mother 
presides, yet each inmate can in her own room enjoy the peace and seclusion 
of a separate home. Their wants are generously supplied, the\- are cheerfully 
cared for in health, and tenderly nursed in sickness, receiving the visits of an 
appointed physician. The institution is not denominational, and religious ser- 
vices are regularly obser\cd on the Sabbath. It is a source of much comfort 
to the old ladies, and one that often finds expression, that at the end of their 
long journe)' of life they will receive respectful Christian burial in sacred Moimt 
Hope. Two burial lots have been given to the Home by the commissioners of 
that cemetery. Upon the first stands a monument donated b}' friends, and the 
monument for the latter is the generous gift of Peter Pitkin. 

The present board of managers of the Home consists of Mrs. Samuel Porter, 
president; Mrs. J. R. Chamberlain, first vice-president; Miss L. E. Guernsey, 
second vice-president; Mrs. C. F. Pond, recording secretary ; Mrs. C. H. Webb, 
corresponding secretary; Mrs. E. B. Chace, treasurer. Its directresses are 
Mrs. J. L. Angle, Mrs. J. M. Babcock, Mrs. E. B. Bishop, Mrs. E. Y. Blossom, 
Mrs. Horace Brewster, Mrs. Amon Bronson, Mrs. L. S. Chapin, Mrs. Curtis 
Clarke, Mrs. David Gordon, Mrs. C. E. Hart, Mrs. J. C. Hart, Mrs. J. E. Hay- 
den, Mrs. E. S. Hayward, Mrs. H. E. Hooker, Mrs. L. Hotchkiss, Mrs. Dr. 
Hovey, Mrs. J. H. Howe, Mrs. J. S. Killip, Mrs. A. Eindsey, Mrs. A. S. Mann, 
Mrs. A. G. Mudge, Mrs. E. W. Osburn, Mrs. J. W. Oothout, Mrs. D. W. Pow- 
ers, Mrs. Asa Saxe, Mrs. E. V. Stoddard, Mrs. A. C. Wilder, Mrs. W. Wither- 
spoon. Dr. J. W. Whitbeck is its appointed ph)-sician. Mrs. M. S. Putnam 
is its matron. Its board of trustees comprises D. W. Powers, Theodore Bacon, 
Franklin Ritter, K. O. Sage, D. A. Woodbury and James L. Angle. The fol- 
lowing is the list of donors to the endowment fund of the Home for the l*"riend- 
less: Hathaway memorial fund, $1,000; Edwin Pancost memorial fund, $2,- 
000; Reynolds memorial fund, $2,000; Mrs. Robert Hunter's legacy, $1,000; 
Mrs. Rhoda Craig's legacy, $2,000; Joseph Field's, $5,000; Mrs. Mary R. 
Brown's $414; Elizabeth Bliss's, $140 ; Mrs. Fellows's, $521.90; Harvey Hall's, 
$500; legacies from life members and others in small amounts, $1,146.50; in 
all, $1 5,722.40. By the will of the late Henry S. Potter the Home is to receive 
$2,500. The endowment fund being quite limited, the institution is still mainly- 
dependent upon the support of the public, and the devotion of its friends; but 



HiST()K\ OF TiiF, City of Rochester. 



as its record of tliirty-fi\'c N'cars has ]:)roved it to be not only a blessing to indi- 
\id\ial li\'cs, but an honor to the city to which it belongs, it is beUeved that its 
future peinianeiicy is assured It is imt in tile power ot human balances to es- 
tiniati-' the \alue of its ministry. The hearts that ha\e been comforted, the 
tears that ha\e been wiped a\\a\-, the fears that ha\e been dispelled, the peace 
that h.is l)een bestowed, the gixxl that has been accomplished through the in^ 
strumentaht)- of the 1 tome for the Friendless, can alone be computed by Him, 
who weighs motives as well as deeds. 

THE INDtfSTRIAL SCHOOL OF ROCHESTER.^ 

We are indebted to the late Mrs. F.benezcr Griffm fov the germ of this 
charit}-. In the autumn of 1856 she witnessed, in ]h-ookl_\n, N. \'., the suc- 
cessful working of an industrial school, and returnetl home imbued with a desire 
to establish a like institution in Rochester. In coc'>peration with Mrs. Henry 
A. Brewster she called an inf )rmal meeting of ladies, at the house of the latter, 
on the northwest corner of Spring and South Washington streets, to discuss the 
feasibility of such an enterprise, and on December 17th, 1S56, another meeting 
was held in the lecture room of I'lymouth church, when the Industrial School 
association was i)rganised and the following officers were elected; First direc- 
tress, Mrs. Da\id C. Ailing; second directress, Mrs. Alfred Ely; treasurer, 
Mrs. George H. Fl_\' ; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Seth H. Terry; rec(.irding 
secretarw Mrs. Gilman H. Perkins. At a subseciuent meeting, an executive, a 
school, a work, and a house and furnishing committee were appointed. 

On the 15th of April, 1857, the societ\- was incorporated, and the following 
persons formed the first board of directors: Henry A. Brewster, president; 
Edwin Scrantom, secretar_\-; I^benezer Griffin, chairman of the law committee; 
Adolphus Morse, Aristarcluis Champion, Samuel P. K\y, Henr\- K. Selden, 
Aaron Frickson, IClias Pond, Samuel I). Porter, John M. French, Edward M. 
Smith and Joshua Conkey. In January, 1858, A. Morse and A. PLrickson re- 
signed, and Charles J. Ha)'den and Seth II. Terry were elected in their places. 
C. J. Hayden has from that time been president of the board. P^dwin Scran- 
tom was secretar)- twenty-three )'ears. 

As defined by the second article of its constitution, "the objects of this as- 
sociation are to gather into the school, \'agrant and destitute children, who, from 
the povert}' or \ice of their parents are unable to attend the public schools, and 
who gather a precarious livelihood by begging or pilfering; to gi\'e them ideas 
of moral and religious dut_\' ; to instruct them in the elements of learning and 
in different branches of industry, and thus enable them to obtain an lionest and 
honorable su])port, antl to become useful members of society." This organ ■ 
isation liad its birth in ,1 winter of unusual severity ; there was a great pressure 
in the money market, and everything was conducted on an economical basis. 



1 riiis article was prepared by Mrs. Seth II. Terry. 



liTSTi'kV OF Tl ■ 

;riy t'i\ ■ y .<:=; lu:- ir^j^fil it u, oc not or iy a ' 
. n hoiio 10 di ■ c;'.\''ti> ^^i■.ich it be'ongs, t is bi. .c\ uu iJ-.a i 

: \ is ;is.-'iied. il i> il''t i'.\ ihf pov i.-r of h imaii balances l-ic 

. . r ];•> :ii,iisfr;. Th:' jjcflit'; ih:i'. li;uc.- .x.-en comforlcd. 

')c'.-U ■jic- i iway. the feats tluit have been dispelled, the i 
stuwi;."', the :,w>d tliaf iias been- accoTiplisl ed through th. 
«:h' iloiv. ii.f '.he Friendless, can ahne be coniputed 'bv- 1 ; 

U\ ■ as vv . ;,i.> elect's. 

■\r' iNDl >rKi.VJ, SCi. t(.>L OK KOCMEJTER.' 

ebted the laii: '■"• ' ' ' — '--' '' 'lie germ of 
. ;!r.-. -iH of i8?6 -\'. v., the 

of . ! ' ! 1 1 l.l'lit ' 1 l;'.-iV'. ' 

k'l r. In cooper.,' 

i.-eUn^' of ladies, at tlie i i.^jse > i t!ic : 

.:'id .South. Wa.sliington slurets, to discu.' 

m December 17th, 18561 another me 

::ionth chr-r''\ v'her > the l-id'istrir:! "^. 



iry; recor 
m executi' 
linted. 

; :il;. t;,li, ■ 



IP been' 1- 

s constitution, "th'^ obj'rcts 

•iehoei, vai,'rant. and e 
icnts^ire uV.:;ble toatt 
lood by be;iginy or pi 
instruct them in the 

\ . and thus enable them to obtain an 



1 riii^ aiticle was prepared by Mrs. Selh H. Terry. 




/^r^^a^TZ/ (LHic/aJ/yyz: 



The IxDusruiAL School. 



Contributions of money and supplies were made b}' our citizens. John M. 
French gave the free use of rooms in the old Rochester House, Exchange street, 
where on Christmas, 1856, more than three hundred children partook of a din- 
ner, and on Januar)- 5th, 1857, a school was opened for the need)' children 
of Rochester. A matron, cook and teacher, were hired ; all other services were 
gratuitous. A class of neglected, destitute, filthy, lawless children were soon 
collected, and a large and efficient board of managers strove to raise them above 
pauperism. They were instructed in the elementary branches, in sewing, and 
in housework. The managers collected funds, provided supplies, assisted in the 
school and sewing classes, visited the children at their homes, made and repaired 
garments for them, and gave them a substantial dinner. 

It was not the original design of this society to retain the children in the 
house after school hours; but exceptional cases soon demanded temporary 
homes for some of them. Frightened children sought shelter to escape the 
abuse of intemperate parents, and were harbored till the hour of peril was over; 
sick children needed warm quarters, care at night, and nursing; little ones, 
whose parents were sent to the penitentiary, reciuired protection, and thus, 
gradually, a home family, that now numbers fift\-- six, has been gathered at the 
Industrial school. During the first \'ear 264 girls and 272 boys were connected 
with the school ; the average attendance was seventy-five ; ten children were 
provided with homes; 704 garments, 1 19 pairs of shoes, and twenty-one pairs 
of rubbers were distributed, and the cash expenses were $946.58. The need 
of some place where vicious girls could be reclaimed and kept from harming 
others, became so apparent that in 1858 and 1861 this society used its influence 
and memorialised the legislature to provide a hou.se of refuge for girls. 

For the more efficient prosecution of its work, the association, in 1858, pur- 
chased of Mrs. Albert G. Smith, for $2,800, the central portion of the present 
Industrial school premises, -]6 Exchange street ; alterations were made in the 
house, and an airy dining-room and school-room provided, in a two-story wing, 
fifty-four b}' twenty- three feet, erected west of the building. In 1866 the pur- 
chase of a large lot on the north, for $2,500, supplied an ample playground. A 
small lot bought in 1871, south of the original purchase, enabled the managers 
the following )-ear to build new nurseries and dormitories and provide a day 
nursery for the children of working women. In 1880 two donations, $5,000 
each, from Hiram Sible\- and Don Alonzo Watson, led to the taking down of 
the west wing and the erection of the large Sibley- Watson wing, that now forms 
the western portion of the Industrial school building, and is also a lasting 
memorial to the beneficence of two of our liberal-hearted directors. 

This charity has at times received state appropriations ; there are some 
memorial legacies and bequests, the interest of which is available ; the board 
I if education has for some years hired the school-rooms and supplied teachers; 
tlie city pays a small sum for the board of some children, and parents for others ; 



4^4 History ok tuk City of Rochester. 



but the s(icict)- depends largely for its support on tlie contribution of tlic char- 
itable. l'"roni l.S5Sto 1S76, inclusive, a straw berry festiv.il was held e.tch June, 
and since I S64 there has been an annual, autuninal donation reci'iitioii, and 
the liberal lesponses of our citizens testif)' to their appreciation of the Industrial 
school. An annual meeting; fir the election of ofticers is held on the Saturda_\- 
f illowiuL; the first h'riday in January. An annual report is printed in [janiphlet 
form, and nionthl_\- the Industrial Siliool Advoiati makes known tlie work and 
needs of this charitx". This paper, fu'st issued in 1865, was etlited by Mrs. 
(ieori^e T. I'arker till I S70, when she w,is succeeded b)' Mrs. Seth H. Terr_\-, 
its present editress. Mrs. (ieorLje (lould has been treasurer of the pajier since 
1S74. 

( )f the early directors, li\e siu'viw: Charles j. I Ia_\-den, SiUnuel 1'. l''.l\-, 
Henr\- R. Selden, I'Muard M. Smith and Seth II. Terr\'. Of the original 
female officers, tl\'e ai'e still members of the association, vir:. : Mi's. dilman H. 
Perkins, who has e\er been the recording secretary ; Mrs. Neheniiah W, Hene- 
dict antl Mrs. Alfred l'".l_\', who are \'ice-presidents ; Mrs. I'llvira Allen, who 
ser\es on the children's committee, and Mrs. Seth W. Terry, on the j^aper 
committee. Mrs. (ieorge !*". Danforth, now president of the board of managers, 
succeeded Mrs. I.)a\i(.l C. iVlling in 1S65 ; Mrs. tierard ;\rink has been corres- 
l)(.)ntling secretar)- since i.S<'i2; Mis. Lewis H. Morgan was treasurer from 
January, I (S64, till her death, in Uecember, 11X83. 

The industrial school is now in successful ojieration. Its ample, well \'en- 
tilated school-rooms, nurseries, dormitories. dining-ro(uiis ami hosjiital. its bath- 
rooms, piazzas anil [ilay grounds, atlapt it to the work for which it is designed. 
Three tciichers .u'e emi)lo\-ed in the school-rooms, where last \-ear the average 
attendance was ninet_\'-two. There is a day nursery, ami the home family 
numbers fift)'-six children. Volunteer teachers give instiuetion two afternoons 
in the week in sewing, and there are lessons twice a week in the kitchen gar- 
tleii (.leijartment. Last year 1,456 garments and Jy 5 pairs of shoes wei'e dis- 
tributed. 

The following are the present corporate officers : Directors — Charles J. 
Hayden, Henry R. Selden, Edward M. Smith, ' Seth H.Terry, (iilman H. 
Perkins, Jacob Amlerson, Daniel W. Powers, D. A. Watson, Hiram Sibley, 
F. L. Durand, I'led Turiiin, Charles I"". Pond, George S. Rile\\ Jesse \V. Hatch, 
Lewis P. Ross, William S. Kimball, Charles W. Trotter, Charles Salmcui ; pres- 
ident of the board, C. J. Hayden ; treasurer, Mrs. Oscar Craig; secretar)-, S. H. 
Terr\' ; law committee, H. R. Selden, S. H. Terry, F. L. Dtu'and ; finance com- 
mittee, G. II. Perkins X). A. Watson, C. F. Pond ; buikling committee, C. J. Ha)'- 
den, Jacob Anderson, C. W. Trotter. The following are the officers of the asso- 
ciation for the year ccimmencing Januar_\' 5th, 1884: President, Mrs. George Y. 
Danforth ; first vice-president, Mrs. Nehemiah W. Benedict ; second vice-presi- 

' Edward M. Smith has died since this article was written. 



The Church Home. — The Home of Industry. 425 

dent, Mrs. Hiram Sibley ; third vice-president, Mrs. Alfred Ely ; fourth vice- 
president, Mrs. J. W. Oothout ; treasurer, Mrs. Oscar Craig ; corresponding 
secretary, Mrs. Gerard Arink ; recording sccretar}-, Mrs. Oilman H. Perkins. 

THE CHURCH HOME. 

This institution, which was incorporated Jul\- 24th, I 869, was the outgrowth 
of a long-felt conviction that the Episcopal church should possess and control 
a "home" where destitute children might be taught and aged communicants 
sheltered in old age. The meeting to perfect an organisation was held on the 
1st of June, 1868, there being present four ladies from each parish, who were 
appointed by the rectors of their respective churches. The officers elected at 
this meeting were: Mrs. George H. Mumford, president; Mrs. D. M. Dewey, 
vice-president ; Mrs. I-^dward M. Smith, corresponding secretary ; Miss Mary 
J. Clark, treasurer. On the 2d of Jul)- a letter was received from George R. 
Clark and George E. Mumford, proposing to give for the purposes of the 
Home a house and lot on Moimt Hope avenue, v\'ith an assessed valuation of 
$5,300, which offer was gratefully accepted. On the 20th of April, 1869, the 
corner-stone of the Home was laid b)- Rev. Dr. Anstice, and on the 16th of 
the following October tlie building was forniall)- opened, all the city clerg)- 
taking part in the exercises. The total cost of the structure was nearly $1 5,000. 
The practical management of the Home was placed in the hands of the lady 
managers, subject to the direction of -the following officers, elected Jftly 24th, 
1869: President, George R. Clark; vice-president. Rev. Dr. Foote ; secre- 
tary, George H. Humphrey; treasurer, John H. Rochester. The Home is 
supported by monthly collections and individual donations. There are, how- 
ever, funds held by trustees amounting to $8,787, the income of which is ap- 
plicable to the purposes of the Home. The present officers of the board of 
of lad\- managers are as follows: President, Mrs. D. M. Dewey; vice-presi- 
dent, Mrs. Hiram Sible)- ; corresponding secretary, Mrs. M. M. Mathev\'s ; 
recording secretar)', Mrs. W. C. Rowley; treasurer. Miss C. L. Rochester. 

THE HOME OF INDUSTRY. 

This institution was established on Edinburgh street by Sister Hieronymo 
in 1873. Its object is the protection of young girls, to teach them trades, to 
find employment or homes for them. Three Sisters of St. Joseph opened the 
house. In 1874 they bought the present place on South St. Paul street. The 
building was enlarged in 1875. A laundry is connected with the institution. 
At present there are about seventy- five inmates, under the care of six Sisters, 
Sister Hieronymo being the superior. It is supported by the industr}- of the 
inmates, by the labor of the Sisters and by charitable friends. 



426 History of the City of Rochester. 

tiif westkkx new york institl'tkw for deai' mutes.' 

This institutiiin was ort^aniscd on the 4th of I'"cbruary, I<S76. The orig- 
inal trustees and incorporators were : President, Iv Darwin Sniitli ; first vice- 
president, Geo. (j. Clarkson ; second vice-president, .S. A. h2lhs ; secretar\', l{d- 
ward P. Ihii't; treasurer, Gihiian H. Perkins; Oscar Craig, C. ii. Rider, S. A. 
Lattimore, M. !•". Reyntilds, Thos. (iallaudet, Aaron Erickson, Lewis H. Mor- 
gan, William S. l';i.\', S. I). Porter, Setli H. Terr> . Z. V. Westervelt, of New 
\'(irk, was ajjpointetl principal. Phe institution was soon after (Ma\' 15th) I'ecog- 
nised b_\' the legislature in .111 act authnrising state and cnunt)- officers to ap- 
|)oint pupils to the institution under provisions of existing" laws, which make 
the education of the deaf substantially a part of the public school system. The 
proper officers ascertain that candidates, on account of their deafness, are of the 
class tor whom these sjiecial schools are [.irovided. The expenses of their edu- 
cation, untler the statute, ai'e not prt>\-i(.letl for by general ta.xation, as is the 
method of obt, lining support for public school chiklren, but b\' special per capita 
appropriation upon ajipointments. 

At the time the institution was organised hei'e, the school for the deaf in New 
York cit\', though the largest school of its kind in the world, did not provide, 
together with the three other deaf-mute schools of New \'ork, for many more 
than half of the deaf children of school age within the state. It had been ascer- 
tained from the state census, by correspondence and by jjcrsonal visitation, that 
there were o\ er t\\<i hundred children at that time in Western New Vork for 
whom there \\\is no adecpiate proxision in the institutions of the state, and it was 
for these that this school was established. (3n the 4th of October the school 
was opened in the Mumioril block, on the corner of South St. Paul and Court 
streets, with twenty-three pupils. All the teachers and officers emplo}'ed had 
had experience <is instructors of the deaf Among those well known in Roch- 
ester who have been engaged as instructors are Sylvaniis A. l{llis, Kdward P. 
Hart, Mills Whittlesey and W.ird T. Sutherl.md. 

So rapid was the growth of the school that before the end of the second 
\-ear it became exident that enlarged accommodations must be provided. At 
this time the city propertv on North St. Paul street, which had been used as a 
"Home for Idle and Truant Children," but which had been abandoned for a 
year, was offered at a low rent to the trustees of the institution. The property 
was leased and a portion of the school occupied the building immediately. 
During the summer additions were made to the building, and at the beginning of 
the third _\-rar the entire school was brought together in the new location. The 
[)rosperity of the school met with no check until the summer vacatic.m after the 
close of its fifth school \x'ar. The large family h,id dispersed to their homes, 
when, on July JO, 1882, the shops and a portion of the addition to the main 
building, all of which had been erected by the institution, were destroyed by 

1 This article was preparcil hy Mr. Z. V. Westervelt. 



The Humane Society. — The Alms House. 427 

fire. The loss was about $10,000, a little over half of which was covered by 
insurance. The buildings damaged or destroyed were at once rebuilt and two 
additional buildings — a school house and a building used to accommodate the 
kindergarten — were also erected. At the present time, at the close of the 
eighth school year, there are 162 pupils in attendance; the total attendance 
has been 226. 

THE HUM.\XE SOCIETY. 

On the 20tli of No\-ember, i.S/j, "the Bergh assciciation of Rochester'" 
was organised, with William H. Cheney as president, its object being to pre- 
vent or mitigate the practice of cruelt\- toward animals. In 18S0 a society 
for the prevention of cruelt\- toward children was brought into existence, and, 
as the officers of both the organisations were essentially the same — Rev. N. 
M. Mann being the president — they naturally merged into one and adopted 
the title of "the Humane society." Its objects are: "To provide effective 
means for the prevention of cruelty to animals and children; to inforce all 
laws which now are, or hereafter may be enacted for the protection of dumb 
animals and children, and to secure by lawful means the arrest, conviction and 
punishment of all persons violating such laws; also, the prevention of all cruelty 
by humane education." The officers for this year are : President, David Cope- 
land; vice-presidents, Mrs. J. L. Angle and Rev. J. H. Dennis; corresponding 
secretary, Miss E. P. Hall ; ri:cording secretary, Mrs. J. W. Stebbins ; treas- 
urer, Henry S. Hanford. 

THE .\LMS HOUSE. 

The first Monroe county alms house, located about three miles southeast 
from Rochester, was erected in 1826. It was constructed of brick and would 
accommodate from seventy-five to one hundred persons. The institution was 
under the management of five superintendents and had in 1827 thirtv-five 
occupants, about twenty of whom were employed in useful labor. In 1855 a 
school was taught there by Miss Benedict, which contained some forty scholars. 
A school-house was finished in 1859. It contained two stories, the lower being 
for a school-room, the upper for a dormitory. Miss Gorton was employed as 
teacher, and Miss Flynn as assistant teacher. Miss Pepper succeeded Miss 
Gorton, and Miss Flynn in turn became the teacher. In i860 a building was 
set apart for infirm old men. In 1872 the building had become so dilapidated 
that it became necessary to erect new ones, which was done by George H. 
Thompson and John W. McElhinny. The building was constructed of brick, 
partitions being of the same material, and the cornice of iron, thus rendering the 
structure nearly firtp-proof Its dimensions are 188 feet fronting on South 
avenue, with wings on the north and south ends, running east one hundred feet 
from the front wall, and forty-eight feet wide each. A third wing is situated 

28 



4^8 History of the City or Rochester. 

back from tlic center of tlie main biiildinL;, in extent sixty-ciLjht feet and width 
tliirt}' feet. The main hiiildini; is three stories hiyh, with a cupola lisint; from 
the centei'. There are .icccjinmotlations for 400 persons. The nuinher of 
paupers supi)orted in iSSj was .^37; boiai in tile house lUiriiiL; tile year, 15; 
tlied, 94; discharged, 549; 22~ were nati\es of America and' J55 were natives 
of Ireland. Tiie expenses for the \'ecU- ending October 1st, 1S83, were $17,- 
939.13. ( )f the chaplains ha\e been H. A. Brewster, J. Mandeville, Dr. Sam- 
uel Lucke\-, J. V. Van In-en, John Iv leaker, C.eorL^e V . Linfield and 1). 1'. 
Habcock. l.)r. Azel Backus is the [ii-esenl physician. (leorge V,. McGonegal 
superintendent, and A. J. Iloyt waiden. 

TIIE INSANE ASYLUM. 

In the earl)- part of iS^t) the insane of Monroe ,uid surrounding counties 
were confuied in the alms house. /\t this time the coiulition of the institution 
was truh' deplorable. 1 he cells, which were iour and a hall bv seven, were 
low and unwholesome, and in this small space were often confmei.1 as man)' as 
four persons in different stai.;'es of madness. In the )'ears 1856 and 1857 a new 
buiklin;4 was erected, at a cost of somewhat over $3,000, which was e>pened for 
patients in the sprint; of 1857, .intl the acconuiiodations for fort)'-ei;4ht peisons 
v\ere fully occupied. The institution w.is pkiced under the supervision and 
management of Colonel J. V. Wiggins and wife. An aiklition was completei-l 
b)' (.)ctober, 1859, at a C(.ist of $26,791.57, which, iiltluiugh somewhat of a re- 
lief to the patients, serveil more as an accommodation to the superintendent and 
employees. The need of better accommodations was )'early stated, but un- 
heeded, while the numbers steadih' increasetl. In 1870 the demand for relief be- 
came imperative, and consequent!)' a wing was erected, giving accommodation 
to twenty-five persoiis. The number of inmates rose in I 87 I to one hundred, 
while there were rooms for but sexenty with single occupants. In 1872 a m.iin 
building was erected, at a cost of $i8,ooo. The patients in the as)-luni for the 
)'ear ending .September 30th, 1883, were 238; discharged, 39; died, 18. M. 
L. Lord, M. U., is the warden and ph)sici,m, haxing been elected in 1868. 



The Home Guard. 429 



CHAPTER XL. 1 

THE HOME GL'AKl). 

A C;iance al the Rochester Militia, from the Earliest Days Down to the Present Times — The First 
Rifle Company and Regiment — The Irish Volunteers — The Pioneer Rifles and the Battle of •■ Tod. 
Waddle " — The Grays and Cadets, and the Battle of Lyell Bridge — Other Organisations and Blood- 
less Encounters — The Militia During the War — The Disbandment in iSSi. 

THAT Rochester can boast of no minute-men, such as at Concord and Lex- 
ington "fired the shot heard 'round the world," is not her fault, but the 
fault of the times which held her destiny. Settled long after the heroes of '-jQ 
were enshrined in the hearts of their countr\-mcn, the Flower city is without 
Revolutionary glory, but not without later evidence, in the pioneer stage of her 
development, of that same rugged patriotism which distinguished the American 
nation and made it free. It is a significant fact that not only her founder but 
his associates who came with him to make the wilderness bloom and establish 
a mighty city among the cataracts, bore distinguished military titles. That the 
band of pioneers they drew about them was of that mettle admired so nuich in 
classic song and story may be judged from an incident during the war of 181 2, 
when the entire male population of the hamlet stood ready to defend home and 
country with their lives. In the hasty march to Charlotte, on a beautiful May 
day in 1 8 14, to repel the British invaders or die in the attempt, we have the 
first important military operation in the history of the place. The valor of the 
thirty- one who planted their modest eighteen-pounder against the fleet of Ad- 
miral Yeo, and the successful strategy of the leaders in that famous exploit, are 
treated of at length in another portion of this work and can only be briefly al- 
luded to here. 

We pass on to the time when the military spirit engendered by the war of 
1812 was caught by the )-oung men of Pcnfield, who as early as I 8 18 formed 
the first uniformed rifle company of militia. The organisation at once spread 
to the village of Rochesterville, which had been incorporated the previous year. 
The country at that time was in so unsettled a condition that the state still kept 
the names of all able-bodied men on the military registers, and once a year, as 
a matter of form, a review was held, an affair usually so destitute of military 
appearance and discipline that those who presented themselves in answer to the 
roll-call were sportively designated as the " barefoot militia." A striking con- 
trast to the neglected state "troops " was afforded by the brilliant trappings of 
the first rifle company, with its eighty members in their neat uniforms of gray 
cloth. Each man had a powder horn hanging from his neck by means of a 
yellow string. John Shoecraft was their captain, Jonathan Baker first lieuten- 
ant, and John Culver second lieutenant. Ashbel W. Riley (still, at ninety years 
of age, an honored citizen of Rochester) was the orderly sergeant, and was after- 

' This article was prepared hy Mr. William Mill Butler, of the Rochester Post-Express. 



430 History of the City of Rochester. 



ward prnmotcd to lieutenant and commander. The compan_\' was made up of 
residents on the e.isl side of the' ri\er. Rifle companies alsfi sjirailL^^ into exist- 
ence at Lima, Hloiimfield and elsewhere, making four ceimpanies in all, from 
which, with the adtlitiim of companies frnni (jeneseoand other places, a battal- 
ion w.is firmed. It was known as the "P'irst rifle battalion of the state of New 
\'ork," Major Harrtm beini; the commandinj^ nfficer. Atklitional material was 
subsec|uently found in \illai^es south and east of Rochester, and in 1820 there 
were enough riflemen to furni the h'irst rifle reL,nment of the state of New York, 
with headijuarters at Lima. Its leading officers were Colonel Bacon, Lieut. - 
Col. Cad\- and Major Cole. In the same year an independent rifle compan\- 
was firmed on the west side of the ri\'er, officered by Captain Benjamin H. 
Brown, l''iist Lieut. James I'Vazer, and Second Lieut. Samuel Stone. Constant 
ai.lditions to the company were received from Clarkson, Oyden, Greece ami 
other [ilaces, until the foul' companies from the east side joined with them and 
formed the TweiitN'-seci-ind regiment of riflemen, of which Benjamin H. Brown 
was elected colonel, A. W. Riley lieutenant-colonel, and Mr. Andrews major. 

The first nn'litia law of an)' conseciuence was passed in 1823, and under the 
same the [irixate, like the officer, had to provide everything he needed, even 
his musket. His only privileges were exemption from jury dut\' and from 
ta.xation <if iiropert)' to the amount of $500. The ages between which able- 
bodied men were to serve in the militia were from eighteen to forty-five \'ears. 
The officers were all elected except the members of the go\'ernor's staft", the 
members of each general officer's staft" appointed b)' the general officer, and the 
major-generals at the head of militia divisions. The state was at this time 
divided into grand and subordinate military districts. The grand districts were 
supervised by general officers and the subordinate districts b_\' field officers. Lach 
district was sure of its t)fficers, but it not unfrequently happened that a district 
had nothing but officer^;, the latter being without their complement of men. 
Such was the state of the general militia when in 1S25 Col. ]5rown and Lieut. - 
Col. Riley anil their fine-looking Rifles escorted General LaFayette from 
Rochester to Canandaigua, where occurred a grand demonstration by the happy 
villagers, who had sent a special in\'itation to the great Frenchman asking him 
to stop and enjov theu' hospitalitv fir a short time. 

In \o\ember, 1828, the Irish volunteers, a company which long reflected 
credit on the nationalit)- \\hich it represented, was organised in Rochester and 
attached to the 178th regiment of infantr}-. 

In I 830 a general reorganisation of the militia was provided fir and the amount 
of serviceable military material was increased by a change which [ji'ovideil that 
all able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and sixty should be used to 
fill up the ranks. This helped to make less painfully apparent the bald spots 
in the military districts. The men were now obliged to report at least once a 
year ( imder officers elected by themselves), im " general training-day," as it 




i>^--yf'/dt:/^y^ 



430 HiSTORV OF THE City of Rochester. 

ward promoted to lieutenant and cdmmT".'!-; T"] e.Mriany ..as rn^KJL aj:) of" 
i-(=s'''-""'^ " ' . .t s;l:l u; tile rivei. Kiili. cuinpaiiies al.^o ^]);■ang■ into e.xist 

L ,,;, i'.i ■• inhcid and eLsewhc-re, niikin^ fl'ur companies in all, 'Vojii 

., >■ . . '■..- a',''!iiior 'jf coiiijjanie.s. from Geueseo and otiier places, a ban 

■ . I ' : 1 It was kriowii as tl'c "Fi.rst rifie battalion of the .state of 2-. 
.: ■: i'anun hcim.;- the cominandin;:;- nlTiccr. AdJitional nuiteiial '. 

.* ' .i ■ , .:d in \-ill;v,7::> south atid e ist of Rochester, and in 1820 tbv 
I,'-' f' r'l ihe First nfle regiment of the state of New W, 
i.'ii;i ItF leading officers were Colonel Bacon, Lid 
'■'.r ,In the same vt^r an independent rifle comp 
.: lide of the rive'" .•'"•> by ("aptain T)en;::"i'- 
' i- s Prazer, and. Se( -amuei .Stone. 1 

cHV Were received n^ini ■ 1 in.son. Oyden, Greece . 
i.nir cumpanici from the east side joined with them , 
'., ind rej^iment of riflemen, of whicli Benjamin H. '' 
W Kiiev lieutenant-colciiei, and Mr. Andrcvv - ; 
■ lence was passed in 1823, ■•■ 
r-^ T^rovid" p\'er\'':h'n'T he 



■1 the' nuf; dteen to to 





•;•• . '■i'^'.-men 




■...rters at 




,.,,,! Majo' 




;- ■■ .jn the -,v 




.'.I lieiit. j 


; 


.■> iiie cot)' 


c 


es, until tilv 


f 


. :■ fvi-enty ■ 


\\ 


■ ■' J colonel . 




..■st militia 


s; 


.' ;n-i\'ate. ■' 


hi 




ta 


■. if ijn 


be 


■i.en 'Wt 


Tl r 


'i..:,TS \Vt 


mt 


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ma 


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div 




sui. 


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dist 


■' -.^ su; 


had 


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Sue 




Col. 




Roc 





ers,.but it lied that a 

le latter beiiig \mi ..Mi: lUcr complemeat 
:er:eral militia when in 1825 Col. Brown and 
iiiil Rifleg escorted General LaT 
•! .■ occurred a grand demonstratio:i 
villa . i.d in\-itanon to the gre.i.t Frenchman as, 

to St MHialit)- for a short time. 

1 :■ !nsh volunteers, a company which 

credi iiicl: it represented, was organised in 1\ - , 

attaci if infantry. 

Ir Ml of the militia was provided fi-aiui tl;. 

of ser A as increased' by a change whi.rh |. 

all ab, : ages ofVi 'if -i" n.l <lvt,- -in. 

fill up make le^- 

in the l.v ,.,,:n were n.iw ,.,,.1;.;^.^ iw >_,... ^ ,,.. .t,,.,. 

year (.1 I by theinst-lves), on "general tiaiaing-da\ 




't^'Tf'/c'.u^ 



The Home Guard. 431 



was called. Owing to the fact that the privates were still obliged to arm and equip 
themselves, no progress in the appearance of the general militia was possible. 
Where the captain had inordinately large companies, for which there were not 
uniforms enough, he was often driven to the e.\pedient of allowing a single uni- 
form (in sections) to serve two or three men. Things went from bad to worse, 
until training-day became a farce. It must have been quite a relief, therefore, for 
GoN-ernor Marcy, when, it 1832, he came to Rochester, on invitation of Col. 
Rile\- (who had succeeded to the command, owing to the death of Col. Brown), 
and reviewed the Twenty-second regiment of riflemen. He pronounced it far 
ahead of any state military organisation ; in fact it was, he said, the finest regi- 
ment he had ever seen. At that time Samuel Stone was lieutenant-colonel 
and Mr. Case major. Among Col. Riley's captains were Captain Latta, of 
Charlotte, commanding a company of eighty men. Captain A. C. Rowe, of the 
Ridge road. Captain Fuller, of Greece, and Captain Hammond, of Wheatland, 
(afterward brigadier- general). 

It was in 1832, also, that an anti- tariff' con\'ention in South Carolina issued 
the famous nullification ordinance, which, on the 16th of December, brought 
out President Jackson's proclamation, followed by the sending of United States 
vessels of war into Charleston harbor, with good effect. During the events 
which led to this excitement Col. Riley called his regiment together in front 
of the court-house, and proposed that the services of the regiment be tendered 
to President Jackson. The proposal was received with enthusiasm. Every 
man was willing to follow his colonel. President Jackson appreciated the 
prompt offer of services, and, although it did not become necessary to accept 
the same, he expressed his warm thanks to Colonel Riley afterward. This is 
the nearest the regiment ever came to a fight. It was never called upon for 
active service. In 1833 Colonel Riley was appointed brigadier general of rifle- 
men, and in 1834 he succeeded Major-General Bovven Whiting, of Geneva, as 
major-general, which position he held until the brigade went out of existence, 
several years later. 

Before that event took place, howe\er, there was organised and added to 
Gen. Riley's command, in 1835, the Rochester Pioneer Rifles, among whose 
commanders w'ere George Dawson, a veritable "fighting editor," and Judge 
Buchan. This company fought the famous bloodless battle known among the 
veterans as "Tod-Waddle." The writer, in an interview with D. M. Dewey, 
one of the participants and an officer of the company at the time, obtained the 
following account of the affair. It appears that at the time when the building 
of the Genesee valley canal was under headway, news reached Rochester, of an 
outbreak among the laborers, at the Rapids. The sheriff ordered the Pioneers to 
quell the riot and the organisation at once marched to the scene of the supposed 
disturbance under command of Captain Dawson. Upon arriving at the Rapids 
not a rioter or laborer of any kind could be found, the rumored approach of the 



432 lIis'niRv ()]■■ THE City df Rochester. 



niilitar)' liaving caused a general stampede. Disappointed in theii' search for 
gore, the Pioneers prei)ared for the lionieward march, wlien the_\' esjaied a negro • 
in front of a taxei'ii, and seizing liim lornied a hollow square with their captive 
ill the center. Thus they came into the city, and that solitary badly frightened 
darkey was tlie only prisoner of war that met the g.ize of the ex]5ectant and 
e.xcited po[5ulace. They gave the gentleman of color his liberty in front of the 
Court-house, amid the shouts and laughter of the people. Out of the I'i(.)neers 
afterward twd other organisations were formeil. 

At this tiine there was still in existence "\'an Rensselaer's ca\'alr\'," organ- 
ganised about 1S34. It had been precetled b\- Colonel William Charles's cav- 
alr\', which was the tlrst organisation of the kind hereabouts. The other was 
first organisetl as a company of mounted dragoons, with K. H. Van Rensselaer 
as captain. He was the host of the fmious l'~agle T.ix'crn. Finally three more 
companies were raised, anil a battalion was iormed with Captain \'an Rens- 
selaer as major. He was succeeded b\' Major Mortimer F. Kexmokls, who was 
the leading officer until the disbandment of the battalion. 

The so-called C'anadi.ui rebellion of icSjj furnished the Rochester militia 
with an oppnrtunity to lace public opprobrium r.ithcr thiUi an armed eneni}'. 
K.xcitement ran high here when it became known that British soldiers had on 
the night of December 29th seized the steamboat Caroline on the American 
sliore and sent her all alilaze over Niagara falls. The people sympathised with 
Mackenzie, the leader of the insurrection, and his Canadian compatriots on Nav\' 
island, and, when it was w ildl_\- rumored that the "retlcoats" had sent the 
l)asseiigers of the Ciirolinc to tlestiuction with her, the indignation on this side 
of the border became so great that the president deemed it best to issue a proc- 
lamation (January 5th, 1S3S) enjoining neutrality upon all American citizens. 
General Scott was ordered to the frontier to preserve peace, and the states of 
Ne\v \'ork and W'rmont were required to furnish militia to disperse those on 
this sii.le in .uaiis against the go\'ernment of Canada. The Twent}'-fifth regi- 
ment of artiller)-, conimandeil by Col. Joseph Wood, went from Rochester, in 
obedience to ortlers, antl, traveling as far as Batavia b}' rail, marched from there 
to the frontier. C )ther otTicers of the regiment were Lieutenant-Colonel Wil- 
liams and Cajitains k'rancis X. Beckwith, Amos Soper, Evan Evans and Frank- 
lin Robb. So thoroughly in sympathy with the "Patriots" were the people 
that the regiment was hissed at various [jlaces, antl the proprietor of a public 
house refused to furnish them t'ood mitil they threatened him with simimary 
vengeance. Luckily the expedition led to nothing more serious, and, finding 
that Na\'\' island had been evacuated, the militia returned home. 

The warlike spirit augmented by these events foimd vent in the near future 
in the formatiiui of several crack companies. Two of these, " Williams's light 
infantry" and the Rochester Union Grays, were formed out of the Pioneer 
Rifles and other members of the old rifle regiments. The light infantry, or- 



The Home Guard. 433 



ganised August 2d, 1838, was composed of those who favored the carrying of 
muskets. The Grays, organised on December i itli of the same year, were all 
decidedly in favor of rifles. The leading spirits who formed the Grays were 
the staff officers of the okl regiment — Gen. Lansing B. Swan (who, with Gen. 
Burroughs, codified the military laws of the state), Colonel Horace Gay, Col- 
onel Ariel Wentworth, Adjutant Jesse \V. Hatch and Major H. P. Daniels, 
who joined as privates. At the first election, held June i8th, 1839, Lansing 
B. Swan was elected captain. In 1840 the company was reviewed by Presi- 
dent Van Buren on Brown square. Up to the time of the formation of the 
veteran corps (which was organised December ^id, 1855, and included all 
those who joined in 183S and who had been members up to Januar_\', 1854) 
the captains of the company had been as follows : Lansing B. Swan, John G. 
Gray, Charles G. Lee, Nathaniel Thompson and William M. Lewis. Among 
the first officers of the \'eteran corjis were Gen. Lansing B. Swan, captain ; 
Captain John G. Gray, first lieutenant, and Col. James L. Angle (at present 
one of the new justices of the Supreme court for this district), second lieutenant. 
The Grays, although originally formed as a rifle compan_\', subsequenth' adopted 
the infantry drill and still later became an artillery company. 

The "battle of Lyell Bridge," an illustrious military engagement, occurred 
shortly after the organisation of the Rochester City Cadets, September 19th, 
1839. This was at first a small militia company composed of about thirtj' 
clerks. It soon trained in the 178th regiment, and Lieut. Pitkin was secured 
as drill-master. James Klwood was elected the first captain. The uniform of 
the company was a blue roundabout and bellows cap, silver trimmings and 
white pantaloons. This was changed to scarlet coat, blue trousers and plumed 
hat, some time after the company had been reorganised as the Rochester Light 
Guards, prior to 1849. H. S Fairchild was the first captain elected, and the 
others in succession were : Captains Updyke, D. M. Dewe)', Taylor, Munger, 
Force, Graham, Fredenburg, Madden, I. F. Force and James S. Graham (the 
last in 1884, the company having been reorganised December iSth, 1881). 
Si.xty five members of the Light Guard entered the army at the outbreak of 
the rebellion, as company A, Thirteenth regiment. Si.\t\- members arrived at 
more or less distinction; thirty-four held commissions from lieutenants up to 
colonels and brigadier- generals. The io8th regiment, the Eighth cavalry and 
the 140th regiment also found recruits among the Light Guards. But to re- 
turn to the "batdeof Lyell bridge." It grew out of a misunderstanding re- 
garding the music of the day. There was a United States company stationed 
here, at the time, its barracks being in the old jail building on Fitzhugh street. 
The company had a martial band and the Grays had been in the habit of 
securing the same for parade, but the officers of the Cadets had two or three 
weeks previously secured the band for the general training, in which both or- 
ganisations were to appear. After the review on the field beyond the Lyell 



434 History of the City of Rochester. 

bridi^e, the Gra\-s demanded the music, and the Cadets refused to <^\vc it up. 
The)- submitted U> thi-' band the question as to what company it beloiiL^cd to. 
The band decideil in favur of the Cadets. After the review the latter marched 
oft' with the music. When tiie)- reached Lyell street, however, a platoon of 
the tirays in sint^le file crossed i)\er the fence into the road and charijed bayo- 
nets. A i)arle\- follnwed and it was ascertained that the bass drum wiiich the 
musicians were usiiiL; belonged to the (irays. The drummer was (irdered to 
t;i\e it uyt and he promptly kicked it intn a mud puddle. The (irays, haxiiiL^ 
recovered their pri ipcrt\. m,n"che(.l up tn the city, lustily beatiuLJ the drum, and 
the Cadets fiillowed with joyful sounds made b_\' the snare di-um antl fifes. The 
"battle of Henpeck " also belnni^s to the Union (jra\s. In 1855 news came 
that laborers repairini^ the canal at "the witlc- waters" were on a strike and had 
Ije.Ljun a serious riot The sheriff ordered the Craxs out and they promptly 
left fur the scene of trouble anil restored order after making several ar- 
rests. 

On Ainil 15th, I S40, the Cicrman Grenadiers, the first (ierman company 
in the cit\', was formed. Majoi- Joseph I'^rbeklini; has to-da)- in his possession, 
as a hiLjhlx' prized relic, their hrst fla_!4". 

The Rochester jXrtiller)- was organiscLl June 30th, 1840, in time to partici- 
pate with the Williams LiL,dit infantry, the Cnion (ira\'s, Cit\' Cadets and German 
Grenatliei's in the imjjosing ceremonies with which the remains of ReNolutionary 
sokliers, e.xhumed in Livingston count}-, were interred in Mount Hope, in 1841, 
as (.letailed in another chapter. 

The Rochester City Guards first appear in the records of 1844, and the 
German Union Guards were organised October 25th, 1847. In the same year 
Captain Wilder organised a company here for service in the Mexican war. 

The Rochester Cit)' Dragoons, organised in 1850, were the heroes of one 
of the comical " battles " that ha\e been told and retold at reunions and camp- 
fires. The scene of the exploit in question was on Lake avenue, in front of 
an okl toll-gate. The toll-gate keeper, knowing that he could not compel the 
militia to pay toil, was in no mciod to e.xert himself very much in behalf of so 
man)- " (.leatl-heatls." Their demands that he raise the gate were regarded 
with disdain, and a charge on the obstinate obstruction and its regulator was 
at last found necessary. 

The I*'ifty-fourth regiment of infantry (organised a year or two previous) 
was in 1851 commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles D. Titus, and its dis- 
trict was the count}' of Monroe l}'ing west of the Genesee. The count)' east of the 
ri\er, antl part of Ontario and Wa)'ne, were under the protection of the F"ift)'- 
third regiment, Col. Robert Hall commanding. In 1853 Gen. Lansing B. Swan 
was brigadier-general of the Twent)'-fifth brigade, N. Y. S. M., with headquar- 
ters at Rochester. Captain Hubbard S. Alliswas aidc-dc-caiiip : Major C. Gold 
Lee, brigade inspector; Major Jolin Thompson, jr., judge-advocate; Major 



The Home Guard. 



43 S 



Charles R. Babbitt, engineer ; Major George Hand Smith, surgeon; Captain 
James E. Chene_\-, quartermaster, and Captain hxlward M. Smith, paymaster. 
Tlie I'ifty-third, regiment was commanded b\- Colonel James L. Angle, with 
DcUon M. Dewey, lieutenant-colonel ; Truman T. Morse, major, and Lieut. 
George W. Martin, quartermaster. 

In 1855 the Fifty-fourth regiment included all of Monroe count}' and was 
commanded by Colonel Harrison S. Fairchild ; Belden R. McAlpine was lieu- 
tenant-colonel ; John T. Griffin, major ; Captain Henry H. Langworthy, sur- 
geon ; Captain Ely S. Parker, engineer, and Lieut. William H. Ward, pay- 
master. The regiment was composed of the following companies: A (Roch- 
ester Union Grays), C. Gold Lee, captain ; B (German Grenadiers), Fredcrick 
C. Miller, captain ; C (Light Guard), Scott W. Lfpdike, captain ; D (German 
Union Guards), G. Seibert, captain ; E (Citizens' Corps), Gilbert S. Jennings, 
captain; F (First City Dragoons), James Brackett. captain. In 1861 the reg- 
iment included Monroe and Wayne counties, and the companies were as fol- 
lows : A, from Lyons; B, Rochester, Fred Miller, captain: C, Rochester, 
Warner Westcott, orderly ; D, Rochester, Lorenzo Sellingcr, captain ; E, F", G 
and H were \-acant ; I, Rochester, James Brackett, captain ; K, Rochester, X. 
B. Ellison, first lieutenant. In 1S63 we find Colonel Charles H. Clark in com- 
mand of the regiment, which was mustered into the service of the United 
States for one hundred days, July 26tli, 1864, and the next day left for Elmira, 
where it guarded rebel prisoners until November loth. The regiment had at- 
tached to it the Rochester Dragoons, which also performed guard duty. 

The departure of the regiment had left Rochester in an almost defenseless 
condition, and it was not long before rumors of dark intentions of rebel sym- 
pathisers began to circulate. These rumors finally reached the government 
and under date of November 2d W^illiam H. Seward, secretary of state, wrote 
to the mayor of Buffalo, stating that " this department has received information 
from the British provinces to the effect that there is a conspiracy on foot to set 
fire to the principal cities mi the northern frontier on election da}'." This hast- 
ened the return of the Fifty-fourth, and that its presence reassured the citizens 
ma\' be gathered from the address made to them by Mayor Brackett, who 
alluded to the threatened raids and the feeling of securit}- which had been re- 
stored. That there was a dangerous element right at home is apparent from 
the fact, suppressed at the time, that the regiment upon reaching Rochester 
loaded with ball cartridge and, while marching through the streets with fixed 
ba\'onets, wa.s received not alone with loyal cheers but with secession hisses. 
Company K and another company, together with some of Major Lewis's artil- 
lery were next stationed at Charlotte, where they overhauled every incoming 
vessel for invaders or munitions of war. The mayor had on November 5th 
] received word from United States agents in Canada that rebel refugees were 
, preparing to burn Rochester and Buffalo before the 9th, and this fresh comfirm- 



436 History ov the City of Rochester. 

ation t>f previous warnings caused not unly the sharii lookout at the port < 
Genesee, but tile formation of vii^nlance committees and special ]3olice in the cit 

Of the militia organisations which i-endered gootl service to the Uni( 
cause in the late war, none can show a better record than the Rochester Uni< 
Gra\'s, whose heroic ser\ ices will be found describetl elsewhere. Those of tl 
Gra\'s who did not go ti.i the front became the h'irst battalion of light artiller 
N. G. S. N. v.. Commanded l)_\- Maj<}r \\'illiam M. Lewis, which three tim 
oflered its ser\-ices to the L'nited St.ites goxernment. 'I'he_\- were not accepte 
h(iwe\er, until I S64, when, for I j8 days from August Jcl, the battalion helps 
to guaid rebel prisoners at MImii'a, leaxing here shortl_\' .ifter the Fifty-fourt 
It had pre\iousl_\', in 1863, left to assist in quelling the New \'ork draft riot 
going as far as Albany, w here it was detained for guard dut\" for a time. 
1864 Michael llea\y was captain of batter)' A, and M. R. (Juinn captain 
batterx' H. The battidion numbered 164 men, rank and file. 

The home guard received a most creditable addition during the war in tl 
formation of the Rochester Union Hlues, a fine, well-equipped organisation ( 
patriotic citi/ens. The officers for i S63-64 were as follows: Charles H, Hi 
captain; Cornelius \\'a_\dell, first lieutenant; L. A. Pratt, second lieutenan 
Charles A. Brackett, first sergeant ; Frank H. Mitchell, second sergeant; Charl 
A. l)ewe\-, thirtl sergeant; William H. l^urke, fourth sergeant; l-'rederick V 
Hawlc}', fifth sergeant; I'rank Hlossoni, fii'st corjioral ; Cyrus F. Faine, secor 
corporal; h'red. R Watts, third corpor.il; John L. Sage, fourth corporal; Re 
George D. Boardman, chaplain. The ci\ il officers were : President, Edwin ( 
Sage; vice-president, /\le.\an<.ler Mc\'ean; secretar_\-, S. A. I'^Ilis; treasure 
C. 1-". Paine. 

There were no sweeping changes made in the militia laws until after tl 
close of the war, unless the reorganisation in I S46, <jf regiments with one fie' 
and no staff officei', be deemed such. (Jther amendments of note which ha 
come up sintx the time of the nondescrijjt militia were an increase of exemj 
tion from t.i.\ation of militiamen's properly to $1 ,000, and state appropriatioi 
for heating and lighting the armories. In 1865 an agitation was begun in r( 
gard to what afterward figures in the militia statutes as a miiform fund, $5C 
being appropriated for each regiment, which sum the regiment earned by doin 
a specific amount of militar\- dut_\' each year. This in 1870 was replaced b 
an arrangement whereb\' the pri\ates and non-commissioned officers were pre 
\-ided for more liberally. In lieu of uniforms and equipments furnished b_\' tli 
state, it was enacted that there should be paid by the state to the militar)- fun 
of each regiment, battalion and separate troop, battery or comp.ui)- of infantr 
a sum equal to $7 for each man who had paraded at least seven times durin 
the previous )-car. This anioLuit wds increased to $8 under the arrangemer 
of 1878. To meet general expenses each regiment was allowed $i,000 if Ic 
cated in New \'ork city, and $500 if in the rest of the state. This amour 



The Home Guard. 437 



was finally increased to $1,500 per regiment, and to meet the expenses of the 
division headquarters $1,000 was allowed and $500 more to brigade head- 
quarters. After the war Captain Fred. Miller's troop of cavalry was organised, 
through the instrumentalit\- of Henry Brinker, the last major-general of this 
division. On May 4th, i8;i, the Fifty- fourth and the Light artillery rendered 
excellent service in quelling a riot among strikers on the canal near the "Ox- 
bow," and in 1S77 both these organisations and Miller's cavalry were on duty 
along the line near Hornellsville during the railroad strikes. 

In 1880 one of the most notable courts-martial in the history of the Fifty- 
fourth took place by order of Gen. Brinker. The principal previous courts- 
martial were those of Brigadier- General Charles H. Clark, who was dismissed 
from the service in 1870 for mismanagement of $1 5,000 funds for the buildino- of 
a fence around the state arsenal, and of Colonel George A. Begy, who was found 
guilty of utterance of false audits, but whose sentence was reversed by Gov- 
ernor Robinson in 1877. The subject for the court-martial April 19th, 1880, 
was Jacob Spahn, major and engineer of the twelfth brigade, seventh division. 
He was convicted of the charge of writing certain defamatory articles in the 
military column of the Rochester Democrat &■ Clironiclc (whose military editor 
he was), violently attacking the Fifty-fourth regiment. He was cashiered July 
4th, 1880, but on the 31st of the same month the civil courts granted a writ of 
ci-rtiorari in the proceedings. Subsequently the sentence was reversed and 
Major Spahn reinstated by order of Judge Macomber. Adjutant-General 
Townsend appealed to the general term of the Supreme court, which affirmed 
the decision. A further appeal was taken to the court of Appeals, where it is 
still pending. 

The state is now divided into four military divisions — in place of the eicrht 
divisions and fourteen brigade departments formerly existing — with headquar- 
ters at New York, Brooklyn, Albany and Buffalo. In December, 1880, the 

Fift\--fourth regiment was disbanded, only one company being continued 

namely, compan\- F, Captain Henr_\' B. Henderson commanding, which was at- 
tached to the division headquarters at Buffalo, and is now knowri as the Eit^hth 
Separate company. A month before that Captain Miller's troop of cavalry had 
been disbanded, and the artiller_\' battalion was first consolidated from two bat- 
teries into a single batter)-, and then likewise disbanded. The officers and men 
of all these organisations were mustered out at the arsenal,' January- 27tli, 1881. 



438 History cf the City of Rochester. 

CHAPTER XLI. 

THE < i;MKTi:Rn:st)F Rochester.' 

Tlic Early Cemelc-ries of ihe Yillage and ihc City — The Burial-Flaces on the East and West 
Sid(.-\ — Ni-i;otialion- fur a New liround — Abandonment of the Old Places, and Transfer to Mount 
Hope — Description of the Cemetery — The old Catholic I'.urial-CJround — Necessity for a New Place 
of Interment — Purchase of the Land and Consecration of the Ground — Description of the Holy Sep- 
ulcher Cemetery. 

THI-" resting-place of the dead is a ven- near object of interest and aftection 
to the waiting sojourners. Almost the first object of their search, it is not onl\- 
a subject of an.xious solicitude, but serves more quickly than any other human 
need to unite with links of intercourse and sympath\- those wayfarers who 
gather to form new homes and who sometimes become, and perhaps une.xpect- 
ingly, the founders of large and prosperous communities. It is a sure sign of 
enlightened hope when men halt to carefully choose their place of sepulcher 
and bestow upon it that care and beautifying which make it a place of pleasant 
contemplation, which seem to relieve the mortal struggle of many of its moan- 
ing sorrows and make the shadow of the grave a welcome garment, not remote 
from either life. Surrounded with leaves, flowers and landscape of hill and 
valley, it becomes a spot where family and kin not unwillingh- lie down and 
await that summons which will cause them again to know, even as they are 
known. 

In the struggle of the early emigrants in this then western wild — their need 
of unremitting toil for the living, subduing the harsh features of rock and forest 
and noisome swamp, bringing them into subjection that their e.xpectation of 
liapp)- homes might be realised and visible — they at no time lost sight of that 
spiritual comfort which was fostered by the affectionate remembrance of those 
who had heralded the wa\- to the better land. And so, neither neglect nor 
sacrilege chilled these affections or aspirations, and as human population in- 
creased beyond their foretelling* they rexerently carried their dead from their 
first resting-place, until their other home became Mount Hope, "beautiful for 
situation," and, the\- might fondly picture, "the joy of the whole earth." 

The prirniti\e burial spots on each side of the Genesee ri\er, in the two 
towns of Gates and Brighton — the one in Genesee, the other in Ontario county 
and soon forming the hamlet, first, of Genesee Falls, and then of Rochester- 
ville were, howe\er remote, in verj- central portions of what is now the city of 
Rochester. Upon the west side of the river, at the junction of Falls street 
and Sophia street — now Spring street and Plymouth avenue — the early pro- 
prietors of the so-called One-hundred-acre tract. Colonel Rochester, Major 
Carroll and Colonel Fitzhugh, set apart for burials one-half acre and conveyed 
the land to the village, free of cost, in June, 1821. It was so far intentionally 

1 The first article in this chapter was prepared by Mr. Jonathan H. Child. 



Beginnings of Mount Hope Cemetery. 439 

predesigned for this use that e\cn more was designated on the piibh'c map. Wc 
do not find tliat burial lots were sold b)' the village, but the ground was free. 
Upon the east side of the river, \\here is now East avenue, upon its south side 
and opposite Gibbs street, Enos Stone made a gratuitous dedication of a burial 
plot. No deed was executed, but space was free. 

Few \-cars, however, elapsed, before the unexpected growth of the settle- 
ment made it incumbent that more distant grounds should be obtained. There 
were secured westerly three and one-half acres, September i8th, 1821, in even 
exchange for the Sophia street ground, upon the Buffalo road, where now stands 
the Rochester City hospital. There were purchased, easterly, two acres on 
June lOtli, 1827, for $100.00, upon the then-called "state road,'" and now Mon- 
roe a\enue, where now stands public school number 15. These two acres, 
although purchased June loth, 1827, of Chester Bixby, had been by him re- 
served from a sale of contiguous land to William Cobb and others on October 
27th, 1822, and especiall}- excepted from that con\e_\-ance and also described 
on an acconipan\ing map, as a "burj'ing-ground." There is no doubt that it 
had been used for burials several years prior to its purchase by the village of 
Rochester. The bodies resting upon the Sophia street lot were transferred to 
the Buffalo street new ground, and those upon East avenue to the IMonroe 
street new ground, and in the case of Enos Stone's benefaction the disused 
ground reverted to the donor. These two new grave-yards — the one called the 
Buffalo street burying-ground, the other the Monroe street burying-ground — 
supplied for many years the requirements of the village. Yet they did not 
suffice. In time, about 1835, they were found inadequate and the movement 
began which culminated in what became Mount Hope cemetery. 

It had been more than fortunate that the Buffalo street and the Monroe 
street grounds were in use, for the mortality from cholera in 1832 was so ex- 
treme, even in the then small village, that the unoccupied land was all required, 
and this ga\'e impetus to the belief that the usefulness of these grounds 
would soon end. Vet both these cemeteries had become very dear to the citi- 
zens. The\- contained the dead of those first settlers whose names are familiar 
by tradition or public service, and in the after-satisfaction which reconciled 
their friends to the more attractixe Mount Hope it is not to be forgotten that 
for \'ears the hesitation and reluctance to remove their dead was both sorrowful 
and deep, even if the increasing, surrounding throngs, made \ear by year more 
apparent the distasteful, jet unavoidable, intrusions upon what, in earlier days, 
they fondly thought would give them place for secluded and peaceful rest. But 
the necessity for ampler grounds became pressing. The first movement was 
made by individual citizens. There appears to be no public record of the fact, 
but it nevertheless was, that, after personal consultation, a meeting was called, 
the object approved, and a committee appointed. A public allusion to this 
meeting is found in a preamble to a resolution offered by Alderman John Hay- 



440 History of th?: City of Rochester. 



wood, in the common council, December 20th, 1836, in which he, calh'ng at- 
tention to tiiis subject, refei's " to a meetiuL; of citizens previoush' held." W'lio 
were its active mo\ers, ami when hekl, docs not seem to appear, but the recol- 
lectii>n exists th.it the committee made tliliLjent examination in the suburbs for 
suitable cemetei y Ljriiunds. Their searc'.ies were extended not onl_\- to the hills 
siiuth and east of the city, but northerK' on the river slopes, and upon the 
banks of the Ironde(juoit baw 

It may not be inopportune here to note th.it Willi. uii .A. Reynolds, one of 
Rochester's most public-mindetl and influential citizens, ceased not to res^n'ct 
what was, in his iutlL;nient, the error of not locatiuL; the cemeterv, and one of 
larL^e extent, upon the western bank of lrondei.|uoit bay. The citizens' com- 
mittee, ho\\e\er, made report recommendinir the purchase of the first fifty-three 
acres of Mount Hope. It was also recommended that the cit\- cor[Kiration be 
invested with the title and control. The ease, as it now exists, of obtainini;" 
let,nslati\e authorit)' for pri\-ate corjn irations did not then obtain, and the tlififi- 
cult\' and uncertiiint)' of securing it cannot now be readily appreciated. This 
was the supposed obstacle to a private cemetery corporation and was the in- 
spiring cause for seeking the cooperation of the mimicipal government. The 
common cemncil fax'orably responded. In accortlance therewith, Alderman 
David Sco\ille, August J4th, 1836, offered a resolution "that a committee be 
appointed to incpiire into the expedienc)' of purchasing .Silas Antlrus's lot on 
the east side of the ri\-er, or an\' other lot in the cit\-, for a burial ground and 
report at a future meeting of the board." This was adopted and the chairman, 
Mayor Abram M. Schermerhorn, apj^ointed Aldermen David Scoville, Manley 
(i. \Voodbur_\- and W'arham W'hitney as such committee. On the 20th of De- 
cember Alderman Ha\-wood, in the resolution before alluded to, mo\ed that 
the conmion council approve of the recommendation, both of the citizens and 
of the committee, tliat the cit\- purchase the ground of Silas .\ndrus for such 
purpose, which was adopted, and on December 27th the common council made 
provision for paj-ing for the land by authorising an issue of cit)- boiuls for 
$8,000, which loan was negotiated at par by the mayor. 

On January loth, 1837, John McConnell was directed to devise a plan for 
laying out the grounds, but this was supplemented, if not superseded, June 22d, 
1838, b)- appointing Aldermen Elias Pond, Joseph Strong and Isaac F. Mack, 
the new mayor, Klisha Johnson, and the city surve^-or, Silas Cornell, a com- 
mittee to procure and submit plans for such purpose. This committee had 
some correspondence with Major Da\'id Bates Douglass, LL. D., a distin- 
guished officer in the United States arm_\', a professor of civil and military en- 
gineering at West Point, a president of Ken\-on college, Ohio; a professor of 
mathematics and civil engineering at Hobart college, Geneva, N. Y., and who 
laid out the grounds at Greenwood cemeter\\ the Albany cemetery and the 
Protestant cemetery at Quebec. A difference in judgment was found to exist 



Mount Hope Cemetery. 441 



between the common council committee and Major Douglass, concerning the 
manner of developing the new cemetery, and the result was that his valuable 
services were not obtained. The report of the committee to the common council 
was made on the 3d of July, ne.xt after, and was adopted. 

Silas Cornell, city surveyor, a member of this committee, proposed the 
name " Mount Auburn " for the new cemetery. One William Wilson, a 
laborer, presented to the common council several accounts for services in 1838, 
which bills recited that the labor was performed on " Mount Hope. " The 
latter phrase gratified the public ear and satisfied its judgment. " Mount 
Auburn " made a feebler impression, and without formal adoption, that can 
be found, " Mount Hope " was accepted and applied. In October following. 
Mount Hope cemetery was dedicated in solemn manner, before a large as- 
semblage, and the Rev. Pharcellus Church, pastor of the First Baptist society, 
delivered the oration. In acknowledgment of Mr. Church's address the com- 
mon council tendered him the following vote of thanks : " In C(jmmon council, 
cit\' of Rochester, October 1 6th, 1838, on motion of Alderman Abelard Rey- 
nolds, Resolved : That the board present a \-ote of thanks to the Rev. Mr. 
Church for his appropriate and able address delivered at the dedication of 
Mount Hope cemetery, and that he be requested to furnish the common coun- 
cil with a copy for publication and that a committee of two be appointed for 
that purpose. Carried, and the mayor, Elisha Johnson, and Alderman Rey- 
nolds were appointed such committee. " 

The first sexton of Mount Hope, as the keeper was called, was William G. 
Russell, appointed by the common council in July, 1838. The first interment 
.was of William Carter, who died August 17th, 1838. He was a venerable, 
exemplary, humble Christian, and had through life adorned the Baptist com- 
munion with his devotion. It was fit that Mount Hope should have been set 
apart for its solemn use by giving its first shelter to the remains of so good a man. 
Since then, to March ist, 1884, there ha\'e been buried 35,345 bodies, includ- 
ing 1,600 transferred from the Bufitalo and Monroe street grounds. Tiie num- 
ber of lot owners, to the same date, is 9,3 I 3, besides 3,000 graves used without 
charge by those unable to buj-. 

It is interesting, here, to pause a moment, and trace the history of Mount 
Hope in earlier conveyances of its land. The first sale of the original plot of 
fifty-three and eighty- six hundredths acres was April 30th, 1817, when Elijah 
Northrop sold it to Eli Stillson, father of George D. Stillson, afterwards its 
superintendent, and grandfather of George D. Stillson, its present superinten- 
dent, for $367. Eli Stillson sold it to John Mastick July 12th, 1821, for $262, 
thus incurring a loss of $105, and which George D. Stillson, his son, remem- 
bered that his father deemed a severe misfortune. On January ist, 1822, 
John Mastick sold it to Silas Andrus of Hartford, Conn., for $287, pocketing 
$25 in less than si.K months, and, fifteen years afterward, Mr. Andrus sold it 



442 



History ok the City of Rochester. 



to Mount Hope cemetcr_\- for $5,386, a ])rofit of more than $5,000, which 
])LThaps sharply exhibits the increase of supposed \ahies prie)r to the commer- 
cial resHilsion of 1S37. Including this land, the purchases to the present clay 
ha\e been : — 



UHKN lllll'CHI. 


.\eKi-;s. 


$ 5,386.00 


GK.\NTORS. 


>8',7, 


lanuarv 2. 


53.86 


Silas .'\ii<lrus. 


is;??. 


Dc.x-ml.erg, 


1.21 




i Will. llaniiU.in t-xcliangc'd 






•S9 


Nominal. 


Willi CUV, loa<lillstl..,ull.l- 










^ aryli.i.-;. 


iS^i. 


Au-llsl 22. 


y-o9 


I.S7S.00 


1 >avia Siaiilev. 


[.S41. 


\l.,-,l 15. 


g.02 


C)02.00 


Muxe- Hall.' 


iNlil. 


lulv 2<1. 


•4.2157 


3,000.00 


i';iKvant;er & Harry. 


tN(.4. 


JUIR-. 13. 


.S-33<'0 


1.440.90 


Oak-t. Pierce. 




21. 


7.82S8 


1,947.79 


I'aleli I'ierce. 


lSl>v 


hu.uaiA 2S, 


?.66 


3.000.00 


Elea^arC.inkev. 




Mav I,' 


52.17 


20,864.00 


.\. F. & 0. P.'Wolc.ilt. 




.\..vcniliLM ;, 


22.74 


<),0()0.00 


Ileiij. F. .V Maria Hall. 


IS 70. 


May 4. 


.25 


1.200.00 


Oeortje \V. Kiiit/. 


I.S72, 


April ,;, 


18.30 


i4.()40.oo 


Wiii.'Haiiiiltun. 


1N7V 


\|.,,1 2.,, 


.02 


3,780.00 


Cenrge W. Kiiil.. 


INS I, 


1 Itl'il.i-r 14, 


.05 


450.00 


.\. F. & Estate (i. 1'. \V.,lc,.lt. 




187.76 


$67,584.69 





From its establishment in 1838 to now. a [leriod a])]3roachiiig fift_\' _\'ears. 
Mount Hope cemeter}' has recei\ ed from that portion of the citizens of Roch- 
ester wliii use and maintain it a loxini; attention and personal watchfulness 
which luuc mainly developed its lieauty, given shape to its picturesqueness, 
made charming its scenes, whether in lengthening \ista or in half-concealed and 
unexpected bank of buds or \ine; in contrast of hill and dell, or distant 
glimpses of the Hloomfield hills with e.xc|uisite tints reposing as if upon the 
sk_\', or, again, catching through the opening groves, sights of Ontario's waters 
froni east to west, fading in the northern horizon, with, at times, wonderful 
mirage floating in the air. All this grace has reacted Ujion its voluntar_\- servi- 
tors and brightened their hopes <ind m.ide winning the call which beckoned 
through such a portal to an endiuing habitation. It has not been mere tifficial 
direction and mone\- ex]3enditure which have made so satisfying a God's-acre, 
but, from the natural ornamentation of lawn and leaf, the shadow of the glen 
and the sun leflection on the hill-side, no regrets e.xist that its means were not 
di\'erted t(.i erect inharmonious exhibitions of stone and iron to compare with 
those whose pride, and not whose gentler instincts, guided their ways. And 
it seems appropriate here to offer a passing tribute to the character and services 
of a few of those who have more immediately directed Mount Hope, and left 
their impress upon its natural loveliness. 

The venerable William Brewster, wliose form was seen for so many v'ears 
in our streets, in his daily goings out and in, and whose character was fragrant 
with the purest qualities of Christian manhood, was for years the active trustee 
who gave his time a freewill offering to Mount Hope. It was his quiet firm- 
ness which repelled plans that meant improvidence. It retained Mount Hope 



Mount Hdpe Cemetery. 443 

in that condition which made it possible in after years to give it fit develop- 
ment. In 1865 the opportiinit}- came. George D. Stillson, a civil engineer 
of unusual capacity, a man peculiarly urbane in demeanor, of the precise taste 
and judgment needed to unfold its beauties, became its superintendent and re- 
mained in charge until his death, a period of nearly si.xteen years. There 
were features requiring his de.xterous art. In portions, drainage was needed; 
Mn Stillson tunneled hills and obtained it. In other portions his engineering 
aptitude converted low grounds into bright ponds; he made waste places utile. 
Those features appearing in a succession of hills and valleys, which need a 
master's hand to reclaim from inutility to attractive use, found that master's 
hand in his consummate skill. At the base of the hills were covert springs, 
all unused. At his bidding they clambered upward and wandering among the 
paths and road-sides freshened the grass and flowers. The birds received pro- 
tection from the fowler, and the charm of their summer warblings when dawn 
appears bestows an ecstac\- wliich can receive no adequate portrayal. To all 
this he added a demeanor so considerate, so in harmony with the homage due 
the surroundings that he was universally beloved and his death universally de- 
plored. The commissioners of Mount Hope offered this appreciati\^e tribute 
to his memory : — 

Mount Hope Cemetery, 

Rochester, N. Y.. February 21st. 18S1. 

By commissioner Newell A. Stone. 

Whereas, Our beloved superintendent has fallen asleep and gone to that unknown 
land whose outlines we see only faintly, it is fitting and just that the commissioners of 
Mount Hope should, in a formal way, recognise his fitness by nature and cultivation 
for the place he has so long honored, and bear testimony to the good judgment, skill, 
and fidelity of their late friend and superintendent, George I). Stillson. Thousands have 
been comforted in their afflictions by his kind words, thousands have been assisted by his 
willing hands, and tens of thousands can bear testimony to the gentle sway he ever had 
in the last rites to the buried dead. 

Resolved, That to the widow and son we can only say that our sorrow is second only 
to theirs, and w'hile in all the future they will miss his presence and love, we shall also 
miss his counsel and judgment in the aftairs of that sacred and beloved ])lace where our 
friends and kindred lie. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be published in the daily papers and sent to the 
family of the late superintendent. 

Frederick Cook, George H. Thompson, Newell A. Stone, 

Commissioners of Mount Hope cemetery. 

It has been a pleasant incident in Mr. Stillson's superintendency that the 
commissioners of Mount Hope uniformly and cordially sustained him. To 
faithfully apply the resources to the administration of the trust, maintaining the 
understood but unwritten determination of its legal custodians that debt should 
never be incurred except for land purchase ; to do this year by year without 
faltering, repelling designs of pillage-seekers, is no ordinary proof of continuing 

29 



444 MlSTORV OF THE CiTY OF ROCHESTER. 

fidelit}-. Mr. Stillsnn's heart and judi^mcnt were fi-xed in upholding this laud- 
able principle, and his jjath was eased by the warm couperatidU of those who 
were in a legal sense his official superiors. 

It is justice to record here the impoitant relation of Commissioner George 
G. Cooper to the welfare of M<>unt Ho|ie. Mr. Cooper ga\e his generous, un- 
reconipensed attention for man}- \'ears as one of the trustees. His services and 
those of Mr. Stone were had when faithful services were neecfecl. A true 
memoir of Mount Hope should sa\- that Commissioners Cooper and Stone and 
Superintendent Stillson guarded Mount Hope from designs to loail it with lia- 
bilities, and this protection enabled their successors to maintain it unharmed 
friim the consuming cancer rif clebt. 

The amui.d repoit of the Mount Plope commissioners, March 1st, 1884, 
shows that there have been a])propriated antl contributed to these funds, and 
of general mone\'s of the cemetery on hand, the following: — 

Repair funiL . .$18,605.00 

Perpetual i ontracts 7,308.81 

Cieiieral fiiiiil 7,218.26 

$33-i32-07 
Inxested as follows: — 

Monroe (.'oiint\' Sa\ ings liank ... . . $1 2,927.00 

Rochester Savings Bank _ 6,387.33 

Kast Side Savings Bank 5,658.38 

Mechanics' Savings Bank . ■ 4,159.36 

City of Rochester W ater Works bonds . 3,000.00 

Citv of Buffalo and I-aie Count}' bonds . 1,000.00 

$33-'32-o7 
There was earned as interest during that j'ear: — 

Rejiair fund . $ 738.96 

Perpetual contracts . 360.44 

( ieneral fund . 369. 48 

$1,468.88 
Bcsitles this, let it be again said, no debt exists, and unusctl lanil remains suf- 
ficient fur <jrdinary recjuirements for \'ears. 

It is a most creditable and satisfactor)- feature of the administration of Mount 
Plope that it has ne\er cost the cit_\- a dollar. The money originall)- borrowed 
upon the cit}' credit for its first land piu'chase was reimbursed from its receipts 
and from that time it has been maintained w ithout loan of mone\' or credit. Its 
means ha\e been supplied b\' that portion of the community who voluntarily 
use it, and it has, as before stated, gratuitously supplied ground for 3,000 burials. 
Within a (cw N'ears the foundation for two distinct permanent funds has been 
laid for its maintenance and betterment. In one, a percentage is withdrawn 
from the general receipts, and invested for the production of annual interest for 
repairs. A clause in the city charter provides as follows: — 



Mount Hope Cemeterv. 445 

'• The commissioners of Mount Hope cemetery shall cause n fund to be provided 
from the receipts of the said cemetery, by appropriating annually not less than ten per 
cent, of the gross receipts, which shall be applied ... to create a re- 

jiair fund, which shall not exceed $50,000, which shall be invested, and, as soon as it is 
of sufficient amount, the interest shall be applied solely to the repairing of roads, lawns, 
hiU-sides, monuments, abandoned lots and public grounds, and such repair fund shall 
never, under any prete.xt or evasion, be diverted from this declared purpose, and the 
interest thereof shall be used annually, as heretofore directed." 

In the other, the municipal government has provided by ordinance fur the 
custody of voluntary contribution,s of money from lot-owners for the perpetual 
care of lots. This gives hopeful promise of large advantage. 

Mount Hope has recei\ed name and fame, widespread, nt_>t onl_\- for its 
loN'cliness of aspect, but from the confidence that no fiscal embarrassment would 
cause neglect that wotdd dim its beaut\- or make insecure its possession. And, 
from far and near, Rochester's pilgrim children turn their parting thoughts to 
Mount Hope, and breathe their desire to be buried within its gates. Among 
its sleeping inhabitants is one whose memory might well give lofty dignity to 
the most noble sepulcher. It is not invidious to say that the monument to 
Myron Hoile\', the foimder of the Liberty part)', marks the grave of its most 
notable man. Upon a plain obelisk, under a head cut in cameo, is inscribed ; — 

MVKON HOLI.EV, 
BORN I.N' S..\I.ISBCRV, CONN., 

.\PRIL 29, 1776. 

Iilp-.U IN ROCHESTER, N, V. 

.\I.\RCH 4, 184I. 

HE TRUSTED IN i;ul) 

.\NI) 

I.OVKI) HIS NEICHIHIK. 

Upon its reverse is this : — 

IHE I.IHERIV f.\klV 

OF TIIK 

CNMEIi STATES OF .\MKKH\ 

H.WE KRKCrEIl 1HIS MllNCMKNl 

10 THE MEMORY 

OF 

MYRON HOIJ.EY, 

THE FRIEND OF THE SI..\VE 

.\ND THE MOST EFFECTIVE 

.AS WELL AS 

ONE OF THF, EARLIEST OF THE 

FOUNDERS OF TH.AT P.\RTY. 

This tribute of grateful appreciation was dedicated in June, 1844, before a 
gathering of si.x thousand people, with an oration by Gerrit Smith, and a hymn 
for this special occasion by Rev. John Pierpont. 

In 1841 a well-intended desire was conceived to establish a suitable place 
on Mount Hope for soldiers of the Revolution. The idea embraced not only 
the obtaining a plot of fair proportions, but in a conspicuous locality, and to be 
surmounted with an imposing monolith. There were a few graves of Revolu- 
tionary soldiers scattered in obscure places, which, from lack of headstones, 
were becoming' lost to observation and remembrance. These could be gathered 



446 HiSToRN' OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 

and with tliL-ni (obtained tlic remains of about twenty soldiers, a detachment of 
General Sulli\'an's army which had been especialK- organised by Congress in 
1 779 to disperse the sawiges, Hritish allies, whose homes and refuge were in 
Western New York, a)id largely in the Genesee valley. These soldiers were 
ambushed and massacred near the head of Conesus lake. Their commander. 
Lieutenant Thomas Boyd, and a prix'ate named Parker were tortured in the 
\alle}- nearl)- c:ipposite Geneseo. In the case of Lieut. Boyd, so terrible was 
the torture that the recollection of his sufferings was vivid for more than sixty 
)'ears, aroused the keenest anguish, and could not be related without shuddering. 

The desire to establish the patriotic bur}'ing-place met widespread approval, 
and at once took form antl effect. The Senate cif the state of New York, as- 
sembled in I^uflalo as the cnurt for the Correctiiin of Lrrors, passed a resolu- 
tion iif commentlatiiin and made this record August lyth, 1841 : "That the 
Senate duly ajipreciate ,uid fulh' appr(ne of this patriotic m(i\ement of their 
fellow-citizens." Public meetings were held in neighboring towns, commending 
and cooperating witli the project. Preparations were made to constitute the occa- 
sion one of liistoric importance. The spot chosen upon Mount Hope was a con- 
ical hill, rising in regular form abmit sixty feet, and overlooking the Genesee river. 
The ceremonies of dedication and funeral honor to the remains of Lieut. Bo)'d 
and his C(.)mrades were held ^August Jist, 1S41. Three sur\ivors of Sulli\'an's 
army were present — Major Moses Van Campen, aged eight\--fi\-e; Captain 1^1- 
nathan Perry, aged eight\'-one, and AL'. Sanborn, aged seventv-nine, the last 
of whom " first disco\ered the mangled bodies of Boyd and Parker in the 
grass." There were present other Re\'olutionar_\- soldiers. The governor, 
William 11. Seward, delix'ered the oration. The burial service of the Protestant 
Lpiscopal church was offered b\' Rev. I^lisha Fucker, as a repi'esentatix'c of 
Rev. Dr., afterward Bishiij), Whitehouse. There were, besitles the civic author- 
ities of Rochester, the citizens' committees of adjoining towns, the military, the 
adjutant-general of the state, various ci\il organisations, and an assemblage of 
thousands of citizens. 

In this manner was begun, with well-intentioned antl jjatriotic purpose, a 
Re\-olutionar_\- soldiers' bur\'ing-place at Mount Hope. The remains of Lieut. 
Boyi.1 and his men, collected with care and with some difficulty, were deposited 
in a temporar)- wooden urn upon the surface of the ground upon "Patriot hill." 
During the period which elapsed from the beginning to the termination tif this 
enterprise, disputes had arisen, partl_\- from personal env_\- and parti)' from po- 
litical antagonism, which became serious and of newspaper notoriet\'. The un- 
fortunate result was, it is necessar)' to state, that no interrene burial of these 
bones was made, no monument erected. The}' remained in the wooden re- 
ceptacle for twent}' \ears, until, racked bj- summer's heat and winter's blasts, it 
fell, and the few bones remaining, after \'ears of open exposure, were collected 
and renuned, together with a few soldiers' bodies which had been interred upon 



Mount Hope Cemetery. 447 

the hill, to a spot which was at least better protected, and "Patriot" hill was 
razed. Better would it have been had Livingston county erected, as was its 
noble design, p\'ramids of earth o\'er these dead, as its tribute of honor, than 
to ha\e beheld this not creditable result. 

The benevolent and eleemosynary institutions of Rochester have generally 
obtained burial lots at Mount Hope. There are now represented : The Prot- 
estant Episcopal church, the Hebrews, University of Rochester, Firemen's Be- 
nevolent association, Free and Accepted Masons, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, St. Andrew's (Scottish) society, Rochester City hospital, Protestant 
orphan asylum, Home for the Friendless, Industrial school, House of Refuge. 

Among the conspicuous citizens of Rochester buried at Mount Hope, the 
body of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, the founder of the city, is one of its pos- 
sessions. Of the thirty-seven mayors of the city during its fifty years of char- 
tered existence, twenty-six are dead ; of these, two are buried out of Rochester, 
and the remaining t\\ent}--four at Mount Ho])e. They are : Jonathan Child, 
Jacob Gould, A. M. Schermerhorn, Thomas Kenipshall, Thomas H. Rochester, 
Samuel G. Andrews, Elijah F. Smith, Charles J. Hill, Isaac Hills, John Allen, 
William Pitkin, John B. Eh\ood. Joseph Field, Levi A. Ward, Hamlin Stil- 
well, John Williams, Maltby Strong, Rufus Keeler, Charles H. Clark, Samuel 
W. D. Moore, Hamlet D. Scrantom, John C. Nash, P^dward M. Smith and A. 
Carter Wilder. 

The future satisfactory maintenance of Mount Hope cemetery may depend 
upon the degree to which the endowment funds receive the approbation of lot- 
owners. As the grounds extend, the maintaining expenses increase. When 
but a few acres were occupied, the roadways and paths were few. Nearly two 
hundred acres are now within the limits, of which about one hundred and fifty 
are used and require care. No taxes are imposed; its support is met by sales 
and improvements of lots and interments. Its largest source of income, the 
sales of lots, will, of course, in time cease. The law requiring a ten per cent. 
I reserve from current receipts should, ultimately, furnish means for the protec- 
I tion of roads, and the ordinance permitting the perpetual deposit of special 
j funds by lot-owners ought to receive such approbation and cooperation that 
time, death and forgetfulness will do no harm. To the first of April, 1884, 
there_ have been deposited under this ordinance $7,662.15. 

Mount Hope has been provided with becoming structures for its needs. An 
office and awaiting-rooms of pleasing appearance, erected at a cost of $15,000, 
meet the visitor. A chapel for burial services, and, connected with it, a scpnl- 
ruin, are constructed at a cost of $10,000. A residence for the superintendent 
s built at a cost of $5,000. In convenient places are a few cottages for labor- 
■rs. The public street cars carry visitors to the entrance. 

The trustees having in charge the cemetery are three, called commissioners 
)f Mount Hope. One is elected annually for a period of three years by the 



44'"^ HisiiiRS (IK iiiK Cnv of Rociiestkk. 



coniniijii ciiuncil. The)- scrsx" with no compensation. It has been the practice 
(if tliat board t" retain the coniniissioilei's in ofihce, tei'ni r(ill(i\vin;_; term, withmit 
re;_;ari.l lupoHtics. The e( immis^i( aiers, by statute, C(.intr( il the cemeterx'. They 
• ippdint the bupeiantentlent and lal^ioi'ers anil determine their pa\-. Tile city 
treasurer is the treasurer of Abiunt Hope. The funds are deposited by him in 
the sa\'inL;s banl<s and drawn subject to the counter-siL^natures of tile commis- 
sioners. These funds are kept distinct from the cit_\' funds. 

At the present time the officers are: Commissioners — Newell A. Stone, 
iM-cderick Cook, Cieorge H. Thompson; superintendent, Georye T. Stillson. 

LlIK C.VniOl.K- CKMKrEKIKS.' 

'I"he cemetery on the Pinnacle, on the s(.)utheast line of the city, is the oldest 
Catholic cemeter}- of Rochester. It was bonyllt b\' the trustees of St. Patrick's 
church from Richard Christie in 183S. It contained about twelve acres of land 
and cost about $1,200. It was bought for all the Catholics of the cit_\-, but the 
German Catholics soon after established a sejiarate cemeter)/. On the lOth of 
April, I S60, fifteen additional acres were bought from Gideon Cobb <it $200 
per acre, and at the same time four acres were sold of the cemetery grounds on 
M(.>nroe a\'enue for $1,000. The Pinnacle was the l^urying-place for all the 
English-speaking Catholic congregations of the cit_\', until 187 I, when it was 
abandoned, except f(.)r families owning lots. In that year Rt. Rev. Bishop Mc- 
Ouaid established a new cemeter\- on Lake a\'enue, large enough to bur)- the 
dead of all the Catholic churches of the cit}'. No burials take place now in the 
Pinnacle cemetery, except a few of the nearest relatives of the families that (.)wn 
lots on tlie ground. 

St. Josejili's Cemeter\-. — The German Catholics of the cit\-, all members (if 
St. Joseph's congregation, established a Catholic cemeter)- about 1840 on Lyell 
avenue. The land (two acres) was given as a present b\- Mr. Thiel. When St. 
Peter's and St. I'aul's congregation was formed this church bought a separate 
cemeter)' on Maple street. St. Joseph's church also abandoned tlie cemetery 
on Lv'ell a\enue and (ipened a new one on New Main street, then outside the 
city limits. The land was gi\en b\' Bernard Klem in 1843. This cemetery 
was closed in 1851. Another cemetery was opened nciU' the Central road, on 
Main street, in 1 852. This one also was abandone(J in 1871, because it was 
wanted by the railroatl, and the bodies were remo\'ed to Holy Sejnilcher cem- 
etery, on Lake a\enue road. 

St. Peter's and St. Paul's cemetery was opened on Maple street in 1847. 
It contained about two acres of land. It was closed for burials, b\' municipal 
authorit)-, in 1877. 

Hoi)' l'"amil)- Cemetery. — The burial-place for the deceased of Hoh' P^unily 



1 The article on the Catholic cemeteries was prepared by Rev. U. Laureiuis, under the supi 
of Bishop McQuaid. 



The Catholic Cemeteries. 449 

church was opened on Maple street in 1864. It is still used for the members 
of this congregation only. About 760 bodies are buried here. 

St. Boniface's cemetery was opened in 1866, near the Pinnacle. It is for 
members of this parish only. Some members e\en now prefer tn bur_\- their 
dead in Holy Sepulcher cemetery. 

H<)1_\- Sepulcher cemetery, is situated on both sides of Lake avenue road, 
now the boulevard, about four miles from the center of the city. Rt. Rev. 
Bishop McOuaid, seeing that the \arious cemeteries of the parishes were too 
small and that on account of the lack of funds they could not properly be cared 
for, judged it proper to establish one common cemetery for all the Catholic 
parishes of the city. Accordingly, he purcliased about one hundred and ten 
acres of land on the Lake road in 1871. Under his personal supervision about 
thirty-fi\e acres were laid out in lots for burials the same }'ear. The first in- 
terment took place September iSth, 1871. It was that of a child of Walter B. 
Dufify, of this city. In 1873 about thirty additional acres were bought, so that 
the whole cemetery contains about one hundred and forty acres, of which about 
fort\'-five acres are consecrated — thirtj'-five on the east side of the boulevard 
and ten on the west side. The part on the west side was consecrated in 1880. 

The "Holy Sepulcher cemetery" was incorporated April 24th, 1872. The 
first directors were: Rt. Rev. Bernard J. McOuaid, Very Rev. James M. Earl>', 
Very Rev. George Ruland, Rev. Patrick Byrnes, Rev. I'r. H. Sinclair, D. D., 
Patrick Barry, A. B. Hone, Louis Ernst, Patrick Rigney, John B. Hahn, Daniel 
Scanlin, Patrick Mahon, John E. Watters and Julius Armbruster. The mort- 
uary chapel (on the east side), of stone, was built in 1875-77. Mass is offered 
up for the repose of the souls of those who are buried in the cemetery, every 
Sunday, and several times during the week in the month of November. In the 
course of time a chaplain will reside at the cemetery to accompany the remains 
of the dead to the grave and daily to offer up the holy sacrifice for the souls 
of all who are buried in this cemeter\'. The beautiful gate-houses on the east 
side were built in 1882. In the future an entrance will be made to the west 
side similar to tliis. A stone wall will be built around the cemetery ; it is 
already partly furnished. Last \ear about 700 bodies were interred in the cem- 
eter\-. Since the opening, about 8,000 Catholics have found a resting-place in 
this beautiful ground. About 2,ooo bodies were removed to this place from 
other cemeteries, mostl\- from St. Joseph's and from the Pinnacle. Thus, in 
1884, the remains of about 10,000 Catholics rest in the Holy Sepulcher cem- 
eter\-. 

The present board of directors consists of the following members: Rt. Re\-. 
B. J. McOuaid, Rev. Fr. H. Sinclair, D. D., Rev. James F. O'Hare, Rev. 
Jos. I'Voehlich, Rev. James Kiernan, Louis Ernst, A. B. Hone, John E. Watters, 
Patrick Rigney, John B. Hahn, Julius Armbruster, Val. Dengler, James O'Don- 
oughue, Charles FitzSimons and William C. Barry. Pierre Meisch has been 



450 History of the City ok Rochester. 

superintendent since tlie opening (if the cemetery. His residence is on the ceni- 
eter\' grounds, as is also tlie residence of the assistant suiierintendent. Both 
liouses are of frame, on the west side of the boulevaril. A large green-house 
on the west side, under the special care of Air. Meisch, supplies tile cemeter)' 
antl the lot-ii\\neis with Howers. The cemetery is watered from three large 
tanks in a tower near the Cienesee ri\'er. The water is drawn from a pond sup- 
plietl b\- springs abo\-e the banks i}f the riveiv It is pumped into the tanks b\- 
steam power. 



CHAPTF.R XLII. 

.\.ML'sK\n-;.\ rs i.\ R(m hks'I'kr.i 

The Knl(.-itainiiu-iu> of luiily li.iy,— IIr- KiiM (/irciis — iNriiaii-c into a I'hy-House — The First 

Theater- Ml. Wliilllescy's I'l'i/e .\.l,lre K.hiiun.l Kean\ .Vpi.earance an.l hi-, Speeeh — 1 )eaii\ 

Theater— Ihe Rochester Museum — ( oneert ami ( llher Halls — Corinthian Hall an.l .\ea<leniy of 
Music — The Cranil 0|,era House — The 1 trivin;.; I'ark — the l';\|.loils ,,f the I'r.ick — State Fairs 
an, I Shoots. 

IN the tlays of village life in Rochester the people were chiefly dependent 
tipiiii home eftort lor amusement. There was no lack of fairs, festivals, con- 
certs and amateur entert.iinmeiits. The periodical cam-as shows of the men- 
agerie and circus came around with each returning summer. At periods not 
fiu' apart, some showman would put in an apjjearance with a small compan_\- 
and gi\'e a series of stage exhibitions in the ball-room of a village ta\-ern or in 
a vacant store and reaji a harvest of "\'ork shillings" from the pockets of the 
villagers and people from the adjacent country. Among the entertainments of 
this sort that could be expected year after year with no abatement of interest 
was one known as "Sickels's show," or "the Babes in the Wood." Sickels, with 
his wife and other assistants, would tinfold in some ta\ern or hall the affecting 
spectacle of the dyijig babes which the birds were covering with leaves, to an 
audience who testified their emotion by tears and sobs. When the village be- 
came large enough to sustain a more expensive class of amusements the veteran 
Sickels retired to the neighboring villages, and long after Rochester became a 
cit)- his little show-bills decorated the bar-rooms and barn doors of the towns 
about. As late as 1836 he gave a series of exhibitions at Hanford's Landing, 
which is now in the corporation limits of the cit_\-. 

To arrive with accurac\- at the dates of the establishment of permanent 
places of amusement in the \'illage is ilifficult, for the reason that the news- 
papers, chiefly week!}- issues, gave very little attention to such matters, and the 



This article was prepared l>y .Mr. Ceorge G. Cooper. 



J 



Amusemexts IX Rochester. 451 

same remark may appl\- to local news generally. The columns of the papers 
of those da_\-s were filled with foreign news thirt\- or forty days old, brought 
across the Atlantic in sail craft. The editors and news gleaners of the village 
were compelled to cater to the wants of the people of influence in this locality, 
and the "influential" class was chiefly composed of emigrants from the New- 
England states, who still retained the prejudice of their Puritanic ancestors who 
regarded all amusements as sinful, and the theater and circus as the special in- 
ventions of Satan to entrap the unwarw So dominant was this prejudice that 
it was with great difficulty that a permanent theater or play-house could be es- 
tablished and sustained in Rochester. The efforts of the early managers of the 
circus and theater were a continual struggle against this prejudice, often at- 
tended by disaster and but rarely rewarded by any degree of success. 

In 1838, four years after the incorjjoration of the cit\', Mr. O'Rielly pub- 
lished his Sketches of Rochester, in which he gives a few lines to the subject of 
amusements, which indorse fully what has been said above in respect to the 
feeling adverse to amusements. He says : 

"Theaters and circuses cannot now be found in Rochester. The buildings form- 
erly erected for such purposes were years ago turned to other objects. The theater 
was converted into a livery-stable and the circus into a chandler's shop. The distaste 
for such exhibitions that prevails in New England has much influence here, where the 
])opulation is so largely composed of emigrants from that region." 

The first circus established in Rochester was in the building referred to by 
Mr. O'Rielly as "converted into a chandler's shop." It was established about 
the >ear 1824 and was located on the east side of Exchange street, with its 
rear on the mill race, near the jail. It was a large wooden structure, and the 
premises, rebuilt, are now occupied by a builder. While this establishment was 
best known to the public as a circus, the managers did not confine it e.xclu- 
sivel\- to equestrian exhibiting, but after a season the}- erected a stage and in- 
troduced dramatic exhibitions of the lighter sort. The following, taken from 
the Republican, a weekly paper of that time, gives an idea of the institution on 
Exchange street; — 

"September 27th, 1825. — Rochester Circus. — The proprietor most respectfully in- 
forms the ladies and gentlemen of Rochester and vicinity that the circus will be open 
every evening this week, in the course of which will be brought forward a great 
variety of new and interesting performances. This evening the performance will com- 
mence, for the first time in this place, with the comic scene of 'the Miller's Frolic.'" 

Si.x weeks later, so popular had the dramatic feature become, the equestrian 
feature was abandoned and Thespis held the boards alone. The Republican of 
No\eniber 8th contains the following in relation to this establishment : — 

■' Mr. Davis, late of the firm of Gilbert, Davis & Trowbridge, respectfully announces 
to the ladies and gentlemen of Rochester and vicinity that he has fitted up the circus 
as a theater and will open it this evening, Wednesday Nov. 9th, 1825, with an efficient 
company. He assures the public that no e.xertion will be spared to render the pertbrm- 
ances in every way worthy of their patronage. During the season a number of the most 
admired melodramas will be brought forward." 



452 History of the City of Rochester. 

The first play under tliis management of which an)- record is given was en- 
titled " the o[,era of tile Mountaineers," antl this was gi\en on Wednesday, 
Nox'ember yth, 1SJ5, with the following cast : 0<tii7'idii. Mr. Davis; Bulcar.:in, 
Mr. Trowbridge; KilbiialloiL-, Mr. (Gilbert; Sadi, Mr. Smith; Florcnthc, Mrs. 
Gilbert; Agues, Mrs. Thumpson. At the conclusirm of the play a number of 
songs were rendered and the entert.n'nmeut concluded with the farce entitled 
"the Weathercock." Performances were gi\'en at this place for about thi-ee 
months when it w. is abandoned as ,1 place of amusement. 

A short time afterward a theater was constructed and opened, with a part of 
the l{\change street compan_\\ i)n l^uffalo street (now West Main). The site 
of this theater was later occupied b}- a building known as the l'>xchange Hotel. 
It is now the site of the building of the \'oun;g Men's Catholic association. 
This theater was practicall}- opened on the 2(Sth of March, 1826, with the melo- 
dramatic, spectacular piece entitled "the Forty Thieves." The formal open- 
ing did not take place, however, until the following April. At the opening the 
manager [iresented Shakespeare's tragedy of " Richard HI." This was probabh" 
the first atti-mpt to pi'esent a Shakesi)earian play in Rochester. The following 
was the cast: King 1 Inn v, Mr. Gilbert; l^rijicc of Wales, Mrs. iJavis; Richard, 
Mr. I)a\'is; Ihirkiiig/iaiii, Mr. Trowbridge; Ac/?/ Mavof, Mi-. Smith, 0/niii 
FJizabcth, Mrs. Smith; Duchess of York, Mrs. Baldwin; Lady Auuc, Mrs. 
Gilbert. This theater was closed in a few weeks, as the venture does not a])- 
pear to have been a success in that localit)'. This, the first attempt to establish 
the legitimate drama in Rochester, was a decided failure. The love of the sen- 
sational in theatrical seems to have taken the patrons of the drama at that time 
quite as firmly as it has in times more recent. 

The ne-\t attempt to establish a pla\-- house was made in State street, on a 
site nearly opjiosite Market street. The structure erected there was of more 
commanding projiortions than an\-thing in the same line that preceded it. The 
building was of wood, but it was not \ery ornamental in its architecture. The 
following notices of the establishment are found in the Rcpuhlicau of May gtli, 
1826 : "New theater. — This building is nearly completed, and, as will be seen 
b_\- an advertisement in our paper, will be openeil on Monda}- evening, Ma_\' 
15th. Something splendid will be expected." This ajipears to have been the 
first editorial notice of a theater that appeared in a Rochester newspaper. 
Those which subsecjuentl)- appearetl were few and short. The atK-ertisement 
referred to in the notice is as follows: — 

"Theater. — Opposite the Mansion House, the ladies and gentlemen of Rochester 
and vicinity are respectfully informed that the manager intends opening the new theater 
on Monday evening next, with new and splendid scenery, dresses and stage decorations. 
Scenery painted liy Mr. Hard). Previous t(j the pla\- the 'prize address' will be 
spoken by Mr. Jirowiier, alter which will be performed Tobin's elegant corned)' of 'the 
Honey Moon.' " 

R. H. Williams, the manager, sustained the leading part, that of Duke Antnza. 



Amusenients in RoriiESTER. 453 

The afterpiece on this occasion was what was called in the bills "the opera 
of the Poor Soldier." The "prize address" spoken on this occasion was written 
b}- a lawyer and prominent citizen, Hon. Frederick VVhittlese)'. It is a cred- 
itable little poem. Mr. O'Riell)-, in his Sir/t//iS, gives a few lines of the ad- 
dress, omitting all relating to the occasion for which it was written. It is now- 
produced entire : — 

" PRIZE .\DI)RESS 

■■ Ifri/I.n hy FirdcrukU'liiuUsi-y. and spoken al llw np.-iiiui; ,</ ihc Juvluslfr //u-n/.-r, .l/,n. 15//,. 1S26. 

"Scarce thrice five suns have rolled their yearl\- round. 

Since o'er this spot a dreary forest frouiied : 
Where none had dared with impious foot intruile 

On nature's vast, unbroken solitude: 
When its rude beauties were unmask'd Ijy man. 

And yon dark stream in unknown grandeur ran ; 
When e'en those deaf'ning falls dashed all unheard, 

Save by the timid deer or startled bird. 
Behold a change which proves e'en fiction true — 

More springing wonders than Aladdin knew I 
How, like a fairy with her magic wand. 

The soul of enterprise has changed the land ! 
Proud domes are rear'd upon the gray wolf's den, 

And forest beasts have fled their haunts for men ! 
On yon proud stream, which with the ocean's tide 

Joins distant Erie, boats triumphal glide ; 
These glittering spires and teeming streets confess 

That man, free man, hath quelled the wilderness. 
Before him forests fell, the desert smiled — 

And he hath rear'd this city of the wild. 
Nor these alone — the useful arts here flourished — 

Those arts which his free energies lia\ e nourish'd ; 
And science, learning and the drama, too. 

Here find their votaries in a chosen few ; 
As this fair dome so quickly rear'd can tell 

How many loved the drama, and how well ; 
And how this ville approves -in early youth 

The drama's morals, and the drama's truth. 
Immortal Shakespeare ! Thou the drama's sire. 

Who wrote with pen of light and soul of fire, 
Smile on this effort to extend the stage. 

To mend the manners and improve the age ; 
To you who promptly lent your lib'ral aid 

With fervor let our thanks be ne.xt repaid ; 
If we deserve your smiles be liberal still ; 

If not, your frowns can punish us at will ; 
Should we prove worthy of the drama's cause 

We find our high reward in your applause." 



454 History oi- 'the City of Rochester. 



The prize offered b_\- the manager for this address was an elegant copy of 
Shakespeare. It was awarded to Mr. Whittlese)' b_\' a eommittee of citizens. 
It appears by a subsetjuent notice in the Rcpiiblicati that the atldress was 
spoken b\- Mrs. II. A. W'ilHanis, ilu- wife of the manager, and not by the gen- 
tleman .miiounced nn the bills. ()n the Thursday c\eniiig following the open- 
ing, Payne's melodrama, "Theresa, or the ( )rphan of (leneva," was presented 
to a large and delighted audience. During the season man_\- of the noted ac- 
tors apjieared on this stage, among them lulmund Kean, who appeared July 
15th, in " the Iron Chest." The pajxrs say that the applause was loud and 
freipient on the occasion. ,\t the conclusion Mr. Kean was called before the 
curtain and addressed the audience as follows : — 

"Ladies and gentlemen; 'i'iu-\cry llatlennn a]iplause \ciu have heeii pleased to 
hestinv this e\einnt; is as grateful as it was unexpected. When an actor is fortunate 
cnnui;h to olitaui respt-ct for a |iri\ate action, the most ardent wish of his heart is grati- 
fied. 'This is the first time 1 lia\e had the honor of appearing before a Rochester au- 
dience, hut 1 may he allowed to indulge the hope thai within tliL- lapse of a twelve- 
month 1 shall be able again to enjo\ the satisfaction. Ill tiie meantime accept my 
thaiii;s for the very grateful reception 1 have experienced this e\ening." 

Notwithstanding the auspicious opening of the first temple of the drama, 
that was at all worthy of the name, its success was not of long duration. The 
following year the enterjirise was abaiuloned and the building was devoted to 
other objects. 'This was the theater to which O'Rielly alludes as having been 
conx'crted to a li\ery stable. T'or such it was long used by the Messrs. Chris- 
topher and Charles, who arc remembered by all old citizens as actively engaged 
in the business in this city. In the succeeding years up to the time a city 
charter was obtained, ,unl for .1 few years following, spasmodic attempts were 
made to revive the drama, but with only [partial success. So long as the 
churches frowncti upon the stage, and those who aspired by religious profession 
or wealth to gi\e tone to socit'ty insisted that the players were not respectable 
and that play-goers could not be ailmitted to the best society, it was idle to 
think of maintaining a theater in Rochester. The press partook of the pre- 
vailing sentiment and gave no countenance to the drama. Even as late as 
1849, when the writer of this was connected with the Daily Advertise!', the 
stockholders and tlirectors of that concern, in solemn conclave assembled, for- 
bade the editors to notice theaters or circuses in the editorial columns, and the 
reason assigned for this action was that a contemporary- had insisted that a news- 
paper which noticed such amusements was unfit to be introduced in a respect- 
able family. 

Despite this feeling towartl the drama, as the city increased in population, 
and strangers began to comment on the absence of such amusements as other 
towns, of even less population, oft'ered to \isitors, managers from abroad came 
here from time to time and sought to establish theaters. About 1840 T^dwin 
Dean, a veteran manager, who was then conducting the Buffalo theater, came 



m 



Amusements in Rochester. 455 

here resolved to establish a play-house to be run in connection with the Buffalo 
concern. He took what was then known as Concert hall, in the upper story 
of the " Child Marble building," on the east side of Exchange street, and fitted 
up a modest little theater. B}- his energy and good management he sustained 
himself, or rather induced the public to sustain him. In time another story of 
the building was added to the theater, so that a dress circle and pit were pro- 
vided for the audience. A worth}- class of actors was employed for the stock 
company and man\- popular stars'were engaged. Among others were Edwin 
Forrest, who played an engagement of a week, when the price of tickets was 
put up to one dollar, and the house was crowded nightly. It was in this theater 
that manager Dean's daughter Julia, who afterward became distinguished as an 
actress, made her first show of promise in the profession. She- was a child, 
and took inferior parts, such as those of pages and messengers. She was always 
perfect in the text and made of her part all that it would bear. The patrons 
of the Rochester theater in those days may have enjoyed in later times the 
satisfaction of believing that the encouragement they gave the youthful actress 
helped her to scale the ladder of fame and take the proud position she subse- 
quently held. 

The Rochester Museum was for many }-ears a resort for strangers and cit- 
izens who sought amusement. It was established in the upper stories of a 
building on Exchange street, on the site of the present building of Smith & 
Perkins, wholesale grocers. The museum was started in 1825 by a Mr. Bishop, 
who conducted it for about twenty-fi\c \-ears. It contained a rare collection 
of curiosities for the time it was in operation. In the latter years of Mr. Bish- 
op's management he annexed to the museum a cosy little theater to accommo- 
date six or seven hundred people and with a small company gave vaudevilles, 
farces and pantomimes. A year or more later, museum and theater gave way 
to the march of trade, and in 1852 the premises w-ere occupied by the company 
which, in that year, started the Daily Union newspaper. 

That period in the history of Rochester extending from 1845 to 1855 was 
marked for the absence of interest and effort in theatricals. There was nothing 
attempted in this direction that is worthy of mention. The principal entertain- 
ments for the people were concerts, fairs, exhibitions of jugglery, mesmerism, 
etc. Negro minstrelsy was then in its infancy, but was extremely popular in 
the city. Next to a circus a minstrel show was best patronised. The principal 
place of amusement in those days was Minerva hall, on the corner of Main and 
South St. Paul streets. The building was subsequently destroyed by fire, and 
when rebuilt the hall was not replaced. 

During this period when there was so much indifference to theatricals there 
was a large influx of Germans, and they, being a people given to amusements, 
devised such for their own taste. It was then that a German play-house was 
opened on North Clinton street, in a suburb largely inhabited by that people. 



456 Hisr()K\' oi- THE CiTV ok Rochester. 



The Turn-\LTciii, a socict}' fur t^yninastic exercises, erected a buildiiiLj for d club- 
linii^e iIIkI .1 theater Here tor some _\ears there were i;i\en (lernian plays, but 
on Sunday e\eninL;s chiefly. The [)lace was conducted in an ortlerly manner, 
,uul the autliorities dill not interfere. The reader will obserxe that it was in the 
Puritanical city of Rochester — nearly the last of all the towns to recoL^nise thea- 
ters as IcLjitimate places of resort for moral people • — that the first Sundax' thea- 
ter was established and maintained witliout protest from press or pulpit. 

In I S49 a citizen of Rochester distins^'uished for his enterprise and liberalit)', 
and loui;" since deceased, conceived ,intl executed a [ihm to redeem trom filth 
ami nei;lect a \ery central locality. Tiiis L^entleman, W. A. Reynolds, erected 
tlie larLje buildiiiL; on l^xchanj^e place, north of the Arcade, and throu^^di his in- 
fiueiice the streets in that locality were improved and thus his new edifice, 
know n for ni.my years as Corinthian hall, became the popular resort of the peo- 
ple for instruction and amusement. In thi.-i hall, with a capacity for 1,600 
people, the citizens gathered to listen to the most eloquent and instructive lec- 
turers antl renowned singers, and to witness the po])ular hall exhibitions there 
ofiered. Popular as was this place of resort, it did not meet the demand of a 
largely increased population. Mr. Re_\'nolds began to make some additions, but 
ere his designs were carried into execution he sold the propert}- in 1865 to Sam- 
uel Wilder, who continued the work until Corinthian hall became an attracti\-e 
place k>r theatrical antl other scenic performances, and in 1S79 it was reorgan- 
ised and called the Corinthian Acatiemy of Music. A large dress circle and 
spacious galler}- were arranged to accommodate 1,800 persons. With ample 
stage apjiointments, this place has continued to meet the wants of the play-go- 
ing public. The most fiuiious member^ of the dramatic profession have ap- 
pearetl here, and the traveling combinations have here presented their specialties 
with more or less popular favor. Still further enlargement and improvements 
to increase the capacit)' of the house are contemplated and will doubtless be 
completed in the near future. 

About the \'ear 1855 another attempt was made to establish a theater in 
Rochester. This, like previous efforts, was made by Buffalo managers. Messrs. 
Carr and Warren, of the Buffalo theaters, came here and induced the manager 
of the I'^nos Stone estate to construct a hall in the new building at the corner 
of Main and .South St. Paul streets. This place was fitted up at considerable 
expense for a theater b\- these gentlemen, who conducted the establishment 
for several \-ears. Mr. Carr succeeded to the management, a regular stock 
companv' was emplo)'ed and stars were engaged from time to time. After Mr. 
Carr, came other managers who conducted theVestablishment with more or 
less success, but none with overburthened pockets. On the morning of No- 
vember 6th, 1869, this theater was destro)-ed by fire. On the night previous 
E. L. Davenport had played to a large audience in a piece called "the Scalp 
Hunter, " and his entire wardrobe and personal effects were destroyed. Pre- 



Amusements in Rochester. 457 

vious to the fire the propertj- had passed into the hands of Judge Finck of 
Hrooklyii, who in due time caused the erection of a building on this site, of 
kirge proportions and better adapted to the drama. The auditorium would 
seat 1,600 persons. The new theater became popular and was largely patron- 
ised in the succeeding years. It is still a theater, known as the Grand Opera 
House. 

The changes in the methods of doing business of most kinds in this country 
have included the theatrical business. Unless it be in the great metropolitan 
cities, there are no theaters, in the proper sense of the term. There are no 
managers who direct and control all the performances, w-ho employ actors, 
select plays and cater to the wishes of the public. There are no stock 
companies, and the patrons of what are called theaters do not meet night 
after night the same old faces on the stage, with only a change of costume and 
character. The " combination " is now the st\-le in theatricals. Companies 
are formed to hippotlrome the coimtry and present one piece, of which the 
manager has exclusi\'e control. Most of the pieces thus presented are highl)- 
sensational, and while man\- are largeh- patronised and while these so-called 
theatrical representations may " make the unskillful laugh, the_\- cannot but 
make the judicious grieve." The two theaters of Rochester are now con- 
ducted by a single manager, who rents them to " combinations " which ap- 
pear one after another in succession, before the public. It may be said, perhaps 
without injustice to anybody concerned in presenting this class of amusements, 
that those are best patronised which make the most attractive display of inci- 
dents and characters on the bill boards in the public streets. Merit of pla\- or 
player seems to have little to do with the problem of success or failure. If a 
theater and the legitimate drama have no place in Rochester it is not to be as- 
sumed that the citizens are wholly indifferent to pastimes or totally absorbed 
in the business of money-making. The higher order of art is not neglected. 
Painting, music and sculpture ha\e their votaries here, who lose no oppor- 
tunity to gratify their taste. The great artists from abroad do not pass this 
i city, and when they call they are patronised by intelligent and critical audi- 
ences. While there are sundry musical associations maintained by amateurs 
as well as professionals, there are many individuals and circles devoted to the 
i study of painting. The Powers galler\' of art is an institution of which Roch- 
1 ester is proud. In view of the fact that this is the result of the efforts of one 
individual, it may be truly said that it is- without a ri\\al in excellence. 

Those who are given to the amusements of the turf find in this city a driv- 
ing-park entirely worthy of the name. The company controlling this institu- 
tion are liberal in their offer of purses, and they draw to the regular exhibitions 
the most noted horses of the country. It was on this park that Vanderbilt's 
•'Maud S." made the display of speed that placed her at the head of the turf 
and made her the property of the wealthiest citizen of the United States The 



45S History of the City of Rochester. 

driving-park is located on high ground in the northwestern part of the city, 
eas\- of access b_\- steam antl horse railway's. The grounds are spacious, with 
an excellent mile track, am])le buiklings and structures adapted to the place. 
The grand stand will cover and seat ten thousaiul persons. The State Agri-' 
cultural societ}- holds its annual fair on these grounds, and the Western New 
York agricultural societ}' also holds its fairs here at times. Ball-jilaying, prize 
shooting. bic\-cle exhibitions and other out-door amusements are held on the 
gi'ounds. Sk.iting is a po|)ulai' amusement and exercise with the \-outh of both 
sexes in Rochester. In the winter, when the ice king is in full reign, the lu'ie 
canal is dixiiled in sections across tile cit\' and skating-rinks are crowded with 
the votaries of this pastime. There are also other ice rinks in different local- 
ities. In summer roller-skating is a ijopuiar amvisenieiit, and there are several 
halls de\oted to the e.xercise. These are multiplying in nmiiber and all are 
well patronised. In conclusion it may be said truly that Rochester is not 
wanting in the number and di\ersit_\' of its amusements. Enterprising citizens, 
who belie\e that the pieseiit rapid growth of Rochester in population and mate- 
rial wealth must continue, are contemplating a great extension of amusement 
facilities. ,\t least two companies of citizens are considering propositions to 
erect large ojiera-hoirses or theaters to meet the prospective demand for more 
antl better places for musical and dramatic entertainments. 



CHAPTER XI.III. 

lilt. LMiKKCKolMi k.\l l,k( i.\ D.i 

The Flying r.nii.lnicn — I'licir Mi-t-i ie- in S<.-i viUnk-. iIrmi I'rivatinns while Ksc.ipiii!^ — Their .\rrival 
in Rochester aii.l ihen TraiiMl lo laiKt.la — The Fusi Reii.liii..n of a Fugitive — Her Reseue, her Re- 
capture ami her I.iheialion hy Suiciile — .\o ,,iher Slave V.vcr Returneil horn k.>chestei- — Scenes and 
Inciflents of the Ilail.oiins,' of Nei^roes — (k-neral Rellections. 

AHISTOR\' of Rochester would hardU' be complete without some reference 
to the wonderful " Underground railroad," which was kept in active opera- 
tion as long as slavery of the negro race continued. The secresy of its construc- 
tions, its marvelous origin, the great number of passengers, the amount of freight 
transported thereon, can never be told. All its work was done in the dark. 
Although it had its depots, stations, passenger agents and conductors in ever\' 
state in the Union, daylight never shone upon it. Its stations had no electric 
lights, and the passengers no guide aside from that blessed light in the heavens 
known as the North star. Ignorant as these people were of book-learning, 



'This article was pi-epared by Mrs. .\my Post. 



The Underground Railroad. 459 

the}' all knew where to find the luminan- which, they had learned, would lead 
them to that long-wished-for goal, Canada. Sad to say, this starry guide was 
sometimes shrouded by clouds, and they would be obliged to hide in some 
friendly cave or sickly swamp unless they were so fortunate as to reach some 
one of those hospitable depots that were scattered all along their devious way. 
Owing to these delays, their journeys were long and tedious. They were obliged 
to subsist principally upon nuts, roots and such fruit and berries as they chanced 
to find in the woods ; thus, they invariably reached this end of the journey in 
in a pitiable condition, footsore and weary, half- starved, and faint for want of 
sustenance appropriate to their needs. Their backs were generally covered 
with scars, and frequently with unhealed wounds inflicted by the relentless slave- 
driver's lash; often, unable to go further, thej' were obliged to lie by, sex^eral 
days, for rest and recuperation. 

These detentions were fearful to both parties. To them belonged the ever- 
harrowing dread of being discovered and dragged back to such bondage as 
none but a sla\'e can describe and dread ; to us the terrible consciousness, ever 
present, that we could never insure them perfect safety, even in our homes, pur- 
chased with our own earnings. After all this, we were liable to the encroach- 
ments of the minions of slavery every hour, for the fugitive slave enactments 
had become the law of our hitherto boasted land of freedom, and to disobey it 
was to risk our lives, our freedom and our fortunes. Our houses were some- 
times surrounded by hideous yells of madmen, and terrible were the battles 
fought in the efforts to save the poor fleeing fugitives from the grasp of their 
alleged masters. In these cases the masters were always assisted by legal com- 
missioners, and their willing dupes who are too often found in every city. 

As we recall the incidents connected with the work of the Underground 
railroad in Rochester, we cannot but think that histor)- furnishes nothing more 
replete with deeds of heroic daring than the bold, constant and efficient help 
rendered to these fleeing fugitives by the colored men and women of this city. 
They were always ready to fight for a fugitive sla\-e, and, if they failed to res- 
cue one here, they would form a company of stalwart men and follow the party, 
spy out where the)' were stopping for the night, and, generally finding the 
watchman asleep, they only failed once to return in triumph with their rescued 
brother or sister. This failure — as related by Rev. Thomas James of this city, 
now eighty years of age — was in connection with the very first rendition of a 
fugitive slave from Rochester, which took place in 1823. The victim was a 
woman who had escaped from her owner at Niagara Falls and had been living 
in this city for some time ^vith her husband, who was a barber here. The judge, 
before whom the hearing was had, decided that she should be returned to her 
master. The colored people, to the number of fifteen or twenty, .gathered at 
the entrance of the court-house, and, as she was brought out by the sheriff and 
his assistants, they succeeded in overpowering the oflficers, got possession of her 

30 



460 History of the City of Rochester. 

and carried her some distance before they were overtaken. In the meantime 
the officers had received reinloixcments and succeeded in yettin<^ her into their 
chitches again. The_\- then threw lier into a wagon, when the officers and a few 
other ruffians mounted guard antl dro\-e off toward l^uffalo. Tliis was prior to 
the time of telegraphs and railroads. The colored men tt.iok a con\'eyance antl 
followed on as fist as possible. After getting a number of miles the)' fi:)und 
the}' were <in the wrong track, and, as the officers with their \'ictim had so much 
the start of them, they were obliged to give up the chase. The poor woman 
was carried t<_) Buffdo, put on board a steamboat bound for Cleveland, to be 
taken from there to Wheeling, Virginia, where her owner lived. The thought 
of being forever separated from her husband and from her baby, nine months 
old, and the dread of the tortures and terrible punishments she would be sub- 
jected to. was too much f >r her, and she ended the traged\- b\- cutting her 
throat, preferring to lie down to rest in death. 

The secoml case of seizure, which occurred in i S32, terminated more fortu- 
nate!)' f )r the slave. A woman who was ahiKJst white was stopping at the Clin- 
tiin House with her master and mistress, who were here witii their family, in- 
tending to spend the summer. In her first attempt to escape she was caught 
b)' her master just as she was leaving the hotel. Her owner, thinking his prop- 
ert)' not xer)' safe here, packed up immediatel)' and that afternoon startei-i fir 
the Mast. /\s the)- were obliged to trax'el by stage the)' stopped at l'alm)'ra 
for the night, where the colored men who had followed at a safe distance found 
them about midnight. As they attempted to enter the hotel they were fired 
upon, but the)- were in such numbers and so well armed that the occupants fled 
to the back part of the house, leaving the slave chained to a bed-post in an up- 
per room, where her rescuers found her. It was but the work of a moment to 
cut the chain with an a.x, and she was immediately hurried to Sodus Point. 

One warm and beautiful -Sunday morning, three very gentlemanly-appear- 
ing colored men di'oxe up from the railroad depot to number Ti6 Sophia street, 
in a carriage. The)' bore no appearance whatever of being fugitive slaves, so 
tlifferent from any we had ever seen bef )re, in dress, language and deportment. 
We cpiite readil)' acceded to their strong desire to stay and abide in Rochester, 
having but little fear of e\'en their nationality being detected; therefore the)' 
freely walked the streets and attended church with the colored people. The)' 
soon f.nmd employment, which the)' faithfull)' and steadily filled. All went 
well with them for several nionths, antl all concerned were feeling happy over 
the experiment, when, at an evening session of one of our anti-slavery conven- 
tions at Corinthian hall, it was wiiispered around among us that a Southern 
slave- master, claiming that these noble, intelligent men belonged to him, was 
then in the United States commissioner's office (not exactly in the same build- 
ing, but within a few feet of it), getting authority to drag them back to unre- 
quited toil. Think of it, \'e lordly men, who either were silent, or voted for 
this inhuman law, called the " fugitive slave act." Think, too, of those who bore 



The Underground Railroad. 461 

tlic persecutions in the form of foul slander against character, bitter denuncia- 
tions both public and private, and social and religious ostracism. This was our 
reward for obepng the dictates of common humanity, " and for remembering 
those in bonds as bound with them." This was not strange, for the church and 
the clergy, ministers and elders of nearly all religious denominations, had become 
the abettors and apologists of slavery. 

Those in the hall, doubly watched, had to avoid the least appearance of 
fright or an.xiet}' in countenance or movement, but the time for action was at 
hand — something must be done, and that immediately, for one of the very 
fugitives was then in the meeting, listening for the first time to the refreshing 
national language of "every man's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of hap- 
piness." He seemed to be just realising this boon of freedom, when Frederick 
Douglass's tall figure appeared before us. Stepping into the broad aisle, he 
beckoned the fugitive to him, speaking something which no one else heard. 
They quietly left the hall, and the present agony was past. The next day we 
found they were secreted, separately, though very anxious themselves to be to- 
gether. I called to see one of the three nearest by us and found him just at the 
top of a flight of stairs, defying the approach of officers or master, with abun- 
dant implements of warfare at his command, and he told me he would never go 
back alive. I told him I hoped he would not take the life of any one, but his 
freedom, so lately found and enjoyed, seemed to outweigh all things beside. 
" My old master must not come up those stairs if he wants to live ; he is not fit 
to live, though he is not as cruel as some of them." The three were brought 
together on the third day of anxiety. Disguised by wearing Quaker bonnets 
and thick veils, and seated on the back seat of a covered carriage, they were 
quietly driven to a steamer bound for Canada, a haven they at first so much 
dreaded, now hailing with joy. They were soon engaged as hack drivers to 
and from Niagara falls, but when they last visited us they were going to Aus- 
tralia, hoping for an easier and quicker way of gaining wealth. 

Many other stories of narrow escapes might be written; one must suffice. 
One Saturday night, after all our household were asleep, there came a tiny tap 
at the door, and the door was opened to fifteen tired and hungry men and 
women who were escaping from the land of slavery. They seemed to know 
that Canada, their home of rest, was near, and they were impatient, but the 
opportunity to cross the lake compelled their waiting until Monday earl\- in the 
morning. That being settled, and their hunger satisfied, together with a com- 
fortable and refreshing sleep, they became so elated with their nearness to per- 
fect and lasting freedom that they were forgetful of any danger either to us, or 
tci themselves, so that they were obliged to be constantly watched through the 
day to keep them from popping their heads out of the windows and otherwise 
showing themselves. The husband of the eldest woman was a slave, while his 
wife, and mother of the children, was a free woman, but both sons and daugh- 
ters had married slaves, so that they were all in danger of being sold or sepa- 



462 History of the Criv of Rochester. 

rated. The niotlier of the children seemed to be much more intelligent than 
her luishand, who had been obliged to work cm his master's ])lantaticin some 
distance away from liei' hdnie. She saiil the .South IkrI "all gone mad after 
money," and she had a gre.U deal of tmuble to keep them from being stolen 
aw, I)- and sohl into sl.u fry. I'<ir a hnig time she had not dared to sleep with- 
out some white witness in the house, and when she failed to get one she 
would take tlieni all .uul st.iy on the outside ol some white peo[)le's house. No 
colored jjerson's trstiiiiony couId be .illowcd in court, to pro\e that they were 
free people, which reduced her to this necessity. She said she owned (|uite a 
large farm, ami, h.i\ ing thiee grown-up sons to help her c.nry it on, she h.id 
scvcimI hoi'ses, cows anil pigs to sell, l)ut the white folks wdukl not bu_\' them 
of her. If she toujd ha\e sold them foi- what the)' were worth she said they 
should h<i\e hail enough to come .ill the w.i\' on the railroad; ''but," she said, 
■' 1 don't care now; the}' nia_\- ha\e them all, 1 am going where I can work for 
more, anil 1 h.i\e got .dl my children and my husband, too, thank the Lord." 
The welcome Monday morning came, and after a heart}' breakfist, and a lunch 
for dinner, the}' left the house, w ith all the stillness and quietness possible, and wc 
Soon saw them on board .1 C'anaila steamer, which was already lying at the dock; 
with them on board, it immediatel}' sho\ ed vut into the middle of the stream, 
hoistid the British Ikig, and we knew that all was safe; we breathed more freely, 
but when we siiw them standing on deck with uncovered heads, shouting their 
goo(.l.b}es, thanks and ejaculations, we coulil not restrain our tears of thankful- 
ness for their happ}' escape, mi.xed with deep shame that our own boasted land 
of libert}' offered no shelter of safet}' for them. 

It is safe to i-stimate the number of those who fouiul their w.i\' to Canada 
through Rochester, as a\eraging about 150 per }'ear, and thus the work went 
bravel}' on, with \ar}'ing success, till the issue between freedom and slaver}' had 
to be fairl}' met b}' the American people. The time for com])romise was past. 
The South ap])ealed to the sword and was lUiswereil with equal firmness and 
bra\er}' b\' the North, but it was not till man\' a fair field was drenched with 
blooi-1 that this goxernnient was williiig to concede to the colored people their 
rights. And now, in looking b.ick through the vista of }'ears to this long and 
terrible struggle between freedom and slaver}', we would laise an enduring 
monument to those noble souls who risked all that life held dear in defending 
the downtrodden and helpless against a giant wrong, and, as the}' look across 
the ilark \'alle}' to the bright land beyond, their greatest glor}' will be that they 
helped to break the fetters that bound the bodies and souls of their fellow-men. 

A'liU'. — Of till? systeni.itic ami efficient l.iljois of the Ladies' Anti-.Slavery society — tlie fairs that it 
held in Coiinthian hall and elsewhere (the first being given on the 22d of February, 1S42, in a store in 
the Talnian block, on Btiffalo street), the lectures that were given under its auspices during several 
\\'inters, and the various other means that were taken to raise money and to jjromote public interest in 
the cause of abolition — enough might \>e said to make another chapter, but it does not form a necessary 
])art of an article upon the subject of the Underground railroad. 



The Banks of Rochester. 463 

CHAPTER XLIV. 

THE HANKS OF ROCHESTER.' 

Banking Facilities in Early Days — Establishment of the Bank of Rochester — The Bank of Mon- 
roe — The Rochester City Bank — The Bank of Western New \'ork — The Commercial Bank — The 
Farmers" i\; Mechanics' Bank — The Rochester Bank — The Union Bank — The Eagle Bank — 
The Manufacturers' Bank — The Traders' Bank — The Flour City Bank — The Monroe County Bank 
— The Perrin Bank — The Bank of Monroe — The Bank of Rochester and the German American 
Bank — The Commercial National Bank — The Jlerchants' Bank — The Private Banks — The Sav- 
ings Banks. 

PRIOR to 1824 the banking facilities which the inhabitants of the village 
of Rochesterville were able to secure were granted by institutions in the 
neighboring towns — at Canandaigua by the Ontario bank, at Geneva by the 
Bank of Geneva, at Batavia by the Bank of Genesee, etc. Ebenezer Ely, 
whose office was located on the west side of Exchange street, represented the 
Ontario bank, and it was his practice to receive paper for discount, forward it 
to Canandaigua by such convenient means as offered, receive and pay over the 
proceeds and also to act as the agent of the borrower, in receiving and forward- 
ing payment for maturing paper. The business, of necessity, was limited and 
uncertain, but in some measure supplied the place of a local bank for two or 
tliree years prior to the organisation of the Bank of Rochester. The subject 
of an application to the legislature for a bank charter was first mooted in 18 17 
by the publication of the following notice : — 

•'The subscribers and their associates hereby give notice that they shall make appli- 
cation to the honorable the legislature of the state of New York at the next session, to 

be incorporated as a banking company under the name of the bank, with a 

capital stock of five hundred thousand dollars. Rochester, December 2d, 1817. H. 
Montgomery, Josiah Bissell, jr., Elisha Johnson, .\zel Ensworth, Hervey Ely, D. D. 
Hatch, James G. Bond, Elisha Ely, Ira West, .\. Hamlin, Silas Smith." 

In 1823 a similar notice was published. In both instances the applications 
were opposed through the influence of the neighboring banks, especially of the 
Ontario bank, and were defeated. In the spring of 1824 a third application to 
the legislature was successful (through the efforts of Thurlow Weed, who was 
sent down there for that purpose), and on the 19th of Februarj'of that year a 
charter was granted to the Bank of Rochester. Matthew Brown, jr., Nathaniel 
Rochester, Elisha B. Strong, Samuel W'orks, Enos Pomeroy and Levi Ward, 
jr., were named as "incorporators. The capital was fixed at $250,000, and 
commissioners were appointed to receive subscriptions to the stock. The bank 
was soon after organised by the election of the following board of directors: 
Elisha B. Strong, Levi Ward, jr., Matthew Brown, jr., Abelard Reynolds, James 
Seymour, Jonathan Child, Ira West, Charles H. Carroll, William Pitkin, Fred- 

1 Thisarticle was prepared by Mr. George E. Mumford. Most of the information relating to banks 
now in existence was furnished to him by the officers of those institutions. 



464 History of the City ok Rochester. 



crick Bushncll and William W. Mumford. l-Llisha H. Strong was elected pres- 
ident, A. M. Schernierhorn cashier, and Jdlin T. Talnian teller. The hours of 
business were from ten to two. The i)o|)ulation of the \il]aL;e at this time was 
about 5,000 souls and it had already beL;un to attract attention as a manufac- 
turing point. The business of the bank (gradually increased, so much so that 
in September, 1825, it was enabled to declare its first dix'idend of two dollars 
per sliare. In 1S30 Levi Ward, jr , became its president, anil James Se\'mour 
cashier. In iSjS Mr. Se_\-moui' was elected president and David Scoville cash- 
ier. The place of business of the bank w.is on I'^xchaULje street, in the build- 
ini; now occu[)ied by the Hank of IMonroe. The original charter of the bank 
expired in I S40, and was reneweel and extended b\' act of k\i;islature, in the 
face of much opposition, to the )'ear I S46, when the bank womid up its aHairs 
and ceased to exist. 

The second bank est.iblished in this city was the I?ank of Monroe, which 
was ort^anised under a si^ecial charter in the )'ear 1829, with a capital of $300,- 
000. Its first ilirectors were: Henry Dwight, John Greig, Henry B. Gibson, 
James K. l,i\ingston, Jacob Gould, I'disha Johnson, Elijah V. Smith, Charles J. 
Hill, I^ben. I'^h', Alexander r)uncan, James K. Guernsey, Abraham M. Scher- 
merliorn and Edmund L_\-on. It was located, -soon after its organisation, on the 
Corner of West Main and State streets, and continued to do a successful busi- 
ness for twenty years. A. M. Schermerhorn was its first president. He was 
succeeded by Alexander Duncan. Moses Chapin afterward occupied that po- 
sition, as also James K. Livingston. John T. Talman was the first cashier, and 
he was succeeded by Ralph Lester. LTpon the exinration of its charter in 1849 
the affairs of the bank were wound up by Ral[)h Lester, I'',. B. I^lwanjd, Klias 
Pond and Thomas Beals, who were appointed trustees for that purpose. 

In Ma\', 1836, the legislature passed an act incorporating the Rochester 
City bank, with a capital of $400,000 and appointed commissi(.)ners to receive 
subscriptions to the capital stock, directing them to open b<ioks at the ICagle 
Tavern and to allot the stock among subscribers. There had been for some 
time an urgent demand for an increase of banking facilities ; public meetings 
had been held and the legislature memorialised on the subject. The demand 
for the stock was very general. No subscriptions for more than twenty- five 
shares were received, but before the books closed there were 1,150 subscribers 
to the stock, representing nearly two and a half millions of dollars. Thomas 
Hart and Jacob Gould were the first subscribers. Tlie $400,000 capital was 
allotted among these subscribers at the discretion of the commissioners, sub- 
jecting them naturally to a great deal of criticism for the course adopted, and 
the allotted shares at once commanded a handsome premium. The first board 
of directors consisted of H. 15. Williams, Joseph h'ield, Henry Martin, Nathan- 
iel T. Rochester, P. G. Tobey, E. E. Smith, E. M. Haight, I-:. M. Parsons, 
Derick Sibley, P. Garbutt, A. Baldwin and Robert Haight. Mr. Williams was 



The Banks of Rochester. 465 

elected president. In 1832 the bank was established in its buildini^- on State 
street, which it continued to occupy during the entire period of its existence. 
Thomas H. Rochester succeeded Mr. Williams as president, and held this po- 
sition until the year 1858, when he resignetl and Joseph Field became presi- 
dent. Fletcher M. Haight was cashier for a number of years, and was suc- 
ceeded in that position by Christopher T. Amsden and afterward by B. V. 
Young, who, in April, 1862, resigned his position as cashier after a continuous 
service of twenty-three years, and in July, 1863, Charles E. Upton was elected 
cashier. In 1864 the capital stock was reduced to $200,000, and in October 
of that year the affairs of the bank were wound up, and the First National bank 
organised in its place. The stock and a small surplus was returned to the 
shareholders and it appeared that during the twenty- eight years of its exist- 
ence the bank had paid to its shareholders an average of about nine per cent 
per annum. When the bank closed the directors were: Joseph Field, presi- 
dent ; Levi A. Ward, Ezra M. Parsons, Isaac Hills, Alfred Ely, E. Darwin 
Smith, Edmund Lyon, Robert M. Dalzell, Flbcnezcr Ely, G. W. Burbank, E. 
F. Smith, B. F. Young and C. E. Upton. 

The First National bank, which succeeded the Rochester City bank, occu- 
pying the same building, was organised in October, 1864, with a capital of 
$100,000, Ezra M. Parsons being president and C. E. Upton cashier. In Jan- 
uary, 1865, the capital was increased to $200,000 and again in August, 1871, to 
$400,000, at which time the assets of the Clarke National bank were purchased 
and that bank absorbed. During the war of the rebellion and the few years 
succeeding that time, a period of great speculative activity, this bank con- 
ducted a very successful business, dividing to its shareholders in regular and 
special dividends during the twelve years of its existence an average of eleven 
per cent, per annum on its stock, until August, 1872, when it went into vol- 
untar)- litjuidation, and transferred its assets to a new corporation, organised 
under the state laws and styled the Cit}' bank of Rochester. This last-named 
corporation, with a capital of $200,000, continued the business in the same 
locality as its predecessors, Ezra M. Parsons being its president and Charles 
E. Upton its cashier. Thomas Leighton succeeded Mr. Parsons as president, 
and subsequently Mr. Lfpton became president and so continued until Decem- 
ber, 1882, when the bank failed, and passed into the hands of a receiver, by 
whom its affairs were wound up. 

The fourth bank organised in this city, and the first one organised under 
the general banking law of 1838, was styled the Bank of Western New York, 
was established in 1839 and was located in the Rochester House building on 
Exchange street, south of the canal. Its nominal capital was $300,000 and 
actual capital $180,000. Its directors were James K. Guernsey, Gustavus 
Clark, Henry Hawkins, Frederick Whittlesey and Ezra M. Parsons. Mr. Guern- 
sey was its president and Mr. Clark its cashier. This bank was an outgrowth 



466 History of the City of Rochester. 

of, and closely coiinectei-1 with, a corporation known as the Geor<^fia Lumber 
conijianx-, and, iipun tlie f.iiliire of this latter company, \\ ,is forced into liquid- 
ation and passed into the h.iiuls of a recei\er, after a troubled existence of 
about two years. One |ieeuliarit\- of the business at this time was the author- 
it)' possessed b\- banks to issue drafts pa)-able at a future time and apparently 
without ail)' limit, and the Bank of Western New \'iirk is supposed to ha\'e 
suflered from over-confidence in ji.irties tn whom it had intrusted these drafts 
to a very larLjc amount. 

In the N'ear iSjy was also organisetl the Commercial bank nf Rochester, 
with a capital nf $400,000 and a board of thirty directurs, naniel)- : Hervey 
I'd)-, Iwerard I'eck, Thomas H. Rochester, Asa SpraLjue, Selah Mathews, 
Thomas h'merson, Henr)- .S. Potter, Ilenr)- 1'. Culver, Isa.ic Moore, Harvey 
Montgomery, ( )liver Cuher, .Seth C. Jones, Silas Hall, Charles Church, William 
Kidd, Erasmus I). Smith, A. M. Schermerhorn, Jonathan Child, Frederick 
Whittlese)', Rufus Keeler, John McV'ean, Isaac Lacey, Preston Smith, John 
McNaughton, Thomas Kempshall, Nehemiah Osburn, H. Hutchinson, Roswell 
Lockwood, Jacob Graves and j\le.\ander Kelse)-. Herve)' I'd)' was the first 
president, I'A'erard Peck vice-presi(.lent (cniitinuinL;" as such until his eleath, in 
1 (S54), and Thom.is H. Rochester, cashier. In 1 840 Asa Sprague was elected 
president, and in 1S43 (ieorge R. Clarke was elected cashier; in 1854 Mr. 
Clarke was made vice-president and H. I*". Atkinson, cashier, all of whom re- 
tained these positions as long as the bank continued to e.xist. The Commercial 
bank commenced its business in the second sti>r)'of the Iniilding on Mxchange 
street then occujjied b)' the Hank of Rochester and now b\' the Hank of Mon- 
roe, where it remained luitil 1841, when it [.)urch,-isetl and erected a banking- 
house on the south sitle of West M.iin street now occupied b)' a part of the 
Masonic block. L'pon the destruction of th;it building b)' fire, in 1856, it sold 
its site and erected a new bankiuL; office on l''..\change street, to which it re- 
moved in 1856, where it continued to do business until its dissolution in I 866. 
The l)ank a\-.is man;iged w ith great ability and proved to be a profitable in\'est- 
nient for its owners, niaking regul.ir and fi'equently large special di\'ii.lends to its 
sh;ireholders. The change in the ch.u'acter of business and the onerous ta.xcs 
imposed u[)on the sh.ueholders furnished the reasons f }r the closing of its affairs. 
In the )'car 1839 the l'~armers' & Mechanics' bank of Rochester was organ- 
ised, with a capital of $100,000. Its first directors were A. G. Smith, Elon 
Huntington, P'rederick Starr and Charles J. Hill. A. G. Smith was the first 
])resi(.lent, and I'don Pluntington cashier. In 1857 the capital was reduced to 
$50,000, and Jacob Gould became the president. Subsequent!)' the capital 
was increased to $100,000, and various unsuccessfiil efforts were made to place 
it upon a satisfactory basis. Some si.x )-ears ago it was forced into the hands 
of a receiver, by whom its affairs were closed up. 

In the )'ear 1839 a bank styled the Exchange bank was also organised, with a 



The Banks of Rochester. 467 

capital of $100,000. G. W. Pratt was the president, and James H. Pratt, 
cashier. Its name appears and then disappears, with nothing to show wliat it 
accomphslied, or whether its existence was more than nominal. 

In Jul}-, 1S45, Freeman Clarke, then late cashier of the Bank of Albion, 
opened a banking office in the Irving hall building and in 1847 organised the 
Rochester bank, with a capital of $100,000, of which Mr. Clarke was president, 
and P. W. Handy cashier. The operations of the bank were carried on in the 
building on Exchange street formerly occupied b\- the Bank of Rochester. In 
1853 Mr. Clarke retired from the management of this institution, and was suc- 
ceeded by H. S. Fairchild and a short time later the bank went into liquidation 
and its affairs were closed. 

The Union bank of Rochester was organised on the 20th ofjanuary, 1853, 
with a capital of $400,000. Its first directors were Aaron Erickson, George 
H. Mumford, Ezra M. Parsons, Azariah Boody, Edward Roggen, John M. 
French, Ephraim Moore, Rufus Keeler, Lewis Brooks, William Garbutt, William 
Churchill, Melancton Lewis, Nehemiah B. Northrop, James W. Sawyer, Asa 
Sprague, Elisha Harmon, William Ailing and Samuel Rand. Mr. Erickson 
was the first president and continued to hold that position during the existence 
of the bank. In June, 1853, the capital was increased to $500,000, but in May, 
1864, by reason of the increase in ta.xation was again reduced to $400,000. In 
August, 1853, a savings department was established, as distinct from the reg- 
ular discount and deposit department, and continued until the state legislature 
compelled its abandonment. The affairs of the bank were so successfully man- 
aged that an average dividend of eight per cent, jser annum was returned to 
the stockholders during the twelve years of its existence. In June, 1865, the 
bank passed into the national system, and so continued under substantially the 
same management, until 1872. In that year it went into voluntary liquidation, 
returning to its stockholders the amount of their stock with an addition of 
twelve per cent., and was succeeded by the firm of Erickson & Jennings as 
private bankers. The business has been conducted in the same manner to the 
present time. 

In August, 1850, the Eagle bank of Rochester was organised, with a capi- 
tal of $100,000, G. W. Burbank being the president and Charles P. Bissell the 
cashier. Its place of business was on the corner of East Main and South 
Water street. In 1857 '^^ was removed to the Masonic hall block, corner of 
West Main and Exchange streets. William H. Cheney became president, and 
John B. Robertson cashier, and the capital increased to $200,000. 

In 1856 the Manufacturers' bank was organised, with a capital of $300,000, 
G. W. Burbank being the president, and R. S. Doty the cashier. The place of 
business was on East Main street. For various reasons it failed to meet with 
the succe.ss which its projectors anticipated, and, its capital becoming impaired, 
an act was passed by the legislature in the spring of 1859, authorising the 



468 History of the City of Rochester. 

EaL,dc bank and tlic Manufacturers' bank to ccinsolidatc and to form a new in- 
stitution umltr the title of the Traders' bank of Rochester, with a capital of 
$250,000. Tile first directors of the new bank were George H. Mumford, John 
Cronibie, John Haywood, Araunali Moseley, Ralph Lester, George C. Buell, 
Henry S. Pcittcr, Melancton Lewis, Roswell Hart, David R. Barton, Owen Gafif- 
ncy, Horatio N. Peck, John H. Brewster, Joseph Hall and James W. Russell. 
The first officers were: President, George H. Mumford; vice-president, John 
Crombie ; cashier, James \V. Russell. Mr. Mumford soon after resigned antl 
Mr. Russell became president, who in turn was succeeded b\' Simon L. l^rew- 
ster, who has since continuetl to be the president of the bank. The bank oc- 
cu[)ied moms in the Masonic hall block for many years, until it removed to 
its present quarters on .State street. In 1865 this bank was reorganised as a 
national bank, with the same oflicers and directors. The bank has been pru- 
dentl)- and successfulh- managed and besides making regular dividends has ac- 
cumulated in surplus and uiuli\'ided profits about $330,000 and reports a 
deposit of about one million. 

In February, 1856, the Flour City bank was established. It commenced bus- 
iness in a back room on the second floor of the Corinthian Academy building. 
The organisation was effected chiefly through the efforts of Francis Gorton, who 
became its first president and held that position till his death, in May, 1882. 
The original directors of the bank were Francis Gorton, I'^zra M. Parsons, .Sam- 
uel Rand, Patrick Barrj-, ( )li\er H. Palmer, Mortimer I*". RcNMiolds, Romaiita 
Hart, Lewis Brooks and Samuel Wilder. Shortly after its organisation the 
bank was removed to the ground floor of the Union bank building, on State 
street, where it remained until that building \\as destro}'ed b\- fire in 1868, soon 
after which it was remo\'ed to rooms in the Powers block, where it remained 
until \<:)\embei-, 1883, at which tlate it took possession of a new building which 
it had erectetl on the site of the old Rochester cit}- bank, on State street. In 
June, 1865, the bank jiasseel into the national system and became the Flour 
City National bank. Upon the death of Mr. Gorton, Patrick Barry became 
the president of the bank. The capital of the bank was originally $200,000, and 
in 1857 was increased to $300,000. Besides paying regular dividends it has dur- 
ing the twenty-eight years of its existence accumulated in surplus and undivided 
earnings about $235,000, has a tleposit of one million and over, and by its pru- 
dent, conservative management has at all times commanded the confidence of 
the business public. 

In 1857 the Monroe Count}- bank was organised, with a caj^ital of $100,000, 
P'reeman Clarke being the president. It occupied the building on State street 
formerly belonging to the Rochester savings bank, and in 1866 was reorganised 
under the national system b}- the title of the Clarke National bank. In 1871 
the afiairs of this bank were wound up and its assets transferred to the First Na- 
tional bank. 



HiS'/T .- nv /iE '. (TV OF ROCHESTER. 



A: 



Eatjlc bank ami tl 
stitution iinclcr t' 
$250,000. Till 
Cnmibie, Jnhn 
IIcni-\- S. I'ntt. '•■ 
ney, Horatio 
TliL' first offic 
Cronibic ; ca 
Mr. Russell 
stcr, who h 
cupied roc ■. 
its presen 
national b 
dently an 
cumulate ' 



:A' 



, hank to consolidate' and to form a new 
adev'j' bank of Rochester, with a capital o' 



■!-■ of the new tjanlr v/ere Geoi-ge IT. Muniford, joM' 
o'l. vraanah ryI(,>--.lo\-, Ralph Lest-r. George C. Bue 
:\ 4 Lev, is, Roswtll Hart, David R. Harton, Owen Ga' 
_/oiin }!. .Brewster, jos.ph Kail and James W. Russ-. 
: f' re side;'' (,,:■.- H. Misnford; \'ice-i)resident, Jo! 



/jame.-^ V\' Ri 
lie prcsideiit, ^• 
:-; ci t'iiu^jd.tj 

th< ■ 



deposit I 
In F 
in ess in 
The orj 
became 
The ori.; 
uel R?n; 
Hart, i 
bank > :i 
street. ^' 
after 
until 
it Iki 
Jun( 
Cit> 
the 
in 



\',iimford soon after resigned .' 
..' . I 11 1 .vas succeeded by Simon L. Bre 
h<: -.he prtsident of tiie bank. The bank > 
■il L/lock for many }'cars, until it reinoee i 
' In !f-»65 this b;ink was reorganiseii ■ 
■rectors. The bank has bc-ii 
■ m.iking regular dividends 1; 1 
out $3^30,000 and rep'' 



ed by fire in 1 ii6>- 
:ii_ i'.w i.-^ !)!ock, where it re; 
)ok possession of a new buildin 
. Rochester cit)- bank, on State st'T 
the national ..system and became tii. 
death of Mr. Gorton, Patrick 1! 
pital of the bank was (•■■iginally $ 
Besides paying rejrular dividen 
:'btence accumulated .ii surplus ai. 
posit of one million ad over, ar: 
MS at all times conn I'ldod the eo 



;nk was organise^., _ 

F nt. It occupied the buik'i 

f : ; .,i,t-,rer savings bank, - 1 in i8( 

under the national systti,. by the title of the Clarke ■ Ttion 
the affairs of this bank were wound up and its a>.-,ets transi^-'rc 
tional bank. 




(^7^ cJ^/^^^^f ^/^ ^Mai^y^ 



The Banks of Rochester. 



In 1857 Darius Pcrrin established an individual bank under the title of 
the Pcrrin bank, with a capital of $200,000 and conducted the business of the 
bank on State street for some years, when it was discontinued. 

In 1867 the Bank of Monroe was organised under the general banking act 
with a capital of $100,000, and established in business on Exchange street in 
the building originally occupied by the Bank of Rochester. Jarvis Lord was 
the president, and William R. Seward cashier, of this bank from its organisa- 
tion until the year 1878, when it passed into the control of Hiram Sibley, who 
afterward became its president, Mr. Seward remaining cashier. The bank has 
accumulated a surplus of about $200,000. 

In 1875 the Bank of Rochester was organised, with a capital of $100,000, 
afterward increased to $200,000, its place of business being the old Rochester 
savings bank building, on State street. This bank succeeded to the business 
of the firm of Kidd & Chapin, private bankers, Charles H. Chapin becoming its 
[)resiclent and continuing to hold that position until his death, in 1882. Early 
in 1884 the name of the bank was changed to the German-^American bank, and 
Frederick Cook became its president. 

In 1875 the Commercial bank of Rochester was organised, with a capital of 
$100,000, which was subsequently increased to $200,000, II. V. Atkinson be- 
ing its president. In 1878 it was reorganised under the national system as 
the Commercial National bank, under which title its businesss is still continued, 
its office being located on West Main street. 

Late in 1883 the Merchants' bank of Rochester was organised, with a cap- 
ital of $100,000, George E. Mumford being its president and William J. Ashley 
its cashier, and located its business office on the corner of East Main and St. 
Paul streets. 

In the foregoing list no mention has been made of the private bankers. 
From its earliest history Rochester has been favored as the residence of many 
business men of this character, men whose enterprise and capital have largely 
contributed to the growth and de\'elopment of the city. Ebenezer El\- was 
the pioneer of this department, and he was succeeded by Geo. W. Pratt, John 
T. Talman, Bissell & Amsden, Abram Karnes, Daniel W. Powers (whose 
business was established in 1850), Ward & Bro., Allis, Waters & Co., Fair- 
child & Smith, Erickson, Jennings & Co., Stettheimer, Tone & Co., Raymond 
& Huntington, Kidd & Chapin, and others whose names will be recognised as 
being identified with the business interests of the city. 

The sixth savings bank incorporated by the legislature of this state, and 
the first one east of Albany, was the Rochester savings bank. Its original 
charter was prepared by Vincent Mathews and Isaac Hills, and in 1829 an in- 
effectual effort was made to secure its passage by the legislature. The follow- 
ing winter, however, the bill was passed and on the loth of May, 183 i, the 
incorporators met at the Mansion House for the purpose of organisation. There 



4/0 History of the City of Rochester. 

were present Levi Ward, Jacub Graves, P^erard Peck, William S. Whittlesey, 
L)a\id Sciiville, lulw.ird R. I'.verest, Willis Kempshall, Jonathan Child, K/.rd 
M. Tarsnns, Ashbel W. Rile_\-, Albemarle H. Washburn, J.isepii Medbery, 
Lyman ]\. LanLjwinthy, h'.lilui F. ALirshall dud Ilai-\ey I'" link. Levi Ward 
was elected jiresident, Mar\'e)' Frink treasurer .unl David Scoville secretary. 
The bank was cipened fi.ir business in the okl liank <if Rochester, on l'"..\change 
street, <if which the secretary Mr. Scoville, was cashier, where it remaineti 
until 1S41, when it ren]i>\e<.l to a buildini; on State street. In 1S53 it com- 
menced the erection of, and in 1.S57 occujiied, the bankini; liouse on the cor- 
ner of West Main and Fitzhu;_;h streets, where it is now located. In 1S75 the 
buildini^' was considerabl)' enlarL;ed and improved. Since its organisation, antl 
including its present board, the bank has hatl sixty-five trustees, all prominent 
representati\'es of the business interests vf the city from its earliest history to 
the present time. The business of the bank for the first three months after its 
organisation was represented b\' nine accounts, .miounting to $114; the first 
tieposit of $1 3 having been matle on the 1st <.>f Jul}-, iSji, b_\' Harmon Tax-lor. 
On the 1st i>f Januar)-, 183J, the total deposit was $3,429.82, representing 
fort_\'-two accounts, and the entire recei[5ts for the month of T'ebruary, 1832, 
were $17. Its first divitlentl, of $67.10, was paid Jul)- 1st, 1832. From this 
small beginning the growth of the bank has been constant and steady, keep- 
ing i^ace with the growth of the cit_\-. It reports on the first da}- of January, 
1884, after an existence of fifty-two years, accounts on its books to the number 
of 22,912 and deposits amounting to $10,358,304.87. 

The Monroe County savings bank was incorporated on the 8th of April, 
1850, under the title of the Monroe Coimty savings institution, and commenced 
business on the 3d of June of that }-ear, in the office of the Rochester bank on 
Exchange street. The first board of trustees consisted of Levi A. Ward, F^ver- 
ard Peck, Freeman Clarke, Nehemiah ( )sburn, Ephraim Moore, David R. 
Barton, George W. Pars(.)ns, Williani W. VAy. William N. Sage, Alvah Strong, 
Martin Briggs, Thomas I Ian\'e}-, Lewis Sel}-e, Moses Chapin, Ebenezer Ely, 
Daniel V.. Lewis, Amon Bronson, Joel P. Milliner, Charles W. Dundas, George 
F^lhvanger and Theodore B. Hamilton. Fverard Peck was the first president, 
and Freeman Clarke the first treasurer. In 1854 the bank was removed to the 
building on Buffalo street then known as the "cit}- hall building, " and in 1858 
again rem(.)ved to the Masonic hall block, corner of I^xchange and Buffalo 
streets. In 18G2 the premises on State street now occupied by the bank were 
purchased and a handsome, substantial building was erected. In 1867 addi- 
tional ground was secured and the building greatly enlarged and improved to 
meet the steadily increasing business of the bank. This bank occupies a prom- 
inent position among the savings institutions of the state and has always num- 
bered among its trustees some of the mo.st conservative and successful business 
men of the city. In January, 1884, it reported $6,039,399 on deposit and 
I 1,135 depositors. 



The Banks of Rochester. 



471 



In the year 1854 the Six-Penny savings bank was organised and located on 
North St. Paul street, near East Main street. Its first trustees were Ira Belden, 
Nehcmiah Osburn, Rufus Keeler, John H. Elwood, Hiram Sibley, Ronianta 
Hart, Xchemiah B, Northrop, James H. Gregory, Elon Huntington, William 
Burke, David R Barton, Horatio N. Curtis, Samuel G. Andrews, Andrew J. 
Brackett, Samuel P. Gould, Philander G. Tobey, Alexander Williams, John C. 
Nash, Simon L. Brewster, George Peck and Gideon Cobb. After a struggle 
of four years it became evident that the business of the city did not warrant the 
continuance of this bank and it was discontinued, Levi A. Ward having been 
appointed receiver of its assets, by whom its affairs were wound up; ninety-five 
per cent, of the deposits in all having been rettirned to the depositors. 

In April, 1867, the Mechanics' savings bank was incorporated and com- 
menced business on the ist of June of that year. Its first trustees were George 
R. Clarke, Patrick Barry, Lewis Selye, Thomas Parsons, George J. VVhitney, 
George G. Cooper, Jarvis Lord, Samuel Wilder, Martin Reed, David Upton, 
Charles H. Chapin, Gilmau H. Perkins, Hamlet D. Scrantom, Oliver Allen, 
Edward M. Smith, Abram S. Mann, Charles J. Burke, Chauncey B. Wood- 
worth, A. Carter Wilder, James M. Whitney and E. K. Sill. George R. Clarke 
was the first president, and John H. Rochester the first secretary and treasurer. 
This bank at its organisation became the owner of the building on Exchange 
street, previously occupied by the Commercial bank, and has continued in that 
location to the present time. It secured at once a ver}' considerable deposit, 
which has been steadily increasing until it now reports a deposit of about $1,- 
500,000 with 2,771 depositors. 

In April, 1869, The East Side savings bank, the youngest of the existing 
savings banks of the city, was incorporated and commenced business in Novem- 
ber of that year. Its first trustees were Isaac V. Ouinby, Horatio G. Warner, 
Henry S. Hebard, Hiram Davis, Michael Filon, William N. lilmerson. Hector 
McLean, Edward Ocumpaugh, James Vick, Elias WoUf Truman A. Newton, 
J. Moreau Smith, Pliny M. Bromley, William A. Hubbard, Araunah Moseley, 
Abner Green, David R. Barton, Erastus Darrow, Henry Lampert, Louis Ernst 
and Lucius S. May. Its business office has been, since its organisation, on the 
corner of Main and Clinton streets, though it has recently purchased a lot on 
the opposite corner, on which it is erecting a banking-house. The career of 
this bank has been successful and its growth steady and constant. It now re- 
])orts deposits amounting to about one and a quarter millions, and depositors to 
the number of 2,599. 



472 History ov the City of Rochester. 

CHAPTl'.R XI.V. 

THK KAH.kDAHS i)K Rool I KS'IT.R. i 

TliL- RL-.,'Miniii- i.l R.iiln.a.l- — The Kir-l Oiu- l.ai.l in America — I'lie Kucliesler .V Oai ll)a.>;e Rnil- 
,,,a(l — riiL- I'lMiawanila Railrna.i — The Auburn & Rochester Road — The Niagara Falls Road — The 
Roclieslcr t>^ Syiamse Road — ( on-olidation into ihe New York Central — The Elevated Tracks — 
The (icncsic \'alU y K<.ad — The Kocheslei \ Pittshiirs,' Road — The Hay Railroad — The Belt Rail- 
road — The Yalley < anal Railroad — The Street Railroad. 

AS a rtile all itnportant invciitidiis ha\c liati \cr)' humble beginnings, and 
railroads are nu e.xception U> this rule, for in the tramways which were 
tised at an early date in several parts of luigland we find the germ of the mod- 
ern railway. These roads exhibited little or no progress until the \-ear I 716, 
when the rough wooden rails were covered with thin ])lates (.)f malleable iron 
and numerous other improvements made, all tending toward the redtictiuii of 
friction, which eflected considerable econom\' in horse-power. 15ut this method 
was both slow and expensive, and what was needetl was some mechanical ap- 
pliance stiit.tble to the purpose of railwa\- traction which would obviate the dif- 
ficult}'. In\-entors advanced x'ariotis schemes to accom])lisli this end, with little 
success, and it was not itntil George Stei^henson built his first locomotive that 
an_\'thing like practicability was attained, and althotigh this was an impro\'e- 
ment on all preceding locomotives it was nevertheless a somewhat clumsy and 
awkward affair. 

In the year icSi5 Stephenson constructed another locomotive engine, in 
which he attempted to remedy the defects of his first endeavor. In this he was 
to a certain degree successful, but as the mechanical skill of the country was 
not adequate to the forging of the necessary iron work he w-as compelled to re- 
sort to a substitute less complicated and within the ability of the workmen of 
the da)-. Some time after this the attention of Mr. Stephenson was called to 
the application of steam power to ptn-poses of passenger traffic. According!)-, 
after man)- difficulties, a road was sur\-c\-ed and built from Liverpool to Man- 
chester, which was tlie first successful passenger railroad ever btiilt. From this 
timeforw-ard the success of the railroad system was assured, and althotigh many 
obstacles presented themselves they were surmounted b)' the untiring eftbrts of 
Mr. Stephenson, jtisth- called the father of railroads. 

The first railroad (or, more properly speaking, tramway) in the United States 
was built it 1826, by those interested in the erection of Bunker Hill monument, 
and was used for the transportation of granite from the quarries at Ouincy to 
the harbor at Boston, a distance of four miles. In 1827 a similar tramway was 
built at Mauch Chunk for the transportation of coal from the mines to the 
Lehigh canal. 

The first passenger road was the Baltimore & Ohio, fifteen miles of which 



1 This chapter was prepared by Mr. Morley B. Turpin. 



i 



The Railroads of Rochester. 473 

were opened March 22d, 1830. Although locomotives were common in Eng- 
land, and in fact two or three had been imported into America, this road con- 
tinued for nearly a year to be operated by horse-power. There would be no 
useful end gained in tracing further the history of railroads outside our own 
city, but suffice it to say that after the great trunk lines were built they were 
united with other roads, forming a network whose meshes extend over the 
continent of America in ail directions, connecting the east with the west, the 
north with the south, and gi\ing to e\-ery farmer in the land a market for his 
products at his own door. 

In the latter part of the year 1825 a company consisting of Elisha Johnson, 
Josiah Rissell, Everard Peck, John T. Trowbridge, Eleazar Hills and others was 
organised under the name of the Rochester Canal and Railroad company, with 
a capital stock of $30,000. On the 26th of March, 1831, an act was passed 
b\- the legislature empowering them to construct a railroad with a single or 
double line of track, connecting the head of ship navigation on the Genesee 
ri\er with the Erie canal in the city of Rochester. Work was begun in 1831 ; 
the road was completed and in use in January, 1833, costing about $10,000 
per mile. The line was located by Daniel Bates, surve\-or, and had its south- 
ern terminus at the canal near the south end of Water street, thence running 
north along the east side of said Water street to a point near Andrews street, 
crossing the latter at an angle about half-wa\- between Water and St. Paul 
streets, following the last mentioned street until it reached a point opposite 
what is now Lowell street, where it turned slightly to the west and followed the 
high bank of the river, at some points passing within a few feet of its edge. The 
northern terminus was at the village of Carthage, four miles distant from its 
starting point. Through this distance it had a descent of 254 feet and 6 inches, 
156 feet and 9 inches of which was within 1,000 feet of the termination. The 
coaches in use on this road resembled somewhat a modern street car, although 
they were much larger. They were open at the sides and drawn by two horses 
driven tandem, the driver's seat being on the top of the car. An incline was 
located at Carthage, up and down which passengers were conveyed by means 
of a novel arrangement. Two tracks were laid side by side ; upon one was a 
car loaded with stone, which, in descending, was made to draw up the passen- 
ger car on the other track, the car loaded with stone being in its turn drawn 
up by a windlass. The president of the company was John Greig, of Canan- 
daigua, the treasurer A. M. Schermerhorn, and the secretary F. M. Haight. 
The road was leased by Horace Hooker & Co. The office of the company 
was located at the southeast corner of Main and Water streets, in the building 
now standing at the northwest corner of St. Paul and Court streets. The road 
continued in operation until about 1843, when it was abandoned. 

The Tonawanda railroad was the first road using steam as a motive power 
running out of Rochester. It was chartered in April, 1832, for a period of fifty 



474 History of the City of Rochester. 

)-ears, with a capital stock of $500,000 in shares of $100 each. At the first 
election of the company the follow in^- dfficers were chosen: President, Daniel 
l{\'ans ; \ice-presielent, Jonathan Child; treasurer, /\. M. Schernicrhorn ; sec- 
retar\-, Frederick Whittlesey. The rcuid enteretl the city from the west, cross- 
ing the I'.rie canal a slmrt distance south of the [)resent New York Central bridge, 
thence following the north bank of the canal to a point opposite what was then 
the United .States Hotel, subsequent!)" the Uni\ersity of Rochester, and now 
(jccupied as a tenement house, situatetl on the north side of West Main street, 
directly opposite the north end of Caletlonia avenue. The route was sur\e_\'ed 
by Elisha Johnson and completed as far west as .South B)-ron in 1834, to 15a- 
ta\'ia in 1836 and to Attica in 1842, a distance of fort)-threc miles. 

The first locomotives used on this road were built at Philadelphia, and ar- 
rixetl in this cit\" in 1836. Locomotive number 3 was known as the Batavia 
anti was shipped from Paterson, N. J., where it was built, to Rochester, via 
the Hudson river and the Mrie canal. The fourth engine was built at Phila- 
delphia and arrived in this cit)- via the Auburn & Rochester railroad. The 
two roads not being then connected, the engine was hauled from the Aubuin 
railroail depot on Alill street to the Tonawanda terminus b}' means of horses. 
These locomotives had but one drix'ing- wheel on each side, and were without 
pilots, whistles or bells. The building in which these engines were housed was 
situated on Prown street, at the crossing of the New York Central railroad. 
The passenger cars in use on this road, which were constructed in this building, 
were about fifteen feet in length antl held about twenty-four persons, three or 
four of whom were accommotlated in an upper storj- in the center of the 
coach, the space beneath the car being reserved for baggage. The first train, 
in charge of conductor L. H. Vandyke, ran April 4th, 1837, •n''"^ consisted of 
a mi.xture of freight aiul passenger cars. On the 3d of May, 1837, the first 
regular passenger train left Rochester for Batavia. On the same day a meet- 
ing was held in this city, presided over bv Silas O. Smith, and the following 
gentlemen w ere appointed a committee to make arrangements for the celebra- 
tion of the event : Messrs. Sage, Barton, Haight, Daniels and E. D. Smith. 
The excursion took place on the I ith of May, 1837, and is thus described in 
the local newspaper of the day : — 

"On no occasion have we jjarticipated in a more pleasant excursion than that en- 
j()\eil yesterday upon the event of the completion of the Rochester and Tonawanda 
raih-ciad. The morning was delightful, and at the hour designated for the departure of 
the cars they were thronged with our citizens, desirous of participating in the celebration 
of an event so important to the interests of our city. When we reached the de])Ot, the 
engine was panting like an impatient war-horse; and at a given signal it sped forward 
'like a thing of life.' Hearty cheers from the multitude scattered along the line of the 
road greeted its progress and gave a thrilling animation to the scene. In forty minutes 
we were at Churchville. Its inhabitants gave us a cordial welcome. As we bade adieu 
to their kind gratulations, the waving of handkerchiefs showed that the ladies also par- 
ticipated in the hilarity of the scene and appreciated the important influence which the 



The Railroads of Rochester. 475 

road would have upon the prosperity of their pleasant village. Five minutes carried 
us over the three miles and a half that intervened between Churchville and Bergen. 
Here too we were most heartily welcomed. The inhabitants for miles around had con- 
gregated to witness and participate in the festivity of the day. In a few minutes we 
were at Byron, where our reception was jjeculiarly jjleasant. Passing through one of 
the most delightful sections of the country the eye ever beheld, we were soon at Ba- 
tavia. Here all was animation. The road for a mile was lined with citizens whose 
cheers were long and loud, and the thunders of the cannon called into requisition on 
this occasion responded to the 'three times three' which was elicited from the cars by 
this reception. At the place of landing, the company was received by the corporation 
and a committee of citizens of Batavia, and escorted to the Eagle, where a most sump- 
tuous dinner was served. The mutual gratulations of the citizens of Rochester and 
Batavia, thus assembled to celebrate the completion of a work so important to the in- 
terest, of both towns, were most cordial. Our neighbors felt that with them it was es- 
pecially a proud day, and warmly and appropriately did they evince their joy. After a 
few hours' tarry at Batavia, passed in a i)leasant interchange of good wishes, the party 
returned, delighted with the excursion and pleased with themselves." 

The first accident occurred on the ist of May, 1848, in the vicinity^ of Ber- 
gen, about twenty miles west of this city. The locomotive of a western bound 
train, in charge of William Putnam, struck a snakehead and was thrown com- 
pletely oft' the track. The engineer, J. Guile, and the fireman, J. H. Backus, 
were considerably injured b_\- bruises but were able to assist in putting the en- 
gine on the track. 

The Rochester & Tonawanda railroad company was consolidated with the 
Attica & Buffalo railroad in 1850. At a meeting held in December of the same 
year the following directors were chosen : Dean Richmond, Henry Martin, F. 
H. Tows, Gaius B. Rich, W. Tomlinson, Joseph Field, Frederick Whittlesey, 
Asa Sprague, George H. Mumford, Heman J. Redfield, James Brisbane, Sam- 
uel Dana and W. F. Weld. At a meeting of these directors Joseph Field was 
elected president. Dean Richmond \-ice-presidcnt, Henry Martin superintend- 
ent, F. Whittlesey secretary, J. C. Putnam treasurer. Trains ran from Roch- 
ester to Buffalo in 1852, and a year later the road was consolidated with others 
to form a part of the New York Central. 

The bill authorising the construction of the Auburn & Rochester railroad 
passed the Assembly April 27th, 1836. Some two years later ground was 
broken, and the line was completed to Auburn, a distance of ninety-two miles, 
about 1840. The cost of construction was $1,012,783, including fences, de- 
pots, locomotives, etc. Subscription books were opened at several villages along 
the line, with the following results : Rochester $58,000, Canandaigua $141,- 
700, Geneva $168,500, Seneca Falls $122,900, and from various other sources 
$184,500; total $595,600. A meeting of the stockholders was held at Geneva 
March 19th, 1837, and the following board of directors was appointed: Henry 
B. Gibson, president ; James Seymour, of this city, vice-president ; Henry 
Dwight, secretary; Robert C. Nichols of Geneva; James D. Bemis, Alexander 

31 



476 History op' the Citv of Rochester. 

Duncan and Peter Townsend, of Canandaigua ; Henrj- Pardee, of Victor ; 
David Siiort, of Manchester; David McNeil, of I'helps; Jnhn Sinclair, of 
Waterloo ; Samuel J. Pa_\-ard, of Seneca I'alls, and dtliers. 

Meanwhile wdrk was pushetl rajjidly forward under the directions of Messrs. 
Vedder, \'ed(lcr & Co , who held <i contract for gratling the first seventeen 
miles. Hiram Darrow, "a Seneca farmer in Ontarin," was the overseer, and 
Bartholomew Vrooman, foi-mcii_\- of the .Albany & Schenectad)-, was employed 
as track-layer .md fireman. The first locnmotixe, the Young Lion, was 
brought I'ia the lu'ie canal antl used for C(.instructi<>n. The first engineer was 
i\sa Goodale, antl the lirst fireman Jose[)h HdlTm.ui. The other engines, 
Oiihirio dnd C t>///i///'//s, were recei\-ed later and placed in charge of William 

Ilart and Newell. The first time-table w,is issued September lOth, 

1 S40, aniiiiuncing trains to leave Kochester fir Canandaigua at 4 a. m. and 5 
p. m., and returning lea\e Canantlaigua at 6 a. m. antl 7 p. m. A train left 
Rochester, as announced, on the lOth of Septeml)er, in charge of engineer 
Wnr l^'ailing. C)n the JJtl of September, 1840, a secontl time-table was pub- 
lishetl. Three trains were to leave Rochester, at 4:30 a. m., lO a. m. antl 5 
]). m. The road was ci>mi)leted as far as Seneca I'allsin Jul}', 1S41, the britlge 
across Ca_\uga lake was finishetl the last uf .September antl the roatl o])enetl to 
Albany the filKiwing month. The construction of the road was tif the rudest 
tlescrijitiiin. The strapi rail was then in use, which was merel}' a strip tif iron 
two inches wide and three-fourths of an inch thick, spiked to a si-\-by-six scant- 
ling. These rails were used until I 848, when irt)n ones were substituted. The 
deptit in this cit\', which was erected in 1 840, stood on the east side of Mill 
street, occupying what is now Central avenue and the present embankment of 
the New York Central, e.xtentling from Mill street tti the Genesee ri\er. It 
was a lung wtuitlen structure, within which were si.x tracks; a single one e.x- 
tentletl tiiward Canandaigua antl to the west one, after the Fonawantla road 
became consoliilatetl with the Buffalo & Attica. The superintendent was 
Robert lligham. The agent in this cit_\" was John B. Robertson ; George Leet, 
first pa\'master, and John Sholtus, depot master. 

The Niagara Falls branch of the New York Centr<il, formerlv kntiwn as the 
Lockfjort & Niagara h'alls railroatl, was organised April 24th, 1834, \\ith a 
capital of $175,000. In 1850 it was purchased by a ctimpany of New \'tirk 
capitalists and extended from Ltickport eastward to Rochester. At a meeting 
of the stockholders the folltiwing directors were chosen : Joseph B. Varnum 
and Edward Whitehouse, of New York; Watts Sherman, of Albany ; Freeman 
Clarke, Silas O. Smith and Azariah Boody, of Rochester; Alexis Ward and 
Roswell W. Burrows, of Albion ; and lilias B. Holmes, of Brockport. At a 
later meeting J. B. Varnum was elected president ; Ale.xis Ward, vice-presi- 
dent, and Freeman Clarke, treasurer. The length tif the road is seventy-seven 
miles and was opened in 1852. 



TiiK Railroads ok Rochester. 477 

The Rocliester & Charlotte railroad was organised on the 3d of May, 1852, 
with a capital of $100,000. Short!)- after its completion it was merged into 
the New York Central. 

The Rochester & Sj-racuse railroad was chartered in August, 1850, with a 
capital of $4,200,000, consolidated in 1853 to form a part of the New York- 
Central. 

The New York Central & Hudson River railroad was the result of the con- 
solidation of the Tonawanda road, the Auburn & Rochester road, the Niagara 
Falls, Lockport & Rochester road, the Rochester & Charlotte road and the 
Rochester & Syracuse road, effected May 17th, 1853, with a united capital 
stock of $23,085,600 and debts assumed to the amount of $1,947,815.72. The 
depot in this city occupied the former site of the Auburn & Rochester depot 
and was built by C. A. Jones in 185 i, and torn down in 1883. 

In 1882 the business of the Central railroad had increased in so large a 
degree that the passing of trains became a continued source of annoyance and 
danger to the citizens of Rochester. So many accidents had occurred and so 
many lives liad been lost that it became necessary to provide some means 
whereby the street crossings might be rendered safe. A committee was ap- 
pointed by the city, consisting of Patrick Barry, George C. l^uell, Emorj- B. 
Chace, Frederick Cook, Henry H. Craig, Frederick Goetzman, James H. Kelly, 
William Purcell, James E. Booth, Martin Briggs, Freeman Clarke and Charles 
J. Hayden, who were to confer with the railroad authorities and endeavor to 
come to some understanding regarding the matter. After some consideration 
it was resolved to elevate the track above the street crossings. Accordingly, 
ground was broken for this great work March i8th, 1882, and it was prosecuted 
with great energy until September, 1883, when it was virtually completed. 
Although the undertaking was of great magnitude it was successfully carried 
on without hindrance to a single train or an accident of any importance. Huge 
retaining walls were built, the river, the mill-race and the streets were spanned 
with durable iron bridges, millions of yards of earth were filled in between the 
walls, and the tracks were changed and thrown over, all in less than a year. 
As a matter of information we give the various amounts of material used in the 
work up to the last of September, 1883 : Earth excavated, 54,898 yards; loose 
rock excavated, 3,793 yards; solid rock excavated, 375 j'ards ; earth filling, 
exclusive of excavation, 379,820 yards; masonry, 39,812 yards; timber and 
plank, 11,670 feet; wrought iron, 61,323 pounds; cast iron, 31,307 pounds; 
spikes and nails, 12,977 pounds; brick, nearly 2,000,000. The contractor for 
most of the work was James Smith, of Easton, Pa. The new train house was 
built by George H. Thompson and is imposing in appearance and finely fin- 
ished throughout. It is 682 feet in length and extends from Clinton to St. Paul 
street. It contains seven tracks (four tracks being outside of it) and is 130 
feet in width. The work of erecting this building began June 29th, 1882, and 



47^ HlST(1RY OF THE ClTV OK ROCHESTER. 

was finislied in tlie summer of l8<S3, at a cost of $150,000. The amounts paid 
to contractors til ( )ctober 15th, 1883, were as follows: James .Smith, $3//,- 
910.49; CraLjie, Raflertx* & \'enm.ni, $ 195,(;5J.5 i ; Aklen & LassiL;, $1 .25,001. 1 2 ; 
George H. Thompson, $180,731.73 ; Chene\- & Marcelkis, $45,706. 10 ; total, 
$925,301.95. 

The Rochester & Genesee Vallev railmad extends southwartl from Roch- 
ester to Avon, a distance of eighteen anil a (juarter miles. The movement to 
construct a road was made at a meeting held Decembei' 27th, 1850. John 
Vernon was chosen president. Win. Cu_\'ler \iee-president, antl B. T. Howard 
and J. R. Iiond were chosen secret. iries. Ai an .uljourned meeting, held in the 
\illage (if Mount Moriis on January 15th, 1851, articles of association were 
drawn and adopted and a board of thirteen directors appointed. ()n March 
19th, 185 I , the following tlirectors were chosen : James I'aulkner, Charles H. 
Carroll, James S. W'adsworth, John Vernon, Daniel l'~itzhugh, Allen Ayrault, 
I-'.lijah ]'. .Smith, William Pitkin, Azariah Hood\-, Anion ]5rons(Tn, Levi A. 
Wartl and I'reeni.m Clarke. The directors elected James .S. Wadsworth pres- 
ident of the board, and I'"reeman Clarke secretary ami treasurer. It was agreed 
by articles of associatiim that the capital stock should be $800,000 and the title 
the Rochester & Genesee Valley railroad com])an_\'. Work was begun Septem- 
ber 30th, 1852, and the roatl opened to Avon in 1854. Some time later it 
was leased b\' the New A'ork, Lake lu'ie & Western railroad for a term of 
ninet_\'-nine years. The road at present is in a \er_\- poor condition, the rails 
are of iron and are much battered and worn. The depot, a small one-story 
brick structure, is no credit to the company. Liipro\'ements, howe\er, are soon 
to be made in the wa_\- of reljuilding the road. What has been decided to be 
done about the depot and terminal facilities in this cit_\' has not been made pub- 
lic, but it is said that the ])rospects are that a passenger depot will be erected 
worth)- of the name. 

The Rochester & State Line railwa\- was incorporated in 1869 and extends 
from the cit)' of ]<.ochester to the \illage of Sidamanca, in Cattaraugus county, 
a tlistance of one hundred and eight miles. The work of construction was 
begun in 1872 and on the 15th da}- of September, 1874, the road was opened 
for traffic to the \illage of Le Ro_\-, twenty-fi\e miles from Rochester. August 
6th, 1877, it was completed to Warsaw, f )rt3'-four miles, and on September iSth 
of the same year to Gainesville, fift\--four miles from Rochester. The road was 
finally completed to Salamanca and opened for regular through freight and 
passenger business on the i6thofMay, 1878. In July, 1879, the majority of 
the stock was owned b_\' William H. Vanilerbilt and the road was practically 
owned and controlled b)- him until that _\-ear. At that time suits were brought 
against the railroad company by the cit)^ of Rochester to recover $600,000 
which liad been contributed toward the construction of the road. The suits 
were decided against the cit)' and in favor of the company. Mr. Vanderbilt 



The Railroads of Rochester. 479 

dropped out of the management and the road was unable to pay the interest 
on the first mortgage bonds, whicli fell due on the first of Januar\-, 1880, when 
the road was sold and purchased by Walston H. Brown and others. A com- 
pan\- was organised under tlie name of the Rochester & Pittsburg railway 
company, and the line extended to Pittsburg, Pa. A large and handsome 
depot was erected on the corner of West avenue and Ford streets, and the 
terminal facilities were largel)' increased. The following is a list of the officers : 
President, Walston H. Brown, of New York; treasurer, 1*". A. Brown, of New 
York; secretary, Thomas 1". Wentworth, of New York; general manager, 
George E. Merchant; chief engineer, William E. Hoyt. 

The ]?a)' railroad was completed in the year i 879 from Rochester to the 
junction of Irondequoit bay with Lake Ontario, a distance of six miles. The 
terminus of the line is in the northeastern part of the city. This is a very pop- 
ular road, as it affords an opportunity for cheap and rapid transit to one of the 
most delightful regions in the countr}'. The present officers of the company 
are: President, Michael Filon; \ice-president, N. H. Galusha; secretary and 
treasurer, N. B. Ellison. 

The Rochester & Ontario Belt railroad was begun in the year 1882 and 
completed as surveyed by R. J. Smith in 1883. It passes through (.jne of the 
most picturesque sections of the county and is destined to become a very im- 
portant road both for pleasure and for freight traffic. The portion now finished 
extends from the northern part of Rochester to Lake Ontario, a distance of 
about si.x miles, and is generall)' known as the Windsor Beach railroad. In the 
latter part of 1883 the road was purchased by the Rochester & Pittsburg rail- 
road company and has since then been operated as a pleasure road in connec- 
tion with the latter. 

The Genesee Valley Canal railroad was commenced in the latter part of 
1 88 1 and was in use in the spring of 1883. It runs through the bed of the 
abandoned Genesee Valley canal and traverses a delightful and fertile section. 
The building of this road brings into closer communication the thrifty farming 
communities along its line, and as Rochester is the natural metropolis of the 
Genesee river it cannot fail to be greatly benefited by any new development 
of enterprise in any part of the territory. Business relations that have hereto- 
fore been confined to Buffalo and Elmira will now in most cases be transferred 
to Rochester, as easier of access and aftbrding in some respects better chances 
for good bargains. The road for its entire length, from Rochester to Olean, 
extends through a rich and productive agricultural district, and where were only 
dullness and inactivity a few months ago we now find active business. New 
buildings are being erected, farms improved and all the signs of a prosperous 
community are to be seen. The road is yet in its infancy and it will take time 
to show all that the Genesee valley is capable of receiving in the way of im- 
provement. The road enters the city from the south and has its terminus upon 



4S0 HisiuRv ov THE CiTV OK Rochester. 



W'est avenue at the corner of Trowbridge street. It is controlled by the Buf- 
falo, New York & Philadelphia company. The followiiiL; are the officers: Pres- 
ident, ]. \V. Jones, of Philadelphia; tre.isurer, 1'. j. Huell, of Huftalo; Ljeneral 
superintendent, George J. Gatchcll; superintentlent of Rochester division, R. 
M. Patterson. 

THE STREEI' R.MERo.M). 

The first line of tiMck to be hiid b)- the Rochester City and Brighton iailwa\- 
conipanv was the Mount Mope route, w(.irk upon which was begun Januar)' 1st, 
1S63, and concluded in Jul\- of the same ye.ir. The first car, in charge of Dan- 
iel Warner, passed o\ er the I'oad from the comii.uiy's depot at the corner of 
State antl Center streets, to Mount Hope and I'etnrn, jul_\' 9th, 1S63. It was 
dri\en b)- Jerome Dowd and had for passengers the directors of the roatl. Cars 
were not regularly run on this route until the 2 2(.\ of July. The Lake avenue 
route went into operation at the same time with the Mount Ilojje line. The 
first cai' passed over the W'est Main street branch September JJd, 1X63, aiul was 
in charge of Mortimer I'". Stilwell. December 8th car number 6 made the 
tirst trip o\'er the Mast Main, Alexander and Monroe streets route, but it was 
not until the 31st of that nnvinth that cars were run regularly on this line. It 
was (.>n the morning of April 3d, 1873, that the North St. Paul and Clinton 
streets line was opened for business. The first trip was made to the Osburn 
I louse, where the four cars on the line were met by Mayor Wilder, the direc- 
tors, members of the press and others, who joined in the excursion o\er the 
new route. ( )n November 14th, 1874, the first trip was made over the South 
avenue route, which was opened for general business four da\-s later. In Feb- 
ruar\-, 187S, the North avenue line was finished. The first car was driven over 
the entire St. Paul street line September 28th, I 878. The Allen and Jay streets 
route was built in the spring of 18S0, antl the Park avenue and Monroe avenue 
extensions were made in the summer of 1 88 1, at which time the Alexander 
street loop was cut. In 1883 the Clinton street route was built from Main to 
W'ard street. The L_\'ell avenue and New \'<.>rk Central depot lines were built 
and in operation in the latter part of the same year. The Caledonia avenue 
line. Connecting with that of North St. Paul street, was begun in the fall of 
1883, and finished recentl}-. The company have in dail)- use eighty-eight cars 
and four hundred and twent}--four horses, and employ two hundred and twenty- 
five men. The present officers are: President, Patrick Barry; secretar)-, C. C. 
Woodworth; treasurer, C. B. Woodworth ; superintendent, S. A. Green. 



Rochester's German Element. 481 

CHAPTER XLVI. 

ROCHESTER'S GERMAN' I';LKNn<;XT. i 

The First Oerman Immigration to the (lenesee Valley — Imlentured Colonists Followed by Volun- 
tary Immigrants — The Settler's Career of Industry — His Social and Religious Life — He I'.ecoines a 
Citizen and a Soldier. 

A COMPLETE review of tlie progressive development of our Flower city 
could not fittingly ignore the German element of its population, for the 
immigrants from the Fatherland have as steadily contributed to the upbuilding 
of this busy and beautiful metropolis of the Genesee valley as they have every- 
where else in the United States fully shared in the mighty trials and labors that 
resulted, within a few brief centuries, in raising our people to the highest plane 
of civilisation. 

When, therefore, we purpose casting a retrospective glance upon the road 
traveled, and to mark the share the different constituents of its citizenship have 
had in its progress, it is meet to recall to the immigrant of German extraction 
not onh' what he himself and the earlier settlers of his race have added to the 
general advancement and the common weal, but also the opportunities that 
have here been set before him ; thus a realising sense of these mutual relations, 
which connect him with the soil into which he has been transplanted, may waken 
his patriotism, strengthen his self-reliance and confirm his public spirit and love 
of liberty. 

This sketch lays no claim to completeness, and on this score the indulgence 
f)f the reader is asked. Scarcely any written material concerning German im- 
migration being obtainable, it became necessary to collect with painstaking care 
the reminiscences of the descendants of a generation now passed away and the 
experiences of pioneers still among us, to compare, sift and verify them, so as 
to present the reader a resume of the subject at least in a measure clear and 
correct. Should an abler pen than that of the compiler of this imperfect essay 
be animated by it to gather up the scattered threads of investigation, so as to 
present a full picture where he has but drawn a brief outline, he will feel amply 
repaid for the time and trouble expended. 

The beginnings of German immigration into the Genesee valley are to be 
found in 1792, when, according to Friedrich Kapp {History of German Immi- 
gration into America, volume I.), two ship-loads of German emigrants arrived 
at New York, whose passengers were bound to the Genesee Land company, and 
were forwarded to the western part of the state. The male immigrants, in re- 
payment of advances made to them, were indentured to the company for six 
years of service at an annual wage of thirty-four and a half Spanish dollars, and 

1 This article was prepared, in (lerman, by Mr. Hermann Pfiifflin, and translated by Mr. .Max 
Lowenthal. 



482 History of the City of Rochester. 

a further compensation, at the end of tlieir term, of twenty-five acres of land, 
a cow antl calf a pit;" and some poultr_\' (subject to deduction for expenses in- 
curred) — providini; they had allowed four dollars per annum of their pa_\- to 
lemain with the compan\-. L'nfortunatel_\- it has not as yet been dehnitel)' as- 
cert<iineti ,it what point the grants df land were made to the new-comers, or 
what was their subsequent fate. It seems probable, howex'er, that man\' of them, 
on the completion of their term of service, settletl at Rush, for a German colony 
at that point is mentioned earl)' in the centur\'. Dmibtless these beginnings of 
German immigration into the Genesee country weie the first links between the 
new!)' colonised regions andthe old fatherland, which afterward drew the stream 
of German emigration to Rochester\ille. In the [leriod frum 1792 ti) 1815 the 
continent of Europe was torn b)' wars, which fnmul their bli)(_)dy counterpart in 
the fidutier lands of North America, and for a long time discouraged immigra- 
tion and deterred the few arrivals from pushing on to the western part of the 
state; therefnre Rochesterville saw but few Germans until the final conclusion 
of peace. 

During the nineteenth centur\' German immigration became distinguished 
friim that of the preceding era b_\' its \()luntar_\- character. Insteatl r)f the whf)le- 
sale impiirtatinn of cheap lab<u'ers, who formerly did menial service in the new 
settlement, frequently under oppressive antl unjust conditions, there now ap- 
peared an element that had voluntarily, and for objects of their own, relin- 
quished their former homes, to found new ones in a new world. And now im- 
proved methods of navigation increased the facilities of communication between 
the colonists and their friends and relatives in the old home, while greater ac- 
tivity in journalism and literature and the constantly spreading reports of the 
success achieved b_v those who had sought the western world awakened a grow- 
ing longing for the new h'Jdorado in all who were dissatisfied with the state of 
affairs in their native countr)-. The peasant, groaning under the load of taxes 
and feudal observances; the mechanic, hemmeil in b}' the laws of the guilds; 
the workman, despairing of becoming a "master" in his own right — the}' all 
grasped the pilgrim's staff", to journc)' to that land of libert)', where each had 
the prospect of independent ownership and of reaping the fruits of his own 
toil, and thus the immigrant of the nineteenth century reached the free soil of 
America, a free man, to pursue hapjMuess ami acquire fortune, at his own risk 
and in his own wa)-. For the most part the only capital these immigrants pos- 
sessed was a knowledge of agriculture and trades, and the willingness and ability 
to work. And work they found to do, as also opportunities for enterprises of 
their (iwn, at nearly ever}' landing-place, whereas settlements like Rochester, as 
}et in the earliest stages of growth, offered few attractions to an\' but hardy 
frontiersmen or speculators in land. Hence it was that not until the industries 
of the village had become somewhat diversified, did the stream of German in'i- 
niigration begin to pour hither. But this stream grew, in an ever-increasing 



Early German Settlers. 483 

volume, wlien Western New York became so far developed that it was neces- 
sary to create an industrial highwa\- — the Erie canal — to connect it with the 
east. 

Until the year 1830, however, we cannot trace to exceed si.x German fam- 
ilies, whose names have been preserved to us, name!)' : those of Hau, Klem, 
Aman, Helben, Eichhorn and Meier. The first German inhabitant of Ruch- 
esterville was Jacob Hau (Howe), whose parents left Wurtemberg for No\a 
Scotia when he was a mere lad. In his fifteenth year he went to Boston, where 
he learned the baker's trade and subsequently married, removing with his fam- 
il\' to Rochesterville in 18 14, establishing himself in business there. Lea\ing 
his fatherland at so tender an age he readily adapted himself to the customs 
and opinions prevailing in his new home, yet retained even in old'age an attach- 
ment t" his native language and his countr_\ inen, and many of the earlier im- 
migrants found a ready adviser and interpreter in him. I le died in I .S45, w itlely 
respected f<ir his honorable character. 

Considering language, antl not territorial division, to be the liistinguishing 
factor, the Klem family rank as German pioneers, they emigrating in 1815, from 
Klittersdorf, near Strassbiirg (then under I<"rench dominion). Passing their first 
year on American soil in Montreal, they came to Rochesterville in I 8 16. riic 
little settlement was as yet in a primiti\"c condition ; hence the arrival of a fam- 
ily of whom none spoke an English word was quite an event, which called out 
all the villagers. Father Klem purchased a plot of land in what was then still the 
open country, now corner of East avenue and Goodman street, which with labor 
he cleared off and turned into a productive farm. Upon this land he raised 
the first garden fruits that w ere marketed in Rochesterville ; thus he may be 
considered the father of our nursery industr\-, which has since obtained so great 
a growth in the immediate vicinity of its starting-point. Bernhard Klem, who 
died in 1879, was his oldest son; his parents brought him to the Genesee 
country when he was seven years old. An incident of his boyish life gives a 
vi\-id idea of the hardships of a settler's cai'eer and the enormous exertions 
made necessar)' b\^ it. A christening calling his mother and him to AIban\-, 
the)' made the trip thither and return on foot. Soon after he walked to New 
\'ork, meaning to earn his support there — a notable undertaking for a little 
ten \-ear-old, in the then condition of tiie roads and the country. He lived 
to be seventy years old, and d}-ing Januar_\' 21st, 1879, left considerable prop- 
erty to his seventeen children. Klem was a devout Catholic and bequeathed 
respectable amounts to various Catholic institutions; among them St. Joseph's 
orphan asylum and the Catholic Young Men's society received $1,000 each. 
In Bernhard Klem died one of those pioneers who may be said to have grown 
up with the growth of our city and whose persevering labors to change the 
wilderness into a flourishing community deserve honorable mention. 

Another old settler, J. Jager, who came to Rochesterville in Februarj-, 1831, 



484 History of the City of Rochester. 



from Ilauenstein in the Palatinate, relates his experiences and the condition of 
the ininiiL;i'ants iii a life-hkc manner: — 

■• The trip li-oiii Wurlcmlierg to Ha\rc was niailc in a ( an\a.s-c()\-ere<i cart, ami tnnk 
eigliteni ila\s. In Ha\re \\ c went mi hoard a sailing \essel. in whirli. acrnrding to the 
lustoni of the daw we had tn hnaiish our own rations, and landed in Xew York aftera pas- 
sage of tliirt\ -finn- da\s. I'he j()iirne\ thenre to Rochester bv canal hoat occupied twelve 
<lnys. ( )ur arn\al. like that of all (lerinan imniiLjrants, created ipiite a sensation, call- 
ini; together the .\niencan residents. wIki came in crowils to look at a real Dutch t'aiiiilv, 
anil to be amused at their foreign costumes and unintelligible language. ( )ur c i.impilete 
ignorance of English c;aused us much trouble; however, a (ierman who could act as our 
interpreter was soon found. Formal introductions were unknown ; the German simiilv 
held out his hand to his countryman, and a friendship was firmed, .\lthough the few 
(ierman families li\ed u idely scattereiJ thex met in their leisure hours, for recreation, with 
song and music . 'Ihen no differences of rank, condition or religion were known, and the 
progenitor of manv a lamilv, now anxious to accjuire aristocratic airs, amused himself 
more heartil)' at iinpro\ ised dances than uould now be possilile in a modern fashionable 
ball-room. .\t the same time the ( ierman families were esteemed by their Americ.m 
neighbors, who had learned to know and appreciate them as honest, taithlfil and indus- 
trious." 

This Jiiger took .'in acti\e interest in the h'ree .Soil mox'ement and bestirred 
himself in orLjanisino a club nf this paity in his waid. The call for the first 
Free Soil caucns in it was written by him and he asserts that he ne\er attended 
one since that w.is so ortlerly and harmonious. It happened that btit one 
American citizen besides Jiig'er appeared and they orijanised strictly in accord- 
ance w ith [larliamentary practice. The one nati\e American accepitetl the elec- 
tic))! to the presidency, and Jiiger was unanimously chosen to be secretary, 
whereupon a delegation often was nominatetl for the coin-entioii with like har- 
nmny ami chosen witliout serious opposition. 

HeoinniiiL; with 1830, there was a marked increase of German immigration 
into this Country, and Rochesterville receiYed its share ; when, therefore, in 1834, 
the city was incorporated there were, according to the estimate of the pioneers 
of th.it period, about three huiulretl (ierman citizens, which number, we hax'C 
reason to belie\e, was more than ihiubled by 1840. 

The manufacturing interests of Rochester were still in their infancy up 
to 1S37; flour, lumber and grain were the principal products. A large 
])roportion of the inhabitants, especially c>f the newly-arri\-ed immigrants, eked 
out an existence ,'is laborers on farms, or as wood-choppers in the employ ot 
the numerous saw-mills. i\s all mechanical industry was confined to supply- 
ing the local market, it found but a very limited tlemand : coopers, ship- 
builders and millwrights received the best wages, and among them the German 
contingent was prett}- numerous. Up to 1838 the number of Germans en- 
gaged in trade was insignificant. The business directory of that year shows 
the bakers, Howe and Himmel, .Schehle, a shoemaker, and scarce another Ger- 
man name. A partial explanation of the omission of German names maypos-, 
sibly be found in the national predilections of the compiler, yet it seems to 



Kaklv German Organisations. 485 

pro\c that at that time the business enterprises carried on by Germans were of 
no importance, and again, many a German name may liave been translated, 
obliterating the evidence of its derivation — thus we find the name of the 
baker, Himmel, transmogrified into Hebbens. The want of acquaintance with 
the language of the countr)- naturally proved a great hindrance to the German, 
and exposed him to all sorts of fraud. A da\- laborer's wages in the thirties 
were from five tt) six shillings a day, and " find himself; " mechanics earned 
$1.00 to $1.50, of which but half was paid in cash, and for the remainder store 
orders were given, by means of -which the workmen were fleeced of a large 
share of their wages. There were instances when a man in time of need, in- 
sisting on cash payment of tlie entire amount due him, was compelled to sub- 
mit to a "shave" up to nine per cent. The store-keepers on whom the "or- 
ders" were made took, for the most part, full advantage of the German's ig- 
norance of the language and of his inability to protect himself; thus one of the 
settlers of that day, when the yearly accounting was had with a merchant, 
found an entire barrel of syrup charged him, which it was claimed he and his 
famih' had consumed. The necessaries of life were then \-er_\ cheap ; meat 
cost from two to two and a half cents per pound, flour from three to four dol- 
lars per barrel. Land was low in value and, unless specially productive, man\' 
considered it of no account. Thus Adam Weiss, who died a farmer in Pen- 
field, was once offered three acres of land where V'ick park now is, as pay for 
one summer's work. He refused the offer, thinking it inadequate. Another 
German, Franz Goldsam, known as " Nasenfranz " — that is " Nosey" F"rank — 
was tendered a quantity of land on William street, in payment for sawing and 
splitting a lot of wood ; he declined acceptance, as having no use for it. 

The scattered German families occasionally met together in their homes, to 
amuse themselves with music and song, and to partake of a thin, small beer, 
brewed b\- the host and sold by him to the company by the gallon, to do 
which no license was then needed. Such gatherings, however, were isolated 
affairs, for a higher motive that might serve as a bond of union was lacking. 
This want was noticeably felt, and in the decennium from 1830 to 1840 various 
attempts were made to supply it. The better educated among the German in- 
habitants now and then assembled their countrymen for a prayer- meeting, 
where the part of preacher was taken by any thought capable ; at other times 
a minister from abroad would \-isit them, to address a small circle in some hall 
I'r church rented for the occasion. These opportunities to satisfy their religious 
feelings were gladly embraced by the little band of settlers, without regard to 
creed or position. As the German population grew in numbers this want be- 
came more urgent and a plan to found a German church, after having been 
discussed as early as 1830, finally met realisation a few years later. 

The first signs of a social organisation for other than religious purposes are 
found in 1832, when a militia company was formed, under the style of the 



486 HlSTiiRV i/F THE CiTY OF ROCHESTER. 

"Cicniian Grenadiers." They wore a green uniform, with red facings, and 
bearskin caps. I )r. Klein, their first captain, drilletl them in the old market 
building, on ["'nint street. (leorge l^llwanger, nuw one of the pniprietors of 
the e\tensi\e Mmmt Hope nurseries, was first lieiiten.uit ; (iCorge Fleck, who 
kept an inn lUi South .St. I'aul street, was the second lieutenant. The com- 
pany's roster C(.)ntains a number of other well-known names, as S. Meier, Sell- 
inger. Wolf, Jiiger, \'aumann anil Knopf IV-sitles the abo\'e cumpan)' the 
\-ounger porticju of the Gei'inans were attracted to the \'iihmteer fire depart- 
ment, especiall}' to the hook and ladder and engine number 2, which hatl sev- 
ered ("lernian members. Number 2 was know n .is "Torrent, " and \\<is con- 
si(.lereil the crack company of the tlay. The first (jerman fireman wlmse funeral 
recei\ed the honors of the ilepartmenl was Valentine Klein, a member of the 
hook and ladder company, buried at Mount Hope in 1S43. 

The German churches foiaiied the most imi)ort.mt factor in the de\-elo[)- 
ment of the German-:\meric,in popul.ition. The)' were the centers around 
which the scattered German element rallied ; in them the (ierman language 
and German character were cultivated and picser\ed. Transplanted into 
strange surromulings, where difterent \iews ami opinions obtained, expressed 
in religious forms foreign to him, anil w ilh which he was but raiel\' able to be- 
come completel}- affiliated, the German immigrant, whose religious feelings 
were rooted in the training of the fitheiiand, felt a longing for the venerable 
religious forms of his old home. Wherever, therefore, a sufficient number of 
Germans were settled, the tlesire was manifested to pnn'itle for religious wants 
which American churches were unable adequately to suppi}'. In consequence 
of this, German churches were founded, in which the s[)iritual and intellectual 
life of the immigrant German found characteristic expression. The influence 
of the churches, therefcire, ratliated far beyond forms and institutions of an ex- 
clusi\el\- religions nature, for inasmuch as their membership felt themselves 
isolated in the mitlst of an American popul.ition, whose points of view and con- 
cepticins differed diametrically from their own, they clung closer together, in 
order to guard their political and social rights. 

It would, therefore, be an ungrateful task to den)- the German churches the 
imjiortant share the)- lia\e exercised in molding the social and political devel- 
opment of the German- American eleiuent. About I 830 elibrts were made to 
form a congregation from the German fimilies settled here. Pastor Midler oc- 
casionally preached in the basement of the Presb)'terian church, but none are 
left of his hearers, nor, of all the aged pioneers whom the writer consulted, can 
any recall these services. However, a record made by Pastor Miihlhauser, and 
kindl)- furnished to us, contains a list of names of the principal participants. It 
shows that the nucleus of a church organisation under Pastor Miiller's guidance 
was formed by the three families Engel, Schwarz and Schneeberger in 1832, 
and that in the following year a congregation was regularl)' founded under the 



Biographical. 487 



style of the "United Evangelical church." The first minister was Pastor Wel- 
den, who v\as succeeded in 1834 b)' Pastor Fetter. The first church register 
kept dates from the latter year. From it subsequently grew the German Lu- 
theran Zion's and the St. John's cluirch, and, according to O'Rielly's Sketches, 
Pastor Fetter estimated the number of his communicants to be eighty in 1837. 

The Rev. J. Probst organised a German Catholic congregation in 1835, 
which worshiped in rooms in EI}- street, until the building of St. Joseph's 
church, while quite a number of German families remained with St. Patrick's. 
In addition to the foregoing must be counted those who either joined American 
or no churciies whatever, wherefore it seems but a moderate estimate to place 
the entire German population of Rochester at 600 at the close of the thirties. 

The social and industrial condition of the immigrants in the period just 
spoken of is best illustrated through biographical sketches which the compiler 
has been able to gather. These first German settlers were truly pioneers, for 
each of them, b\- means of the intercourse which he maintained with his old 
home, attracted an ever-increasing stream of immigration, which has not ceased 
to flow to this day. Alsatians, Palatines, Swabians, men from the Rhine and 
Baden, formed the principal contingent of Rochester's (lerman popidation, as 
indeed of the '.ntire countr}-. For the means of communication and the dif- 
ficulties interposed by the vexatious customs regulations of the numerous petty 
German states were such in the first forty years of the current century, that the 
short cut by w^ay of Havre offered facilities for emigration which other parts of 
Germany were deprived of, and these were of importance when the limited 
means of the intending emigrant are considered. As the new-comer naturally 
sought out former neighbors for aid and counsel, a grouping by clans was 
formed, which may still be traced in certain parts of our city, though it is now 
beginning to disappear before the advance of industry and the fusing process 
of nationalisation gone through by the younger generations. 

Among the earlier pioneers was Joseph Yawman, who had settled at Sche- 
nectady in 1832, and there carried on a saw-mill in partnership with John 
Lutes, afterward Rochester's German mayor. The machinery of the establish- 
ment was decidedly primitive; it consisted solely of a couple of hand-saws 
worked by the bus\' hands of their owners. The enterprise resulted in quite a 
success, the income of the business growing claih', for the sawing of a cord of 
wood realised the extraordinary sum of half a dollar. After six months of this 
labor, the Yawman family once more took up their pilgrimage and arrived in 
Rochester in 1832, at a sorry time, for the cholera ravaged the place at such a 
rate that scarce men enough could be found to bury the dead. Hardly had 
the breath left the body when the victims of the scourge were placed in rude 
coffins and were buried in the woods, without further ceremony. Yawman's 
parents were among those carried off by the cholera. Yawman established a 
bakery, in which the first cracker machine used in Rochester was operated. 



HisTdRv (IK Till-: City hf Rochestkk. 



Andreas Kiefer, a mill\\riL;ht, came here in 1833. Many of the mills in 
Rochester were furnishetl with improxed modern machinery In' him, anionL,' 
them the Clinton, dranite, JefTerson, \Vashin;4ton and Crescent mills. Kiefer's 
labors Connect him closely with the atKancement of the milling interests, to 
which Rochester owes its rise. 

Among the immigrants in the thirties was Louis Hauer. He made the bolts 
for two iron canal boats then Ijuilding, doing away with the necessit)' of seiuling 
elsewhere for them, he being the first such craftsman here. y\11 the iron needed 
for the boats li.ul t<i be hauled from New \'ork in wagons. iJuring the long 
])eriod of his residence in Rochester, Louis Hauer has been prominently iden- 
tified with many industrial enterprises and occupied various positions of trust 
upon the organisation of the Rochester German fire insurance company, becom- 
ing its first president. 

Jtihn Lutes (originally Lutz) came to Rochester in 1835, working as mill- 
wright for various firms, later in an establishment of his own. I lis election as the 
first mayor of Rochester of German birth took place in 1870, anil his honest 
and energetic administration bore witness to the fact that he appreciatetl and 
labored to deserve tiic confidence shown him by his fellow-citizens. An effort 
was at that time made in the common council to dispose of the bonds of the 
Genesee "V'allc}' railroad, <.)wned bv the city, for $300,000, and Mayor Lutes 
was ottered $5,000 if he would consent to the sale, but he rated duty, con- 
science and the obligations of his official oath higher than the acquisition of 
money meanly got, and consequent!)- x'etoed the resolution of sale, thus secur- 
ing to the cit_\' an inc(.ime of $i8,000 per annum, which the bonds are now 
earning. To enable the city efifectively to guard its interests in the directory of 
the road, the ma\'or bought for it a number of the shares, then down to 30, 
owing to the watering of stock, which had been used as a means to force the 
city to surrender its bonds. They are now worth 1. 15. This circumstance 
Well entitles him to the enduring esteem of his fellow-citizens. 

As showing the increase of the German-speaking population of Rochester 
the circumstance is recalled that in 1835 Johann Schweitzer, acting as agent 
for the New York Staats-Zcituiig, had secured for that journal a hundred Roch- 
ester subscribers. 

The Meyer famil)' are among the pioneers of 1836, the father and eklest 
sons engaging in boat-building from the da\' of their arrival, while the )'ounger 
boys, sent to a schoiil in l-irown scjuare, were led rather a sorry life by the 
native scholars, who regarded them as a species of savages. The sons, I'Ved- 
erick, Philip, John .\. and C. C, have continued at boat-buikling and now own 
all the boat-yards in the city, save one. The boats they have built have played 
no inconsiderable part in enhancing the prosperity of the city. 

Anton Lerch is closely connected with one of the chapters in the history 
of Rochester's earlier Germans. He was by turns shipwright, cabinet-maker, 



Social Progress. 489 



grocer, farmer, cooper and lumber-dealer, but is of interest on account of the 
prominent position he lield in a celebrated church-war that agitated the city 
for nearly a decennium from 1843 on, and was prosecuted with great bitterness. 
This quarrel of the "Blacks and the Bacon brethren," as the opposing parties 
were dubbed, concerned the title-deeds to the real estate of St. Peter's (Catholic) 
church. The\- were held in trust by officers of the congregation for some time 
after the completion of the new church, when Pastor Krautbauer demanded 
their surrender, causing intense indignation among the members. The trustees 
were determined in their refusal, and one of them, Joseph Vogele, vowed that 
"his hand should wither sooner than sign a surrender." Pastor Krautbauer, 
however, gradually obtained the assent of the majority of the members to his 
demands, the lapse of time, as usual in such cases, wearing out their opposition. 
This result roused the "Blacks" to angry demonstrations, and the pastor was 
a number of times forced to call in the police for protection against his oppo- 
nents, who stormed the church and proceeded to auction off the scats. V6"ele, 
notwithstanding his vow, had finalh- joined the "Bacon brethren" and was so 
seriously maltreated in a tavern- row that he died a few weeks later. The law- 
suits, which had been carried on for nine and a half \-ears with great acrimony, 
were at the last compromised b>- the attorney's of both parties, the i-esult being 
that the pastor received tlie title-deeds but agreed to defra}- the total legal ex- 
penses incurred. 

The period from 1814 to 1835 "^^7 fitly be characterised as the pioneer 
stage of the German population, devoted primarily to daily toil in pursuit of nec- 
essaries and the preparation of new homes. Tlien begins a new era, developing 
a characteristic German- American social life, and resulting in organisations of a 
permanent nature. The immigrant no longer sets foot in a strange world, but on 
reaching Rochester is received with the sounds of his native tongue; the social 
usages and customs of his former home, as developed on the soil of freedom, 
greet him and link him indissolubly to the new fatherland. He begins to take 
an active and more independent |-)art in affairs anil stamps his impress on the 
progress of his adopted countr)-. 

Six German church organisations were founded from 1835 to 1850: St. 
Joseph's, 1835; Zion Lutheran, 1838; Trinit)', 1S42; Sts. Peter and Paul's, 1843; 
First German Baptist, 1848-49; German Methodist, 1849. These churches 
formed the centers of settlements in which tlie language and learning of Ger- 
many were fostered, the older settler pro\ing the adviser and instructor of the 
new-comer, to whom were pointed out the principles and institutions of his 
adopted countr\-. The combination of German industry with technical knowl- 
edge gradually brought forth industrial enterprises that rank with the most im- 
portant in the city. Among them is deserving of mention, as a pioneer in a 
branch of manufactures that since became of great note here — the brewery of 
George Marburger. The march of improvement has already swept it away, 



490 History of the City of Rochester. 

but from 1841 till the New York Central railroad in icS82 deniolishecl it, to make 
room for its new depot, it stood high in its line. 

As befire mentioned. South (.jermau)' furnished the chief eontinyent to the 
immigrant host, until the famine )'ears i S46 and 1847 and the non-success of 
the revolution,ir\- mo\ement of 1 84S forced large numbers to lea\e middle and 
northern Cierman\-. Amc;)ng the man}' re\olutionar_\- refugees who congregated 
in the principal eastern cities an organisation was formed, cilled "the Sons of 
Ilerniann," which was copietl in Rochester, under the name of (lenesee lodge 
O. S. II. It was, with the exception of the Cireiiadiers, the first non-religious 
association of the CernKins and soon numbered among its members the most 
capable of the settlers. The social instinct, which is so strong!}- dex'eloped 
among Germans, the similaiit}- of their \ie\\s and aims, and the iiecessit}' of 
cor)perating for the .ittainnient of common objects, led to the formation of 
man}- societies fir pur])iisesof mutual aiii, amusement anti instruction, which 
still flourish antl e.xert marked influence in shaping the social, intellectual and 
political life of our (ierman- Americui population. While at first the}- ap- 
peared utterl}' strange to the nati\e-l)orn citi/en, there is now gi'aduall}- antl 
quietl}' going on in their own midst a part of that great process of amalgama 
tion which is to form one honingcneous nation from (.>ut of races originall}' 
di\erse in habit, sentiment and opinion. H}- the examiile set him in American 
organisations the Cerman learned the t}pical Americm principle of self-help, 
self control, the \olunt.u'}- subjection to kiws of his own making, readiness in 
ilebate .uul in public spciking. ( )n the other haiul our Cierman- AmeriCcUl 
school organis.iti" ins f.miiliarised the nati\'e-born population with the educational 
principles and methnds of I'estaloz/.i, Froebel antl others, while German musi- 
cal societies intrmluced the master- pieces of tierman harmon\- and awakened 
the lo\'e for them. 'I'o-tla}- the American and German are united in the devo- 
tion to music and song, and ciiltixate them in common. 

Another class of societies which ha\e taken rorit in this free soil, that of 
the Turners, has secureil attention to the cl.iinis of bodily training, which am- 
bition t<i excel intellectuall}- oi- greed of gain had caused to be neglected. To 
them ma}' justl}' be gi\en credit for the introductii.m of calisthenic exercises in 
our [)ublic schools antl the s}'stematic drill in athletic clubs and gymnasiunis. 
Abo\'e all, these Germ. m- American associations serve to foster love of the new 
fatherland and to unite their members to the conimon country and its people. 

The }'ears from I 850 to i860 f(.irm a jjcriod in which our Germ.ui- Ameri- 
cm element reached maturity and began to take an active part in the interests 
of the communit}'. During this time eight representatives in our civic councils 
were taken from its ranks; three German journals were founded, as well as 
additional societies for benevolent, educational, militar}' and musical purposes, 
showing vigorous efforts to advance the social and niaterial conditions of life, as 
well as to satisfy intellectual wants. Whereas man}' of the German societies 



German Societies. 491 



appeared opposed to one another by reason of differences in religious affiliations 
and tendencies, they met on common ground in their desire for friendly inter- 
course, their love of the German language and enthusiasm for the productions 
of German genius. Popular festivals were made the occa!5ions for renewing old- 
world customs, as far as they were found consonant with the institutions of the 
country. One of these, held June 28th, 1858, was participated in by the Ger- 
man Grenadiers, Union Guards, Sharpshooters, Rifle Guards, Turn-verein, 
MJinnerchor, Hermann's Sohne and Freimanner-verein, who indulged in marks- 
manship, gymnastic and musical e.Kercises, an address being delivered by Adolph 
Nolte, editor of the Beohaclitcr. The program of the day shows in how far these 
features of life in the old fatherland had become acclimated in the new. 

Another of the diversions of German social life found its way to Rochester 
in 1853 in the shape of amateur theatricals, given at the Jefferson House, on a 
stage of primitive sort b\' a small company of performers. These entertain- 
ments paved the way for performances of more merit, the chief actors in which 
are still held in grateful remembrance, among them talented amateurs like R. 
Sauerteig, H. Geek, Mrs. Warncke, and professionals of note, like von Osten, 
von Alvensleben, Scherer, Neitmann, Baureis, Fortner, Mesdames Miller- Krause, 
Schaumburg, Becker-Grahn and others. Thus it is to be seen that toward the 
close of the fifties the social and intellectual life of our Rochester German pop- 
ulation had reached quite a full stage of development. His language and cus- 
toms having taken firm root in the Flower city it had become a home to the 
German immigrant to which he was dearly attached, which fact the years 1861 
and thereafter gave him abundant opportunity to prove and to show his readi- 
ness to repay his debt of gratitude, even to the offering up of life and limb. 

Of additional German organisations may be mentioned the First German 
Baptist church, formed in 1851 ; Humboldt lodge, I. O. O. F., 185 i ; the Bru- 
dertreue lodge and Schiller lodge, order of Harugaris, both in 1859. From 
1850 on, societies for mutual aid, and under the patronage of the various Cath- 
olic churches, were organised, as the St. Peter's, St. Alphonsus, St. Boniface, St. 
Joseph's, St. Paul's. 

The Turn-verein was constituted in 1 85 I and occupied a hall erected on 
leased ground in August of the same year. It has owned and rented different 
buildings, and, after meeting with a loss by fire in 1872, was forced to relinquish 
the stately building it had erected. Since 1883 it has again owned a hall built 
for its use, on North Clinton street, opposite Ward, which is devoted to a ra- 
tional system of bodily exercises, to the end that all the faculties may be culti- 
vated and a generation raised up that shall be sound, physically and mentally. 
Pursuing these objects, the Turn-verein has played no inconsiderable role in 
the development of the German- American element of the city, for many years 
maintaining a school which subsequently became the Real Scluilc under the 
superintendency of Dr. Rudolph Dulon, widel)' known as a liberal speaker and 
identified with the introduction of the German- American school system. 



492 History of the City of Rochester. 

Tlic first Gcfnian singin^r-socict}' df note was founded in 1854, being tlie 
Miinnerclior, to which is due the creelit (if ha\ing aroused an interest in the arts 
of music and song in our cit\'. It has, under its various accoinpHshed chrec- 
tors, K. Gundelslieinier, F. Meyering, ]'". Haack, (_). L. Schulz, G. Ganzel, L. 
Bauer, and notabi\- under the direction of A. Sartori ami Henry Greiner, pre- 
sented to our community tlie choicest works of the musical composers, by means 
of concerts, oratorios and operatic performances. Its leading achievements are 
the Schiller-jubilee, celebrated in 1859; the competitions at the singing-festival 
which took place at Columbus in 1865, Chicago 1868, Cleveland 1S74; the 
Sangerfest hekl in Rcjchester in 1869 and the jubilee festival, commemorating 
the first quarter-century of its career, in 1879, which was participated in by all 
musical organisations of this cit_\' and \'icinit}'. Its high standing in musical 
circles is evidenced b\- the fact that it returned from the singing-contest at Co- 
lumbus, crowned with the second prize. The founding of the Miinnerclior 
marked a mile-stone on the road of progress of our German comnumit)- and it 
remains to this da)- a jiillar in its social and intellectual life. 

The first ("lerman newsjjaper published in Rochester appeareil in 185 i, being 
the Bcobachtcr am Griusci (" O/'St/'i'cr on the Hciicscc" } G. G. Haass and H. 
Blauw, proprietors, which in 1855 became the propert}' of /\. \olte, who issuetl 
a dail)' and wcekl)- edition. I*"or man)' )'ears he made it a leading German or- 
gan of the Republican part)' in Western New York and an uncompromising 
advocate of advanced principles. Since 1883 this journal appears as the Abend- 
post iind Bcobachtcr, having been merged with the newspaper named first in its 
comptisite title. The Aiiccigcr dcs Nordcns, a weekly originally edited by Dr. 
Kurz in 1853, passed to L. \V. Brandt, who added a daily edition, styled Roch- 
ester ]'oIksblatt, and also issued the Siuiutags-joiininl. Upon Mr. Brandt's 
death in 1 88 1 his widow disposed i.if her interest to Dr. Makk, who now edits 
and publishes these journals. 

This sketch has now readied a [jeriod in which German life had taken per- 
manent root in Rochester and had stamped an impress on this its new home. 
However many-sided its dexelopnient pro\ed, and though the adaptation of 
old-world customs and habits to the free institutions of the republic became 
more general, the relations which linked the immigrant to the new fatherland 
grew closer and firmer still, and his patriotism became ingrained, as he triumph- 
antly proved wlien facing the fiery ordeal of the civil war. This decisive era 
offered to the German population of Rochester an opportunity to pay a debt 
of gratitude to its adopted country ; on many a battle-field, by a baptism of 
blood and fire, it demonstrated a liberty-loving, self-sacrificing citizenship. Long 
anterior to the outbreak of hostilities the abolition movement had found ready 
sympathy in Germany; the pulpit, schools and press — above all, Uncle Tom's 
Cabin had served to implant deep-seated loathing of the barbaric institution of 
slavery. When, therefore, the time came for the final struggle between the 



The Germans in the Union Army. 493 

Union and the slaveholders, the German immigrant, with scarce an exception, 
sided with the former, and his aid was of appreciable service, since the training 
of liis native countr)- had made him apt for military life and inured him to its 
hardships. 

President Lincoln's call for volunteers, issued April 15th, 1861, rousetl the 
Germans of Rochester to a high pitch of enthusiasm for the cause of the Union. 
The Thirteenth regiment, which was organised by the 25 th of the same month, 
contained two hundred Germans, among them one purely a German militia 
company, the first one in Monroe county, which had previously been organ- 
ised and drilled by Captain Adolph Nolte. The One Hundred and Eighth and 
One Hundred and Fortieth \'olunteer regiments, which were raised in 1862, 
also contained German companies, in addition to the numerous German citizens, 
who were scattered through the various detachments of these regiments, as 
well as of Brickel's artillery, Mack's battery, the Eighth and Twenty-second 
cavalry. All these organisations were repeatedh- under fire, and, of the wreaths 
of victor}' wliich they have won, our citizens of German birth may justly claim 
a share. 

The German com[)anies in the above-named regiments were as follows : 
Thirteenth. — Co. C, Captain A. Nolte ; ist Lieut. John Weiland ; 2d Lieut. 
J. Fichtner ; 64 privates. Of the total number of Germans in the regiment, 
stated at 200, thirteen were killed in battle, ten died in hospital of wounds re- 
ceived, thirteen were taken prisoners and twenty-nine wounded. One Hun- 
dred and Eighth. — Co. I, 'Wilhelm Graebc ; ist Lieut. John Fellman; 2d 
Lieut. Chas. Amiet (fell at Gettysburg, July 3d, 1863). The regiment num- 
bers 162 Germans, of whom twenty were killed. One Hundred and Fortieth. 
■ — Lieut. -Col. Louis Ernst; Co. B, Capt. Chr. Spies; ist Lieut. Aug. Meier; 
2d Lieut. G. Klein (died of wounds in hospital). Number of German soldiers 
190, of whom twenty-three were killed. One Hundred and I'ifty-first regi- 
ment. — Co. E, Capt. Peter Imo; 64 Germans, fourteen of whom were killed. 
Brickel's artillery contained 70 Rochester German soldiers ; Mack's battery 10; 
Eighth cavalry 52 ; Twenty-second cavalry 97. 

During the war the German-Americans had learned to appreciate their own 
power. German regiments had borne their part on the battle-field ; German 
commanders directed moves in the sanguinary game ; the blood of Germans 
fertilised the soil upon which was to bloom a new harvest of freedom and pro- 
gress. The exultation at the triumph of the righteous cause awakened a self- 
dependent spirit in the German- American; he took a place on equal footing 
alongside his fellow-citizen of Anglo-Sa.xon descent. The intellectual inher- 
itance brought with him from the old fatherland he contributed to the blend- 
ing of nationalities jn progress in our great republic, and, rightly judging that 
the process of nationalisation would be carried out by the younger generations, 
the liberal elements gave special attention to educational matters. Many 



494 History of the Citv (_)F Rochester. 



schools were founded in which it was sought to supplement the American b>' 
the (iernian s\-stcm of in^tructinn, to mutual adxantage, to the end that citizens 
might be traineil, uniting within thcmseKes the best characteristics of the 
.\nglci-S,i\iin anel the Teuton. To cn.ible the (lerman element to contribute 
its share to the realisation of this aim, the maintenance of its language — its 
medium of intellectual exchange — is indispensable ; hence this ]3urpose remains 
a leading one. The mo\-ement made itself felt in Rochester; the parochial 
schools, which formerly \-,ilued instruction in German only so far as it enabled 
them to teach morals aiul religious doctrine, in mruiv instances broatlcned their 
field of usefulness to include German art, science .md literature. In I(S66 a 
school was founded, patterned after the German rcal-scliiiliii. which, while en- 
tirelx' free from sectarian bias, sought to imjjart a thorough German education 
in addition to the ordinar)- ICnglish branches. Opposed b>' intolerance and a 
mistaken concejUion of its purposes, its benefits remained confined to a com- 
paratively narrow circle until in 18S3 the Rochester ;yv?/- .?</////(■ was abandoned. 
Yet it deser\es the credit of ha\ing introduced object lessons in our cit)-, of 
demonstrating the feasibilit}' of instruction carried on in both English and Ger- 
man, as also of technical training, its kindergarten being the first one opened 
in Rochester and among the earliest in the country at large. Its first director 
was Dr. Rudolph Dulon, on whose death in 1870 Hermann Pfiifflin succeeded. 
Amid manifold eftorts to impro\-e their new home the love for the old was 
still cherished b_\- the German-.Americans. The changes which the events of 
the years 1866 to 1871 wrought were therefore watched with closest interest; 
the exultation at the displacement of the Lilliputian principalities by a Germany 
occup\'ing an honored place among the [lowers fnind hearty responses here, 
and Rochester's German societies and families participated freely in the humane 
work of relieving the sufferings of the wounded soldiers of the fatherland. The 
conclusion of peace was celebrated b\- a festi\-al, again renewing the spiritual 
cords that bind together the old land and the new. The movement for the 
introduction of the German language as a study in the public schools, which 
had been active in the leading cities of the country, reached Rochester in 1873 
and was brought to a successful conclusion. However, the want of proper 
supervision of the new branch of stud}', the dislike with which it was regarded 
by some of those in authority, the indifference of one part of the German pop- 
ulation, and opposing interests on the other hand, speedily made an end of the 
subject in our public schools. Notwithstanding the protests of German mass- 
meetings, and with eflective aid of a German renegade, the tuition of German 
was abolished in I '^'/'J , although the board of education did not take the trouble 
to offer any but the flimsiest pretexts for their action. The national festival 
celebrating the centennial of the proclamation of American independence elec- 
trified all classes of our population, by the memories it aroused of the blessings 
dating from that event. Preparations were made by citizens of German birth 



Centennial Celebration of German Colonisation. 495 

to t\-pif>- their patriotism and gratitude to the land of their adoption in a char- 
acteristic manner. On the dismissal of the procession — which had united all 
trades and professions, all official bodies and private corporations^- the German 
societies formed a column anew and marched to Franklin square. The singers, 
intoning a festive hymn, inaugurated a solemn rite which it was a custom of 
the fatherland to observe in order to perpetuate the memory of important occa- 
sons — namel}', the planting of a German oak. Said the orator of the day, H. 
PfafiRin : — 

•'The German tree on American soil is to be a living witness ti) our successors of 
our thoughts and aspirations on our republic's day of honor, anil to awaken in the 
hearts of the rising generation the principles which animate the participants in this festi- 
val. Strong and powerful, like the oak, may the Union brave all storms! Steadfast and 
inseparable as its roots, may she ever be grounded in the soil of truth and right! Firm 
and tenacious, like the fiber of the oak, may she withstand the gnawing worm of internal 
dissensions, and spread her mighty branches without stint in all directions, harboring in 
their shade only free and happy citizens ! And, like the oak, durable, may she stand un- 
yielding in storm and stress, outlasting generations and centuries!" 

The ties of consanguinity and common feeling, which link the old German 
fatherland with her sons across the sea, again grandly asserted themselves in 
1882. When the swollen streams carried destruction to Germany's fairest fields, 
when the specter of hunger and want hovered threateningly over the valleys 
of the Rhine and its tributaries, then Rochester's German community were 
among the first to reach a brotherly hand to their sorely tried kinsmen, to alle- 
viate misery and distress entailed by nature's devastating power. A whole 
people united to wind a wreath of gratitude to our adopted country — many a 
leaf falling on our Flower cit)', whose German citizens vied with each other in 
noble rivalry in this work of mercy. The 8th of October, 1883, witnessed a 
demonstration such as had but seldom been equaled in extent and imposing 
features in our busy city; it commemorated the second centennial of the first 
German colonisation within the boundaries of the United States. The celebra- 
tion was intended to impress this event on the minds of the German-American 
of to-day, causing him to realise his part in the building-up of the country and 
strengthening his attachment to it. Nearly all German societies and leading 
industries took part in a procession, which was estimated to have contained 
5,000 participants. The enthusiasm called out by this pioneer-festival resulted 
in a permanent organisation of German societies and a large body of citizens, 
under the style of the " German- American society of Rochester," whose object 
is " to further and aid German immigrants, by assisting them to obtain work, 
rendering legal advice, providing for the poor and needy, by the establishment 
of schools and such other institutions as may tend to educate intelligent and 
useful German-American citizens." 

In keeping with that development of Rochester's German population, as 
roughly outlined above, was their rate of progress in social, industrial and po- 



496 History of the City of Rochester. 

litical fields. Cluirchcs and societies flourished in larf^^e number, and tlie enter- 
prise i)f German- American citizens created wiricius industrial and financial in- 
stitutinns of considerable maLjnitude. Xew siuLjing-societies established during 
this latter peril >d arc the Liedertafel, the Liederkranz and the (icrmania, to 
which should be added the twn Swiss societies, whose members, while not Ger- 
mans, according tn existing political divisions, _\'et are allied b_\- identit\" of hin- 
guage and communit)' of feeling with the immigrants from German)'. The)' 
are the Switzer Miinnerchor and the Helvetia Mannerchor. 

Rochester's German press was largel_\' remodeled during the period from 
1S70 to 1884, the various changes culminating in a consolidation of I'ix'al dailies 
undei' the title of the Rochester Ahcudf^ost luid Ilcobachtcr, published b)' the 
German Printing aiul Publishing compans', under the joint editorship of Adolph 
Nolte and Herman Pfatflin. Another German journal is the Katliolischc \'olks- 
Zcitiiiig, published and edited by Joseph A. Schneider. 

A feature of significance called into activity during this last-described space 
of time is the organisation of a German department of the theological seminary, 
on Alexander street. P'rom the ranks of his students, now increased to fift_\', Pro- 
fessor Rauschenbusch, whose ardor in the course of German culture has not 
lessened with increase ot age, yearly sencis forth apostles imbued with his devo- 
tion to the learning (jf the fatherland. Since the fall of 1883 there also exists 
a pro-seminary for German clergymen, which eftectuall)- aids in the preserva- 
tion of the German language. 

Our intention to append to this sketch a statistical summary of Rochester's 
German population has been frustrated b_\' the neglect of \'arious church and 
school boards to furnish the information needed — -some, indeed, were unable 
to do so. The authorities of eleven of the German churches very obligingly 
gave the desired facts, and b_\' their aid, and analogous estimates based upon 
them, we are enabled to make an appro.ximate calculation, which gives as a re- 
sult the estimate that Rochester's German-speaking population numbers from 
30,000 to 33,000, or nearly one-third of its entire citizenship. 



A 



Western House of Refuge. 497 



CHAPTER XLVn. 

RKKORMATOKV AM) C( )RRECT10,\A1,. 

The Western House of Refuge 1 —Full Description of the Institution — Its History from the Be- 
ginning — The Monroe County Penitentiary — The Countv lail. 

ON May 8th, 1846, the New York state legislature passed an act authorising 
the establishment of tlie Western House of Refuge. First, the act pro- 
vides that "during the (then) present session of the legislature the governor 
shall appoint three commissioners to locate the Western House of Refuge and 
to procure by gift or purchase a she therefor." Second, the act further pro- 
vides that within two months after the location shall be settled and the site 
procured, the governor, lieutenant-governor and comptroller shall appoint three 
other commissioners to erect and inclose the building. Third, that the gov- 
ernor, lieutenant-governor and comptroller shall appoint fifteen discreet men as 
managers, and divide them into three classes of five each ; that the term of 
office of the three classes shall expire on the first Tuesday in February of the 
first, second and third years respectively after appointment; that whenever 
vacancies occur they shall be filled by the governor with the consent of the 
Senate ; that the term of office of such managers shall be three years as near 
as may be, and that the term of office of one-third thereof shall expire on the 
first Tuesday of February of each year ; that the managers shall appoint the 
superintendent and such other officers as the)' deem necessary for the interest 
of the institution, and shall have power to make all such rules, ordinances, 
regulations and by-laws for the go\'ernment, discipline and management of the 
said House of Refuge, its inmates and ofiicers as to them may appear just and 
proper ; and, finall)-, that the managers shall make to the legislature a detailed 
report of the performance of their dut}' on or before the fifteenth daj' of Jan- 
uary in each year. 

In accordance with the first provision of the act, the governor appointed 
Daniel Cady, Abram Bockee and W. F. Havemeyer as commissioners to locate 
the institution. In June following, the commissioners located the Western 
House of Refuge at Rochester, and purchased a site comprising forty-two acres 
of land — paying therefor the sum of $4,200, being at the price of $100 an 
acre. Of this purchase money the state paid $3,000, and citizens of Roches- 
ter paid $1,200. The commissioners appointed to erect the building were 
William Pitkin, D. C. McCallum and Isaac Hills, under whose super\ision the 
house was erected and inclosed. 

The managers whose names first appear in the report of the house are 
Frederick F. Backus, William Pitkin, Isaac Hills, Orlando Hastings, Alexander 



I The article on the House of Refuge was prepared by Rev. William Manning, the chaplain of the 
institution. 



498 History of the City of Rochester. 

Mann, Samuel P. Allen, John Greig, Elijah F. Smith, Abraham M. Schermer- 
horn, Samuel W. D. Mo(.)re, Heman Hlodgett, Jacob Gould, Joseph h'ield, 
Edward Roggen and Aristarchus Champion. 

The managers appointed Frederick F. Backus president, and Isaac Hills 
secretary- and treasurer, adopted ordinances, rules and by-laws for the govern- 
ment of tlic institution ; elected Samuel S. Wood superintendent, H. W. Dean, 
M. D., house jihysician, II. H. (loff teachei', Elizabeth A.Taylor seamstress, 
anti on August I ith, iS4(j, the Western House of Refuge was openetl for the 
reception and reformation of juxenile delini|uents. 

(^n I'V-bruar)- 2fAh, i S50, an act was [)assed directing the severed magistrates 
having criminal jurisdiction, and who shall hold courts in the foiu'th, fifth, si.\th, 
sexenth and eighth jutlicial districts (.if the state (which districts embrace fort)'- 
three counties), to or(.ler all juxenile delinquents by them respectively sentenced, 
to be remoxed to the Western House of Refuge for juvenile delinquents in the 
city of Rochester. By an act establishing the institution, each county from 
which delinquents should be committed thereto was recjuired to ])ay to the 
treasurer thereof the sum of fiftv cents a week for the suppiirt of each delin- 
quent thus committed. \W an act passed April i6th, 1S52, this recpiirement 
was repealed ; since which ilate provision for the support of the institution has 
been made by the legislature in the annual appropriation bill. 

The act establishing the house .uithorised the commitment thereto of male 
delinquents under eighteen years of age and of female delinquents under the 
age of se\'enteen. By an act ])asseil April lodi, 1S30, the law was so changed 
as to restrict the commitment of males to those under si.xteen years of age, and 
repealing the clause which authorised the commitment of females to the West- 
ern House of Refuge. 

When first opened, the house could furnish room for only about fifty in- 
mates. In the second year a wing was added, increasing the capacity to two 
hundred. This wing was opened September 1st, 1852. A second wing was 
completed and opened in 1855, increasing the capacity to four hundred, and 
subsequent alterations and additions have enlarged the capacity until si.x hun- 
dred boys can be comfortably accommodated. The superintendent and family 
have from the first resided in the house, and a number of the overseers besides 
the assistant superintendent have also occupied rooms in the building. 

The first president of the board of managers was Frederick F. Backus, who 
held the office nine years, until his death, in 1858. He was succeeded by William 
Pitkin who held the office ten years. The third president was Levi A. Ward, who 
held the position but one year, and was followed by Thomas Cornes, who was 
president three }-ears. The fifth president was George J. Whitney, who was' 
continued in office eight _\-ears, until his death. William Purcell succeeded Mr. 
Whitne)'. Mr. Purcell hekl the office one )-ear, and was succeeded b\- Henry 
S. Hebard, who held the office one }'ear, and was in turn succeeded b_\- William 



Western House of Refuge. 499 

N. Sage. Mr. Sage held the office of president two years, when his term as 
manager e.xpired, and William PLircell was again elected president, which office 
he holds at the present time Isaac Hills was first elected to the double office 
of secretary and treasurer, and hekl the office nineteen \-ears. Alfred El_\- was 
the second secretary and treasurer, holding the office one year. William C. 
Rowley followed as the third secretary and treasurer, and after fourteen years' 
service he is'still filling the office most efficiently and acceptably. The names of 
the first board of managers have been given on a preceding page. Their suc- 
cessors in the order of their appointment are as follows : Amon Bronson, Isaac 
Butts, Gideon Cobb, Samuel G. Andrews, James P. Fogg, Elias Pond, William 
H. Briggs, Samuel Richardson, Myron H. Clark, William A. Reynolds, Addi- 
son Gardiner, John W. Dwindle, Charles J. Hill, William S. Bishop, Patrick 
Barry, Hamlin Stilwell, Levi A. Ward, William C. Rowley, Andrew Brennan, 
D. Cameron H\-de, George J. Whitney, Ambrose Cram, George W. Rawson, 
Abram Karnes, Thomas Cornes, Alfred h",ly, George S. Riley, William S. 
Thompson, Louis Chapin, Louis lirnst, James S. Graham, John O'Donoughue, 
Jerome Keyes, William Purcell, John W'illiams, Plzra R. Andrews, P. Malone, 
Mortimer V. Reynolds, William N. Sage, Charles H. Monell, William Otis, Wil- 
liam C. Slayton, D. D. S. Brown, Henry S. Hebard, J. D. Decker, Emory B. 
Chace, Fred Cook, Daniel W. Powers, Louis J. Billings, A. M. Semple, Jonas 
Jones, Ira L. Otis, Valentine V. Whitmore, Thomas Raines, Isaac Gibbard, J. 
Miller Kelly. 

Samuel S. Wood was the first superintendent, with David Dickey, assistant 
superintendent. Deacon Dickey held the office of assistant superintendent 
about six months, when, much against the wishes of the superintendent and 
managers, he resigned. Artemas W. P'isher was appointed to the position thus 
made vacant. Mr. Wood performed the duties of his position with fidelity and 
success, piloting the institution through the trials and perils of its infancy and 
youth until its weakness changed to strength, and it stood among the established 
institutions of the state. After nineteen years of faithful service he yielded to 
other and younger hands the burden and responsibility he had carried so long. 
Elisha M. Carpenter succeeded Mr. Wood as superintendent, with Mr. Fisher 
remaining assistant. At the end of Mr. Carpenter's first year, Mr. Fisher left 
the institution, having held the office of assistant superintendent nineteen years. 
Francis A. Baker succeeded Mr. Fisher as assistant. Mr. Carpenter held the 
superintendency not quite two years, and in 1 870, Levi S. Fulton was elected 
superintendent, with P""rancis A. Bakei' remaining assistant. Mr. Baker con- 
tinued assistant fourteen years, until 1883, when he resigned, and Samuel P. 
Moulthrop was appointed first assistant, and Albert S. Little second assistant, 
Mr. Moulthrop's duties being confined to the second division, composed of the 
larger boys, and Mr. Little's duties being with the first division composed of 
the smaller boys. Each assistant superintendent was also principal of the school 



500 History of the City of Rochester. 

in his division. In practice it was found that this di\-ision of the duties and re- 
sponsibilities of assistant (Hd not work satisfactorily, and in December, 1SS3, 
the appointments \\ere reconsidered, and Samuel P. Moulthrop was appointed 
deput\- supei'intendent, which office he now hokis IClizabeth A. Ta_\-lor was 
appointed seamstress in I S49 at the opeiiiiiLj of the house. Slie performetl her 
duties quiet!}', faithfully and conscientiously fir thirt}'-three )'ears until I<S82, 
and died at her post at the ai;e of eiLjlit)--f >ur _\-ears. Ver\- s(ion after i\Ir. h'ul- 
ton was elected su])erintendent, he commencetl to improve the condition and 
surrounding of the inmates. The long dinin_Lj_t;ibles were changed for short 
ones running ci'osswise in the dining-halls, the pewter or tin plates were ex- 
changed for white earthenware, the tin cups for drinking at the meals were sup- 
planted b_\- glass tumblers, table-chiths were sup])lied to the tables, and the 
cjualit)- and variet_\- of f lod was correspondingh* impro\'ed. These improve- 
ments ha\e been continued to the present time. For fourteen }'ears Captain 
Fulton has discharged the duties antl borne the responsibilities of superin- 
tendent, and he still "holds the fort" as chief executi\-e i)fficer of the institution. 

From the beginning the managers comprehended the necessit)' of separat- 
ing the comparatively innocent boys from the adepts in vice and crime. The 
subject was an.xiousl}' discussed, antl in I S63 it formed a part of the managers' 
report to the state legislature. Some effort was made to solve the difficult 
problem of how to do it. In 1856 the schools were graded as first and second 
grade, but no other separation was eftected. In 1 869 a solid stone wall was 
built tiirough the center of the large yard which forms the pla)--ground. and 
in 1870, \'ery soon after Mr. Fulton became superintendent, the boys were sep- 
arated into first and second divisions, the first division, composed of younger 
bo\-s, occupying the south side, and the older boys, composing the second divis- 
ion, occup\'ing the north side, of the dix-ision wall. The schools, work-shops, 
and play-grounds ha\e from that date been kejit apart, s(5 that the bo)'s of the 
two divisions, at uurk, in school, and at pla_\-, are entirel}- sej^arated. This sep- 
aration, though based upon age antl size, rather more than upon moral charac- 
ter and condition, was an ad\ance in the right direction, gix'ing a better chance 
to protect tlic }'oungerboys from \icious and criminal examples and influences. 
The graduating department, of which nuux- will be said, if wisel\- conducted 
should gi\'e another advantage in the same direction. 

F'rom the opening of the house, scliool prixileges ha.vc been enjoyed by all 
the inmates. The school-rooms ha\e been enlarged and otherwise improved 
as necessity or opportunity occurred. Since 1870 they have been furnished 
with the best modern seats, blackboards and other convenient apparatus. ICach 
division has a male principal, with two female assistants in the first division, 
and four female assistants in the second division. F2ach female teacher in the 
first division has a recitation room, to which her classes are sent, but in the 
second division the large hall used for school purposes is divided by sliding glass 



Western House of Refuge. 



doors into fi\e school-rooms, one being occupied during school hours by the 
principal and the other four by his assistants. A primary department has been 
maintained since 1862, with a lad)' principal. Three rooms are now gi\'en to 
this department of the school. The first lad\- principal was Mary A. Montrose, 
who held the place two years. Mary A. Logan was the second principal and 
held the position three years. In 1867 Anna M. Hollenbeck received the ap- 
pointment and holds it at the present time. The principals of the first division, 
with their time of service, have been Albert G. Morey, one year ; Hiram D. 
Vosburg, two years ; Albert Backus, fifteen years ; Robert O. Fulton, one year ; 
Samuel P. Moulthrop, si.x years ; Albert S. Little, who now holds the position. 
The principals of the second division, with their time of service, have been 
John M. Denton, four years; Elisha M. Carpenter, nine years'; Peter Brad- 
ley, one year ; Clark P. Hard, one year ; Henry C. Woods, two years ; F"rancis 
A. Baker, seven years ; William H. Whiting, si.x years ; Daniel C. Rumsey, 
two }-ears ; William B. Mather, one year; Samuel P. Moulthrop, eight months, 
and Louis F. La Point, who is the present principal. 

For man\- years the school hours were from 5 to 8 p. m. In 1883 the 
hours in the first division were from 7:30 to 10 a. m., and from 6:30 to 7:45 p. 
m. A recent change has made the school hours for both di\'isions the same, 
viz., from 2:30 to 5:15 for the afternoon school, and from 6:30 to 7:45 for the 
evening session, the evening session being devoted to oral and object teaching, 
and to preparing the lessons for the ne.xt day. 

Many of the boys when admitted were unable to read, a much larger num- 
ber were unable to write, while the large majority knew nothing or next to 
nothing of arithmetic or geography. Nearly all when discharged have been 
able to read and write fairly, and a large proportion have gone out with a good 
degree of proficiency in arithmetic and geography, while many have obtained 
by oral instruction a rudimental knowledge of grammar, natural philosophy 
and physiology. A library of entertaining and instructive books has been free 
of access from the beginning, to which additions have been made from time to 
time, and more recently a large number of papers and magazines have been 
added, coming fresh as they are issued. The list includes from ten to twenty- 
five copies of the following : The Youth's Companion, Harper's Young People, 
Harpei-'s UW'kly, Harper s MontJily Magazine, Golden Days, Patisy, Our Little 
Men and Women and others of a similar character. When these periodicals 
are received they are placed in files and passed around, till all who desire have 
had the reading of them. No dime novels or flash stor\' papers are ever dis- 
tributed or allowed among the children. 

The influence of faithful moral and religious teaching has from the first 
been appreciated, and, with only one short interval in 185 i, a chaplain has con- 
stantly been emplyed to look after this most necessary element in the reforma- 
tion of these unfortunate children. The first chaplain's name does not appear in 



502 History of the City of Rochester. 

the reports, though tlie fact is mentioned that there was such an officer. In 1852 
Rev. Mr. Perrin was chaplain, in iS53ancl 1S54 Rev. John H. Raymond held 
the position, in 1855 Re\'. M. B. Anderson, LL.D., was appointed chaplain and 
continued to discharge his tluties until 1860, when Re\-. James Nichols re- 
ceived the appointment, which he held until I 864, .iiid was succeeded b\' Rev. 
\) W Marsh, whose term of office w.is one year, followed b}- Re\'. J. W. B. 
Clark. At the end of one _\ear Ivew Thomas 11. Morgan was ajjpointed, hold- 
ing two ye, us, followed by Re\-. Jacob Miller, who held the office one \-ear, and 
was followed b_\- Re\'. \\'a_\'land R. Benedict, who also left ,it the end of his first 
year. In 1870 Rew J. \\ Van Ingeii, D. I)., was appointed chaplain, holding 
the pi.isition fiur years. He was succeeded by Rew T. C. Reed, D. D., who 
remained tw ci _\ears. In \i>J('> l\e\ . W'm. Manning received the appointment 
of chaplain, which he still holds. 

l"'rom the opening of the institution no religious or sectarian distinction or 
di\'ision existed among its inmates, all of whom were under the care and in- 
struction of the chaplain ; assembling in sch< K}l-roijm and chapel fir moral and 
religious instruction and dev<ition. l^ul in 1874 the managers ajipointed a 
Roman Catholic priest as chajjlain to the inmates wnose parents or guardians 
desired for their children the ministrations of that church. ,\n immediate di- 
vision was effected, a Hue being drawn between Catholics antl Protestants, in 
all their I'eligious meetings. The Roman Catholic church service was intro- 
duced and is continueil. The first priest appointetl to this dut\' was Rev. 
George I. (.)sborn, who held the ])osition four _\-ears, and performed his duties 
so unobtrusi\el\- and courteousl\- as to conmiand the esteem of all who were 
connected with the institution. In 1879 he was sent to another field of labor, 
and Rev. William McDonald w as ajjpointed his successor. Mr. McDonald is 
now occupx'ing the ])osition. 

Mi's. Sarah J. Nichols was employed as Sunday-school teacher for si.xteen 
years, from 1 860 to 1876. Her Sunday-school was composed of the smaller 
bo\-s, and much good was accomplished by her faithful labor among them. 
During the last eight years a Sunday-school service has been held with the 
bo\'s from 9 to 10 a. m., every Sunday, the chaplain giving instruction, and at 
2:30 p. m., each .Sunday, a general religious service, with sermon or address, 
has been held in the chapel, the chaplain conducting the exercises. At 9 a. m,, 
every Sunda\-, mass has been said with the Catholic children in the chapel, and 
at 2:30 p. m. the priest has met the bo\'s in the school-room, for such instruc- 
tion as he desired to give. 

From the beginning, the imiiates have been favored with excellent provis- 
ions for the preservation of health, and with excellent ph\-sicians, for the pre- 
\'ention and cure of sickness. Dr. Dean, the first house ph}'sician, held the 
office one year, and was succeeded b\' Dr. P'rederick P". Backus, who discharged 
its duties during si.x )-ears. Dr. PI. D. Vosburg held the position two years, with 



Western House of Refuge. 503 

Dr. W. H. Briggs as consulting physician, after which Dr. Briggs held the office 
one year. In i860 Dr. Azel Backus became the house physician, and has filled 
the office for twenty-four years with signal ability and success. Dr. Backus still 
holds the office. 

In the year 1867 a number of the ladies of Rochester sent to the legislature 
a memorial setting forth the need of some place of refuge for young girls, who 
by misfortune or crime were brought into evil associations and practices, and 
who had become, or were becoming criminals. The matter rested without re- 
sult until 1871, when Levi S. Fulton, then recently appointed superintendent 
of the Western House of Refuge, supported by William Purcell and others, re- 
newed the agitation of the subject. Through their elTorts, the press in nearly 
all the important towns of Central and Western New York was induced to take it 
up, and to advocate the establishment of an institution so greatly needed. The 
attention of the legislature was again and persistently directed to the matter, 
and under this influence an act w^as passed on May 1st, 1875, providing for the 
establishment of a female reformatory in connection with the Western House 
of Refuge. The building was completed in the following year; Mrs. M. K. 
Boyd was appointed matron. Miss Lilla Hammond teacher, Mrs. J. A. Mor- 
doff housekeeper. Miss M. E. Neely hospital nurse, Miss M. Cook seamstress, 
and on October 3d, 1876, the reformatory was opened for the reception of in- 
mates. The building was arranged for the accommodation of 100 girls, and 
was rapidly filled beyond its utmost capacity, the number in the third year 
reaching 149. In 1879 a second building, designed as a primar_\- department, 
was erected, and occupied by the smaller girls in 1880. The appointment of 
the matron has proved most fortunate for the institution and for those who 
have been committed to its care. None could have done better, few could have 
done so w^ell, in the difficult and trying duties and responsibilities of the office. 
Mrs. Boyd still holds the position. In the beginning of the second year after 
the opening, according to the original design the inmates were separated into 
two divisions, on a basis like that which had been adopted with the boys. Miss 
Hammond became teacher of the first division, and Miss E. A. Kavanaugh 
was appointed teacher of the second division. In 1878 Miss Kavanaugh was 
compelled by failing health to resign the duties of teacher, and Miss Alice 
E. Curtin was appointed teacher, a position which she is still filling to the sat- 
isfaction of all her associates. Miss Hammond filled her position until 1882 
faithfully and successfull\% when after six years of service she resigned, and 
was succeeded by Miss L. Pierce, who now fills the office. In 1878 Miss Ada 
C. Fyler was appointed teacher of the primary department, holding the office 
two years. She was followed in 1880 by Miss C. M. Joslyn, who still holds the 
position. The superintendent, deputy superintendent, phj-sician and chaplain 
hold the same relations to this department as to the male department. The 
chaplain holds a Sunday-school or Bible class with the girls in their assembly 



504 History of the City of Rochester. 

room from I I to 12 a. m., every Sunday, and at 2:30 p. m. The girls attend 
the cliapel service, occnpyinL; the convenient and spacious trailer)'. The re- 
sults thus far accompHshetl in the reformation of those committed to this re- 
formatory liaxx- been \-ery enctni raying to its friends and to the friends of this 
unfortunate class of children. Not all, but many, have been saved from a life 
of crime ani.1 shame antl restored to \ii-tue and usefulness, thus \indicating the 
wisdom of its establishment. 

The whole number of boys received from the openini; of the house, on 
August I ith, 1^49, to March 1st, 1S84, was 6,221. ()f this number 5,514 
have been returned to their homes, or furnished with homes elsewhere. One 
hundred and fift>- have esca|)ed, ninety-four have dietl in the house and 463 
are still inmates. The female department, from its opening, October 3d, 1.S76, 
to March 1st, 1884, has received 365 girls. ( )f this number 260 have been re- 
turned to their homes or sent to new homes, si.\ ha\'e died and ninet)'-nine 
rem.iin inmates f)f the housi.-. 

h'rom thi^ statement it .ippears that the deaths among the boys during the 
period of about thirty-four years ha\e been about one and one-half per cent., 
and less than one and three- fourths per cent, among the girls. When we con- 
sider that a \'ery large proportion of the inmates of both sexes have from their 
infancy been exposed to surroundings, privations and habits unfavorable to 
health, and that many of them when brought to the house were suffering from 
inherited or contracted disease, the mortality is much less than might reasonably 
be expected, and reflects credit both upon the careful sanitar_\- pros'isions and 
precautions maintained and upon the faithfulness and skill of the house physician. 

The ofl'enses for which the male inmates have been committed have been 
recorded as follows: For petit larceii)-, 3,764; vagrancy, 545; burglary and 
larceny, 419; grand larceny, 299; assault, or assault and battcr)\ 64; disorderly 
conduct, 53; malicious mischief or malicious trespass, 36 ; arson, ^2; rape or 
attempt at rape, 2;^: truancy, 17; robbing post-office, 16; forgery, 10; high- 
way robber)-, lo; assault with intent to kill, 8; manslaughter, 7; robbery, 5; 
obtaining money or property under false pretenses, 5 ; obstructing railroad 
track, 4; pocket- picking, 3; threat to stab, 3; intemperance or drunkenness, 
4; unlawful riding on cars, 3; indecent exposure, 3; unmanageable, 2; em- 
bezzling letter, 2; receiving stolen goods, 2; counterfeiting, 2; murder in sec- 
ond degree, 1 ; perjur)-, i ; breaking into post-office, I ; keeping house of pros- 
titution, 1; stabbing, 1. 

The oflenses for which the female inmates have been committed are recorded 
as follows: For petit larceny, 130; vagrancy, 95 ; prostitution, 71; disorderly 
conduct, 42; incorrigibility, 5 ; grand larcen)', 3; street begging, I. 

Of the whole number of bo)-s committed, the nativity of parents is recorded 
as follows: American, 2,148; Irish, 1,931; (ierman, S38 ; English, 442; 
French, 248; Scotch, 91; Canadian, 43; Welsh, 16; Italian, 7; Poles, 7; 



Western House of Refuge. 505 

Hollanders, 6; Swiss, 5; Spaniards, 3; Russian, 2; Swede, i; Hungarian, i. 
The colored boys have been classed as Americans, and have numbered 199. 
Indians are classed the same and have numbered 5. Of the whole number of 
skirls committed, the nativity of parents is recorded as follows: American, 153 ; 
Irish, 78; German, 54; Canadian, 23; luiglisli, 22; Scotch, 3; Welsh, 3; 
French, 3 ; Swiss, 2 ; Prussian, 1 ; P'inn, 1 ; Pole, i ; Hollander, i ; unknown 20. 
The colored girls are classed as Americans, and have numbered 9. 

The Western House of Refuge for juvenile delinquents is one of the finest 
specimens of architecture in Western New York. It is situated one and one- 
half miles north from the central part of the cit\- on a farm of forty-two acres, 
which is owned by the state, and forms a part of the establishment. 

The center building of the male department is eighty-six feet in length, by 
sixty-four in depth, and four stories high above the basement. Two wings extend 
north and south, each one hundred and forty- eight feet long and thirty-two feet 
deep, and three stories high above the basement. The whole building is three 
hundred and eighty-two feet in length, fronting east on Backus avenue. Two 
other wings, extending w'estward and of the same dimensions as those described, 
are connected with the front at the extremities. The building with its wings 
affords room for the superintendent and family, several overseers and six hun- 
tired boys. 

Directly south of the boy's department, and separated therefrom by a solid 
stone wall twenty-two feet in height, stands a beautiful building in the Norman 
style of architecture, with a frontage of two hundred and seventy-si.x feet. This 
building, with another and somewhat smaller one situated two hundred feet in 
rear of the first, constitutes the female department of the institution. The two 
buildings are convenientl)- arranged and thoroughly furnished for the residence 
of the matron and her assistant officers, and for the comfortable home of two 
hundred girls. 

Directly north of the boy's department already described, and correspond- 
ing in distance therefrom, and in e.xternal appearance with the female depart- 
ment, is the graduating house for bo)s. This is designed as the temporary 
home of such boys as by good behavior shall be entitled to such promotion 
previous to being discharged from the institution. This department will be 
occupied by such boys only as shall be found trustworthy, and an honorable 
discharge therefrom would be equivalent to a certificate of good character. 
This building is not yet occupied, but much is expected when it shall be opened, 
and its beneficent influence shall become active to awaken and encourage 
healthy ambition and self-respect. The three buildings standing in line pre- 
sent a frontage of nine hundred and thirty-four feet on Backus avenue. The 
total cost of all the buildings comprising the Western House of Refuge, as they 
now stand, is $372,469.26. This noble monument of state beneficence is now 
in the thirty-fifth year of its history. It is believed that thus far it has fairly 



5o6 History of the City of Rochester. 

met the just expectations uf its founders and friends. Tlie purpose of its cre- 
ation, and the nioti\e for its su[)[)ort is to reform and to save the children who 
could not or would not be otherwise reformed or saved. May this noble pur- 
pose insjoire and control the man,ii;ement of this sacred trust to the end ! 

lilE .MONROE COUNTY rENTrE.NTI.VRY, 

In 1853 Jr)shua Conke\', Samuel H. Da\'is, l{zra B. True and Lewis Selye 
were appointetl a committee for tiie erection of a w oi'k-house, where men might 
be better prepared for freedom by a habit of constant, hard laboi". The con- 
tract price of erecting the building was $22,707.60. Ninety-twn cells were 
suitabl}' furnished and Z. R. Brockwa)" was appointed superintendent. 1 he 
institution began business with a capital of $7,000, and in 1854 the income 
was $4,000. In I 856 there were sex'en hundretl and fifty-four commitments, 
of whom four lumdrcd and ninet}' were foreigners. In 1859 two workshops 
were erected, and a south wing was built, having thirty-two cells. In the fidl 
of i860 the business of barrel-making was changed to that of finishing sta\'es, 
shoemaking, however, being continued as the chief emplo)'ment. The policy 
of receiving con\-icts from other counties was found advantageous, ami con- 
tinued. The t(.)tal income for i860 was $22,729.30, a gain of $3,235,28, and 
the second instance in history of realising a })rofit from a penal institution. 

The buildings were tlestroyed -on the 5th of January, 1865, b\' fire, the 
damage amounting to nearly $20,000. Again, un the night of October ist, 
1868, a fire destro\'ed the frame warehouse ami other structures ami destroyed 
the shops, to the amount of $10,000. In 1 SyT, a two-story brick workshop, one 
hundred and eight)- by thirt)--four and a half feet, was built, at a cost of $9,000. 
The penitentiary proper is a four-story brick building, \\ ith two wings. In the 
north wing are the cells for males, the females being in the south wing. One 
story of the latter comprises the female department for the manufacture of 
shoes. A high brick wall, inclosing shops, bounds the prison yard. 

The income of the [lenitentiar}- f jr the year ending September 30th, 1883, 
was $23,413.87 ; the expenditures were $26,289.42. The number of prisoners 
in confinement was two hundred and se\'enty-four. There was an average of 
one hundreil and fift\- men emplo\-eti in the shoe manufacture, which is the 
principal industry. Z. R. Brockwa)- ser\-ed three terms as superintendent, and 
then resigned to take charge of the Detroit House of Correction. Captain 
William WiUard, of Connecticut, ably su[5i)lied his i:)lace during the last of his 
unex[Mred term. Captain Levi S. I-\ilton li.)ng and cfificiently filled the position, 
which requires peculiar qualifications. Alexander McWhorter is the present 
superintendent. Benjamin F. GilkesiMi, a former physician, was succeeded by 
Dr. J, W. W'hitbeck. Re\-. H. A. Brewster first served as chaplain, without 
salary; Dr. Samuel Luckey served till his death, October nth, 1869, and Rev. 
John Baker has satisfactorily performed the duties of the office since then. 



The Jail, 507 



This establishment, more than half a century in age, has long been the dis- 
grace of Monroe county, being condemned by one grand jury after another, 
but still remaining as impregnable to all moral assaults from without as it would 
be to those material, though from within it is not so difficult to force a passage, 
as has been shown by the many escapes that have been made from there in 
other years. The walls are strongly built of stone, and could probably be used 
to advantage in the enlargement of this building, if that course were taken in 
preference to erecting a new structure on another site, but one of the two ac- 
tions is imperatively necessary and will, it is hoped, be performed before the 
\-ear is over. In early days the vicious and hardened inmates were separated 
from those confined for lighter offenses, but for a long time past all have been 
herded together, even those perfect!}- innocent persons who are detained as 
witnesses being thrown into contact with those who are awaiting trial for crimes 
of all descriptions. No censure is to be cast upon either the sheriff, the jailer 
or any of the deputies, either at this time or in any previous term, for all those 
officials seem to have done as well as possible with so decayed and miserable a 
structure, their vigilance being necessarily increased by the neglect of succes- 
sive boards of supervisors, who have failed in their duty to provide a decent 
and safe place of temporary confinement for the continuall}' increasing number 
of those who, for a variety of causes, have to be placed under lock and key. 
The building is, of course, under the control of the sheriff of the county, Frank 
A. Schceffel, who is nominally the jailer, but it is in immediate charge of the as- 
sistant jailer, John Cawthra; the physician is Dr. E. H. Howard, and the chap- 
lain William Harris. Six executions have taken place within the inclosure of 
these gloomy walls, which, though mentioned elsewhere in the history of the 
city, may be recapitulated here : Octavius Barron was hanged July 25th, 1838 ; 
Austin Squires November 29th, 1838; Maurice Antonio June 3d, 1852; Ira 
Stout October 22d, 1858; Franz Joseph Messner August i ith, 1871, and John 
Clark November 19th, 1875, 



5o8 History of the City of Rochester. 

CHAPTER XLVIH. 

THK knCHKSTKK RAl'i']X( iS. i 

Sounds Hcar.l at Hy.le.sville — Tl.c F<.\ Family — Doings on March 31st, 1S4S — First Suppose.l 
Intelligent Kcsiionsc — Mrs. I.e.ili Fish an.l Her Investigations - 1 he Fox {;irls Separated —Rap. 
]iings on the lioat — Investigation in Kochestei and I'se of the .Mphaliet — I'ulilic Investigation Urged 
— Oonimittees Selected — Corinthian Hall Iii\estigation — Reports of Committees, etc. 

Till', name df this cit}- is so widely associated with a philosoph}' or rehgious 
belief ktKiwii as .'-^piritiiah'sm, that a history ol Ri iciiester would be in- 
complete without some account of the oiMLjin of modern spiritualism. The 
" Rochester rajipini^s" ha\e been discussed in the last thirt\--five \-ears in all 
civilised lands, b\' belie\ers and unbelievers, and the believers are said to num- 
ber millions. 

Important e\ents aiul the rise of religious sects ha\e made notable main- 
towns in histor)'. Stratford-on-A\on and Shakespeare are thought of together; 
Salem and witchcraft come to mind when the historian talks of either : Mecca 
and Mahomet are associated together, as are Nazareth and the carpenter's son. 

The sounds which soon came to be known as " Rochester rappings" were 
first heard in Hydesxille, a little hamlet in Wayne count}'. New \'<)rk. The 
house A\as occupied in 1 848 b\' John I). Vux and wife, and their \-oungest chil- 
dren, Margaretta and Catharine, iiged twelve and nine years respectively. Prior 
to the occupanc)' of this hcnise b\- the Fo.\ famil}', peculiar noises, it was said, 
had been heard on the premises. The dwelling was owned by a Mr. liyde, a 
large farmer li\'ing in the immediate \'icinit\'. The house is now owned b\' A. 
W. Hyde, a son of the former proprietor. The tenant who occupied the house 
in 1843-44 complained of hearing unusual noises, and one Lucretia Pulver, a 
girl residing in the f.tmil)', reported that she occasionally heard pounding and 
other noises for which she could not account. Some young people, whom Lu- 
cretia invited on one occasion to remain w ith her o\'er night, also reported that 
they heard noises which soitnded like the footsteps of a person passing from the 
bed-room to the pantr_\-, then down the cellar stairs, where a few steps were ap- 
pareiitl)' taken, then the noise suddenly ceased. The wife of the tenant fre- 
tiuenth' stated to the ser\-ant girl that she was "sick of her life; that she often 
heard footsteps of a man walking about the hoitse all night." 

In 1846 and for a part of I S47 the house was occupied by Michael Week- 
man. His stor_\- was that he heard, on various occasions, strange noises. He 
stated that one evening, about nine o'clock, he heard a rapping on the outside 
door ; no one w^as to be seen. This was repeated se\-eral times, and though 
Mr. Weekman opened the door instantly, after hearing the rap, he saw no one. 
He could hear the heavy blows, feel the jar of the door, but could find no per- 
son that caused it. A little daughter of Mr. Weekman was greatly disturbed 

1 This article was prepared by Mr. R. D. Jones. 



The Rochester Rappings. 509 

and alarmed by the noises at intervals, and sometimes in the night she ran 
screaming to her parents. 

In the fall of 1847 John D. Fox and family moved from Rochester to New- 
ark in Wayne county. Circumstances soon after led Mr. Fox to rent the 
Hydesville house, and he succeeded Mr. Weekman as a tenant on the i ith of 
December, 1847. The family consisted, as before stated, of Mr. and Mrs. Fox 
and their two young daughters, Margaretta, aged twelve years, and Catharine, 
aged nine \-ears. Mr. Fox was a blacksmith, and he rented a shop in Hydes- 
ville. Mr. and Mrs. Fox were devout members of the Methodist church, and 
were held in esteem as conscientious Christian persons by the church of which 
the}- were members, and by their acquaintances in Rochester and in Wayne 
county. Mr. Fox's ancestors were from Germany. Mrs. Fox's family were of 
French origin. The name of Mrs. Fox's father was Rutan, and both on the 
paternal and maternal side there were traditions that several of their ancestors 
possessed what has been called "second sight." These traditions had no effect 
to weaken the religious faith of Mr. and Mrs. Fo.x. Neither believed in ghosts 
or haunted houses. The first night the family of Mr. Fox spent in the Hvdes- 
ville house, strange and unaccountable noises were heard, which alarmed Mrs. 
Fox and the children. Mr. Fox at first quieted the alarm b\- saj-ing that the 
shoemaker across the way was probabh' pounding leather, but when the noise 
seemed to be nearer, and in the house, he said it must be rats. The sounds 
continued, and were heard nearly every night. Soon the noises appeared to 
come from tables and chairs, and then the father charged the children with 
causing them. But when he saw the little girls pale and trembling with fright, 
ind heard the noises on the walls of the room, and on furniture distant from 
the children, the idea that the little girls were playing tricks was abandoned. 
The sounds continued through January and February, though varying in char- 
acter. Sometimes the inmates of the house affirmed that the noises were like 
the sawing of wood, and fearful groans were heard ; occasionally a heavy body 
seemed by the noise to be dragged through the rooms, down the cellar stairs, 
followed by a sound like shoveling in the cellar ; the parents saw nothing, but 
the children frequently complained that some invisible thing touched them, like 
a hand, and they asserted that there must be a dog about the bed. The mother 
slept with the girls and tried to quiet their fear. Mr. and Mrs. Fox daily united 
in prayer that this affliction might pass from them — that they might live in 
quietness. They hesitated to inform the neighbors of their annoyance, dread- 
ing their ridicule; the mother, however, informed her son, David, who resided 
about three miles from his parents. He listened with incredulity and tried to 
convince his mother that it was all imagination, and that the real cause "of 
their annoyance would soon be discovered and then she would laugh at her 
foolish fears." 

On Friday evening, March 3 1st, 1848, the family, completely worn out by 



5IO History of the City of Rochester. 

the disturbances, proposed to retire early, and if possible obtain needed rest. 
The children were sent to bed and char_i.;ed to "lie still," and not notice the 
sounds. The parents before retirint; tried the windows and doors, not onl)' to 
see if they were iierfectl}' secure, but also to ascertain if the noises could be 
made h'oni the outside. As the)' shook the wuidows, tlie\' affirni, the noises 
seemed to be louder and more jiersistent, as if in mockery. The children could 
not slee]) and left their beels t<i be near their parents, Catherine — or Kate, as 
she was called- — hax'int; become so familiar with the sounds, was not particu- 
larl)' frit^htened when in a lii^dited room and with her ])arents. This e\-cning, 
the mother said, she \\,is uiicomnionly indifferent, and in childish glee com- 
menced talking to what the_\' called invisible disturbers, ami merril)' snapping 
hei' fingers called out: "Here, Mr. Splitfoot, do as I do." The parents said 
the response was instantaneous; the invisible rapj^er sounded the number of 
times the girl snapped her fingers. She made other motions, and the number 
was immediately sounded by raps. At length, in great glee, Kate cried out: 
" C)nly look, mother, look, it can see as well as hear." Mrs. Fox conceived 
the idea that whate\'er could see and hear, and intelligently respond to queries, 
must be possessed of something in common with humanity. She said to the 
unseen intelligence: "Count ten." There were ten raps. She asked the age 
of Margaretta and of Kate, and the sounds responded correctl\', as she affirmed 
the}' did to other and more difficult t|uestions. Then she asked: "Are you a 
man that kn(.)cks ? " No response. " Are \-ou a spirit ? " Then there were 
loud and distinct rapijings. Again : "Will you rap if the neighbors are called 
in?" ami there was loud ra])ping, which was taken as an affirmative answer. 
Mrs. I"\)-\ then went for a Mrs. Redfield ; she came, but cc)uld not solve the 
mystery, and other neighbors were summoned. 

Among the persons who called at the house b_\- recpiest on the evening of 
the 31st of March was William Duesler, residing in the neighborhood. He 
made what investigation lie could that night, and in company with others con- 
tinued for three days his efforts to solve the mystery. Twenty-two persons 
besides Mr. Duesler were engaged in this investigation during this time, and all of 
them signed a statement of the transactions and declaring their inabilit}' to de- 
tect an)' trick or tr.uid in the production of the sounds. This statement, with 
other alleged facts, was soon after published at Canandaigua by E. E. Eewis. 
This iKimphlet of fort)' pages was entitled " A report of the m)'sterious noises 
heard in the house of John D. Fox in Hydesville, Arcadia, Wayne county. 
Authenticated b)' the certificates and confirmed b)' the statements of the citi- 
zens of that place and vicinit)'." 

Mr. Duesler, in his inx'cstigation of the sounds, asked if a spirit was making 
the noises, and if it was an iiijured spirit, and received what was understood to 
be affirmative answers. At this time loud and repeated sounds were interpreted 
to mean Yes, and silence. No. The responses indicated that the sounds were 



The Rochester Rappings. 511 

made by the spirit of a man who had been murdered in that house for his 
money, b}- a former occupant, and that the bod}- was buried in the cellar. Mr. 
Duesler says: — 

■' I went into the cellar with .several others, and had them all leave the house over 
our head.s. and then I asked : ' If there has been a man buried in the cellar, manifest it 
by rajjping or by any other sign.' The moment I asked the question there was a sound 
like the falling of a stick about a foot long and half an inch through, on the floor in the 
bedroom over our heads. It did not seem to rebound at all; there was but one sound. 
I then asked Stephen Smith to go up and e.xamine the room and see if he could dis- 
cover the cause of the noise. He came back and said that he could discover nothing, 
that there was no one in the room or in that part of the house. 1 then asked two more 
questions and it rapped in the usual way. We all went up stairs and made a thorough 
search but could find nothing." 

On the 3d of April David Fox and others commenced digging in the cellar 
to determine if a body had been buried there. Water flowed into the cellar so 
freely, in consequence of heavy rains, that, after digging down two or three 
feet, the digging was suspended for a time. During the summer it was resumed 
and the result was the finding of a plank, beneath it a vacant space, some crock- 
ery (supposed to be portions of a wash-bowl), charcoal, quick lime, human hair, 
and a portion of a human skull Such were the only evidences found to cor- 
roborate the affirmations made. During the few days of investigation following 
the 31st of March the alphabet was used in trying to ascertain names, and on 
one occasion the name of Charles B. Rosna was obtained, with the assertion 
that he was the murdered man. At the time indicated a peddler had suddenly 
disappeared from the neighborhood, and the man who lived in the house at 
the time of the disappearance of the peddler, when he heard the results of the 
digging, promptly visited Hydesville. He produced a certificate of character 
numerously signed by those who knew him, declaring they " had never known 
any thing against his good character, and believed him to be a man of honest 
and upright life, incapable of committing the crime of which he was suspected." 
There was therefore no further investigation of the indicated murder, or attempt 
to find the perpetratot^ of the alleged crime. 

Mrs. Leah Fish, a married daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fox, was a music- 
teacher who lived in Rochester, and had not resided with her parents for some 
years. On first hearing of the disturbance in her father's home she gave little 
heed to it, thinking it a matter that would soon be explained. Continuing to 
hear of the disturbance and of the distress it caused her parents, she went to 
Hydesville, fully believing that she could solve the m\-stery. She believed her 
pious and truthful parents were cruelly slandered when charged with the de- 
ception and practices imputed to them. She commenced an investigation ; she 
daily heard the noises, but could not account for them. She thought, how- 
ever, that she had made some discoveries in regard to the circumstances under 
which the rappings were most distinctly heard, and the responses to questions 
most accurate. She observed that when the family was gathered about the 



512 History of the City of Rochester. 

tabic at meal time the rappings were more distinct, and that the presence uf 
Margaretta and Catharine were recjuisite for the nmre ])ositive manifestations. 
She declared herself conx'inced that there was no fraud, no conscious action on 
the part of her little sisters that produced the sounds, though the knockings were 
increased and more intensified in their presence. Mrs. Fish became convinced 
there must be some change in the famil_\- to stop the proceedings, <ind said: 
"Mother, the girls must leaxx- home for a time, and then all will be cpiiet and 
}'ou can rest in peace." She thought it would be wise also to separate the girls. 
According!)-, arrangements were made to send Margaretta to \-isit the family 
of E. \\ . Capron, a friend residing in Auburn. Mrs. l-"ish said she would take 
Catharine to Rochester. She went on board a canal-boat with Catharine, then 
a common wa_\' of traveling, and congratulated herself that she had succeeded 
in securing quiet for the familv, and in ].nitting a stop to the noises which had 
been the occasion of so much annoyance. The boat had proceeded but a few- 
miles, when suddenly the same HydesviUe rapping, loud and distinct, was heard 
on the floor of the cabin. Mrs. Fish was startled and greatly annoyed. The 
raps were heard at intervals all the way to the city. On reaching her home 
the knockings loudly greeted her unw-illing ears. She catechised the sounds, 
and learned that "the spirits," as the invisible intelligences affirmed they were, 
did not intend to cease their manifestations. 

Mrs. I'ish was greatly perple.xed and called together a few friends for con- 
sultation. Cieorge Bush and wife had been to HydesviUe and had heard the 
sounds, and they were among the number w-hose counsel was sought. Lyman 
Granger, a prominent citizen, called ;a the house of Mrs. Fish, and he was con- 
sulted. The few persoiis to whom the case was made known concluded to hold 
some meetings, quietly, and see what the_\- could find out. Ver_\- soon Isaac 
and Amy Post heard that some of their friends \\ere listening with interest to 
what had now come to be called "spirit-rappings," and they thought these well 
known persons were losing their good sense. One of the investigators called 
at Mrs. Post's with Catharine Fox, and these staid friends could not suppress 
their smile of incredulity when it w-as suggested that then and there they should 
sit down and listen to " spirit-rapping." They heard, they questioned, and 
soon joined the little band of investigators. Rev. A. H. Jervis, a Methodist 
clergyman, about the same time-also became an investigator and he and Lyman 
Granger asserted that they had spiritual manifestations at their own residences 
earl)- in 1849, without the presence of an\' of the F"ox famil\-. 

Y\fter their first so-called intelligent responses were obtained in March, 1848, 
until near the close of 1849, comparati\el\' few ])ersons paid any attention to, 
or were interested in the rappings. A few individuals in Auburn and in Roches- 
ter continued to be deeply interested, and occasionally a person from a distance 
would go and listen to the mysterious rappings. What purported to be the spirits 
controlling the manifestations in the summer and early fall months of 1849 



The Rochester Rappings. 513 

(and Franklin and Swedenborg were generally mentioned in this connection) 
expressed a desire to have some public demonstration. The manner of com- 
munication was b)- calling the alphabet, the raps responding to different letters, 
which, put together, formed words and sentences. This method, though once 
or twice used in the Hydesville excitement, was not thought of again until sug- 
gested in the summer of 1S48, by Isaac Post. After that it was the adopted 
custom of getting the communications. The Fox family, and their friends, 
strongly objected to the idea of a public demonstration. Mrs. Fish said the 
odium they had already suffered was as much as they could bear. To this, the 
spirits are reported to have replied " they could not always strive with them" 
and that unless they consented they should leave them and in all probability 
withdraw until a wiser generation and more willing agents would listen to and 
heed their advice. One evening, after these repeated requests and refusals, the 
intelligences announced they were about to depart and that in twenty minutes 
they should leave. At the expiration of the time, these words were spelled out 
in the usual manner: "We now bid you all farewell." The raps ceased and 
the famih' said: "We are glad to be rid of you." 

For days not a sound or rap was heard. The change was so great that Mrs. 
Fish and others said they began to feel that instead of a good riddance they had 
met with a loss. The friends who had been accustomed to holding converse 
with the rappings, and who thought thej' had through them communicated with 
departed relatives and friends, assembled and besought the invisibles to give 
token of their presence. There was no response. "The spirits have left us" 
was the daily answer of Mrs. Fish to those who called. On the twelfth day of 
the silence, E. W. Capron, of Auburn, and George Willetts, of Rochester, called 
on Mrs. Fish and their questions in regard to the rapping were answered as 
usual — "The spirits have left us." Mr. Capron said: "Perhaps they will rap 
for us, if not for you." They formed a circle and on putting the often-repeated 
question, "Will you rap for us?" they said they were greeted with a perfect 
storm of the old familiar sounds, and that the family, who had earnestly prayed 
that the rappers would depart from them, now earnestl)' besought the invisible 
friends, "never to leave nor forsake them." 

Immediately on the return of the rappings, the communications again urged 
the importance of a public demonstration. Mrs. Fish and the few friends upon 
whom it is said this subject was pressed dreaded the odium of taking so prom- 
inent a position ; the rappings urged, and the answer was : " The cross is too 
great to bear." Then these words were given : "The greater will be your tri- 
umph." At this time Catharine had gone to Auburn, and Margaretta was 
with Mrs. Fish in Rochester. The sounds were equally strong in the presence 
of either of the young girls. One evening in the fall of 1849 ^ circle was held 
at the house of Isaac and Amy Post. Amy, being occupied, did not at first 
join in the sitting. The subject of the public meeting was spoken of, and the 



514 History of the City of Rochester. 

sounds called for the alphabet (fi\e sounds in rapid succession had come to be 
understood as such a cill), and these words were spelled out, "Call Ani_\'." 
Mrs. Post canie into the room and the communication continued; "Am_\-, in- 
vite si.xteen persons to _\-our h(.>use on Thursday evening ne.xt to hear the rap- 
ping." Amy asketl : "Whom shall I invite^" The names of si.xteen promi- 
nent gentlemen of the city were spelled. Mrs. Post still sought direction and 
said: "How shall I in\ite them?" The answer, gi\'en as before, by the spell- 
ing of wortls, letter b)- letter, was: "Thiough the post-office." "What shall 1 
sa)' to them?'" (jueried Amy, again. Then the form of the invitation was 
given as follows: — 

"Mr. , _\'ou are invited b)- the spirits to call at the house of Amy 

and Isaac Post, next Thursda)' e\-ening, at eight o'chick, to hear spirit-rapping." 

Mrs. Post sent the invitation [ireciseU' as dictated to each of the gentlemen 
nametl, all of whom responded except one prominent ph_\sician. When the 
compan}' assembled on the e\ening named, the rapping commenced. .Some 
of the part}' went into the cellar; the sounds were above them; those in the 
parlor said the raps seemed to proceed fi'om the cellar. The rappings were 
unusually loud. Some proposed to ask (_]uestions. The raps spelled out : "We 
did not inx'ite )'ou to get communications, but hear the sounds," and no ques- 
tions were asked. Another meeting was api)ointetl for the next week, at the 
house of George Willetts, and the same gentlemen were invited. The result 
of this gathering was the same as before; loud rappings were heard in all parts 
of the room. A thirtl meeting was held. Then there was inquiry as to the 
object of the meetings and why these strangers to the manifestations were in- 
vited. The answer was: "We wanted prominent persons to hear the sounds 
who shoukl know the_\' were not the result of trick or deception, for the influ- 
ence the\- ma_\' e.xert on the public meeting; anil more than all, to give the 
friends confidence in our abilit}' to make the sounds in a public meeting." 

A meeting of a few friends nuire f.imiliar with the rappings was then called 
at the house of Isaac Post. Some felt that a public meeting was important, 
yet all shrank from being prominent actors in it, and silently prayed that "this 
cup might pass from them." The invisibles were persistent; they said the 
meeting must be held, and held in Corinthian hall, and proceeded in the usual 
way to give directions. Noxember 14th, 1849, was appointed as the time for 
the meeting. II. W. Capron, of Auburn, who was familiar with the phenomena 
from the first, was selected to give the audience a history of the manifestations, 
and to ask for a committee of citizens to make an investigation. Isaac Post 
and George Willetts were appointed to attend to the genei'al business arrange- 
ments, Rev. A. H. Jervis, Nathaniel Draper, Lyman Granger, Amy Post and 
Mrs. Pierpont to go on the platform with Mrs. Leah P'ish and the medium, 
Margaretta Fox. When the names of the above mentioned persons were 
spelled out and their duties assigned, a witness of the proceedings said, "con- 



The Rochester Rappings. 515 

sternation was visible on every countenance." To be known as believers in 
what the public stigmatised as a vile and wicked deception was incurring, they 
thought, sufficient odium, and now to be placed in a prominent position before 
an incredulcius public seemed a burden too great to bear. The rapping ceased, 
and upon the chosen few "fell fear and trembling." At length Rev. A. H. 
Jervis arose and said: "I will go; I am not afraid to face a frowning world." 
The others then agreed to perform their assigned duty. 

The meeting was held on the evening of November 14th, 1849. All the 
persons were present on the stage, as designated. Mr. Capron gave a concise 
historj- of the rappings from the commencement to that time. The audience 
paid profound attention; occasionally during Mr. Capron's remarks a distinct, 
though muffled, sound of the raps was heard. At the close of the lecture a 
committee of investigation composed of five prominent citizens was appointed, 
with instructions to report on the subsequent evening, to which time the meet- 
ing adjourned. The committee nominated by the audience were A. J. Combs, 
Daniel Marsh, Nathaniel Clark, A. Judsonand Edward Jones. The committee 
spent the following day in the investigation, and on the evening of November 
15th a very large audience assembled in Corinthian hall to hear the report. 
The committee reported substantially as follows: — 

"That, without the knowledge of the persons in whose presence the manifestations 
are made, the committee selected the hall of the Sons of Temperance as the place for 
the investigation; that the sounds were heard on the floor near where Mrs. Fish and 
Margaretta stood, and that some of the committee heard the rapping on the wall behind 
them. A number of questions were asked, which were answered, not altogether right 
nor altogether wrong. In the afternoon they went to the house of a citizen, and while 
there the sounds were heard on the outside (apparently) of the front door, and when in 
the house on the door of the closet. \V'hen a hand was placed upon the door, and when 
the rapping occurred, ajar was sensibly felt. One of the committee placed one of his 
hands upon the feet of the ladies and the other hand on the floor, and though the feet 
were not moved there was a distinct jar of the floor. When the ladies were separated 
at a distance no sound was heard, but when a third jierson was interposed between them 
the sounds were heard. On the pavement and on the ground the same sounds were 
heard. The ladies seemed to give every opportunity to the committee to investigate 
the case fully, and offered to submit to a thorough examination by ladies if desired. All 
the members of the committee agreed in reporting that the sounds were heard, but they 
had failed to discover the means by which they were made." 

The audience, which had now become somewhat e.xcited, had expected a 
different report — one that would effectually explode "the foolish humbug." 
Considerable discussion ensued, and some asserted that the investigation had 
not been sufficiently thorough. The meeting therefore resolved to adjourn to 
the next evening and to appoint a committee that "will find out the deception." 
The following named persons were appointed such committee: Dr. H. H. Lang- 
worthy, Frederick Whittlesey, D. C. McCallum, William Fisher, and Judge A. 
P. Haskell, of LeRoy. 



5i6 History of the City of Rochester. 

To avoid all possibilit)' of fraud or collusion the in\'cstigations of this second 
committee were conducted at the office of Chancellor Whittlesey, who was one 
of the committee. Mrs. Fish and Margaretta were placed in various positions 
in the I'oom, and in most instances the sounds were heard; sometimes on the 
floor, on the wall, table, chairs and on the door. Dr. Langworthy, b}' the 
stethoscope, tested the possibility of the sounds beint; pmduced by ventril- 
oquism, and the committee were unanimously of the opinion that neither ven- 
triloquism nor machiner)' produced the s(.>unds. The response to questions ex- 
hibited an intelligence that puzzled them. Toward the close of the day's in- 
vestigations Chancellor Whittlesey happened to be standing with Margaretta 
near the tloor of his office, when loud raps were sounded upon the ilnor. He 
placed his haml against it and feeling a perceptible jar he su(_ldenly opened the 
door to see who was upon the outsiiJe, but he saw ni) one. "Judge Haskell," 
he said, "will )'ou step outside the tluor and see that no one touches it?" 
Judge Haskell went into the hall, closing the door after him. Immediately 
there were heavy raps, and the jar or shaking of the door was again distinctly 
felt. The chancellor called Judge Haskell to return, and saitl : "Judge Haskell, 
tlid )-iiu touch the tloor while on the outside ? " " I tlid not,'' said the judge. 
"Did anyone else?" "No one," was the .uisuer. This last performance 
was such an astonishment that Mr. \\'hittlese\- took his hat and immediatel)' 
left the room, and did not I'eturn to further aid the committee. 

By the e\ening appointetl to hear the report of the second committee, 
Rochester was ablaze with excitement. A crowd packed Corinthian hall. 
When the committee made their report and stated that they had failed to solve 
the m\'ster)', there was a stornu' aiul excited tliscussion in regard to methods 
of investigati(jn. \V. L. liurtis saitl if he could be on the committee he would 
give one hundred dollars if he could not expose the humbug. L. Kenyon 
said if he could not find out the trick he woukl throw himself over Genesee 
falls. It was resolved to have another committee, and Messrs. Hurtis and 
Kenyon were appointed members of it. In addition the meeting appointed on 
the committee Dr. E. P. Langworthv, Dr. Justin Gates and William Fitzhugh. 
The third committee met at the rooms of Dr. Gates in the old Rochester House. 
They selected several ladies to assist in the examination. The ladies took Mrs. 
Fish and Margaretta to a private room and there made the most thorough 
search of their shoes, stockings and of every garment they wore, but found 
nothing by which the rappings could be maile. The committee of ladies cer- 
tified that after the examination of the clothing the)- placed the women " on pil- 
lows, with a handkerchief tied around the bottom of their dresses tight to their 
ankles; still the rapping was heard on the wall and floor distinctl)-. " 

The men on this third committee, knowing the almost universal belief that 
there was trick or deception somewhere, and a part of them having denounced 
the other committees for lack of shrewdness and thoroughness, conducted the 



The Ro(iiESTf:R Ratpings. 517 

examination with rigor and extreme severity. At the close they said they 
could not detect the fraud. Before the evening meeting it was rumored that 
the third committee had been no more successful than the others, and the ex- 
citement was intense as the crowd gathered in Corinthian hall. Dr. Lang- 
worthy made as full a report of the investigation as the excited state of the au- 
dience would permit. Notwithstanding all these precautions, he reported, the 
sounds were heard ; they were heard when the women stood on large feather 
pillows, without shoes, when standing on glass, and when placed in other posi- 
tions. Each member of the committee separately confirmed the report of their 
chairman. 

At this last public meeting there was fearful excitement. Torpedoes had 
been distributed among "the boys, " and the rowdy element of the city was 
largely represented in the hall. Refusing to listen to the statements of Dr. 
Langworthy, on the suggestion of some one there was a rush for the platform 
and for the "rappers." At this juncture S. W. D. Moore, then police justice, 
who was present with a few members of the police force, and with them was 
seated near the stage, jumped upon the platform with his aids and ordered 
back the surging crowd. His official character and powerful voice for a mo- 
ment checked the rush, but such madness had seized the audience that they 
again rushed forward, the rowdies uttering the vilest language and bitter de- 
nunciations. The powerful arm of 'Squire Moore, aided by a portion of the 
policemen, beat back the crowd, imtil other officers piloted the women by a 
rear door to a place of safety. Thus ended the famous "Corinthian hall in- 
\'estigation. " Mrs. Leah Fish, the elder sister, was not aware at the time of 
the investigation, her friends said, that she possessed any of the powers of her 
}-ounger sister. Soon after the public meetings she became what was known 
as a "medium," the knockings coming suddenly and with much force, in the 
absence of the young girls. 

Catharine returned to Rochester immediately after the public investigation, 
and private investigations were continued by various parties. Public attention 
was called to the phenomena, and the house of Mrs. Fish was visited by per- 
sons from many distant localities. Among the persons who systematically 
pursued the investigation after the Corinthian hall meetings was Judge Has- 
kell, of LeRoy. He had served on one of the committees, and, though then 
unable to solve the mystery, he believed that a more thorough and systematic 
investigation would enable him to do so. As the F"o.\ family and their im- 
mediate friends challenged the strictest scrutiny, he determined to ascertain and 
expose the mystery. In an extended account of his investigations, which he 
subsequently published, he says: "I commenced the work as I would a diffi- 
cult problem in mathematics, determined that I would not be deterred by any 
appearances of the supernatural nor by the jars and 'humbugs' of the material 
world." He had many sittings, and under varied conditions. He called to 



5i8 History of tiik City of Rociifstkr. 

his aid scientific and professional men from Rocliester and otlier places in 
Western New Voi'k. At some of the sittinL;s the judoe called for evidences 
of the power of "spirits" ()\ ei' matter, and in aiisw ei" he saw "tables, chairs 
and bureaus move at dillerenl places and sduietimes aL;ainst the apparent ellorts 
of several L;entlemen, and in the daj'time withnut anythins; to oljstruct the 
sight." in answer to the (piestion, " What is \'om- mission ? " the repl)- was: 
" \Vc come to benelit m.mkind, by intparting imijoi'tant truths," and the ])re- 
diction was, "We shall soon be permitted to conunune through man_\' persons 
and in diftercnt ways." 

The sisters remained in Rochester some months, and then X'isited New York, 
Philadelphia and many other localities, affording to the curious the opportunity 
to hear the sounds and tD witness other manifestations. At this writing (May, 
1884) the three sisters are still living. Leah, now Mrs. Underhill, resides in 
New \'ork cit_\- ; Margaretta (Mrs. Kane) makes her home in Brooklyn, and the 
youngest, Catharine, is li\ing in Londun, i'.ngland, and is the widow of an 
ICnglish barrister, by the name of Jenkiii. The sounds, as in 1848, are still 
heard in their [jresiMice. ( )tliei' and \arii-d manifest, itions are said to occur in 
all parts of the world, ha\ing been de\xlo|)ed b\' what in 1849 was designated 
as "Rochester rappings." I'rom these rai)i)ings as a commencement has orig- 
inatetl nnnlern S|)iritualism. 



CI I A ITER XI AX. 

IIIF MM-, .\Rrs IN ROCIIKSTICR.I 

-Skrlclic, ..f i1k- Karl) i'aink-i^ of RulIr-^Ilt — .\it Fxliihition^ luio in Furmei Days — The Sculp- 
tors :m<l tlie Anliitecls — l-:ii^ra\ iiit; on Woo.I, Coiiiht ami Stone — I'hototjiaphy — Music and the 
Musicians — 'I'lic .\rl Club and llic- .\rl F.\chan|^e. 

TI IM [jersoiial recollections of the wiiter must date from the >'ear I 833, as I 
came to this ])lace at that time; the principal facts relating to the fine arts, 
previous to that date, have been gi\en by 1 lenry O'RielK' in his iinaluable work 
on tlie earl)' histor_\- of Rochester and Western New York. 

Tin: I'.iinters. — The tir>t resident .u'tist in Rochester, so far as I am able to 
learn, was Paul Jlinds, who practised the art of portrait and miniature-painting 
about the )-ear i8jo. How long he remained here, and what was the charac- 
ter of his work, 1 have not been able to aseertain. In 1823 Horace Harding 
(brother of the celebrated painter by that name) practised the art of portrait- 



1 This article is in great part the reproduction of an article by Mr. D. M. Dewey, which appeared in 
another worl< a few years ago. It has been altered to the form here given, mainly by Mr. Dewey him- 
self, and brought down to the present time. 



The Fine Arts in Rochester. 5 1 

painting here. He was recognised as an artist of fair ability. Among h 
heads was one of the late Isaac Moore. In 1825 George Arnold made his re: 
idence here, and devoted himself in part to ornamental and figure-painting, h 
produced many figure-pieces which evinced fine talent. Among .the best i 
that line, I remember well the painting for the banner of the " Rochester Cit 
Cadets," afterward the "Rochester Light Guards." This was painted aboi 
1840, and attracted universal admiration for its artistic beauty. It was painte 
for the ladies of the city, and presented to the company by them with unusu 
public ceremonies. Mr. Arnold still resides here, enjoying the respect of a 
who know him. J. L. D. Mathies, of whom Mr. O'Rielly speaks, came here aboi 
the year 1825 to 1828, accompanied, as I am informed, by his nephew — the no 
famous artist William Page, of New York — both of whom were portrait-pain' 
ers. They opened a studio and art gallerj-, consisting of their own painting 
Their plan seems to have been to accumulate a number of paintings for the a 
gallery, which would prove of sufficient interest to attract visitors. Mr. Pac 
painted some historical pieces — one, the "Children of Israel crossing the Re 
Sea;" also, the head of an "Old Roman in Chains." They did not secure pa 
ronage sufficient at that early day to warrant the enterprise of the gallery, an 
gave up the idea. Mr. Page remained here about one year and then returne 
to New York, where he had formerly resided. Mr. Page has long been recog 
nised as one of the greatest American painters. Mr. Tuckerman, in his wor 
entitled Book of the Artists, says of him: "Of all American painters, Williai 
Page is the most originally experimental. He has studied his art in theory; 
well as practice; he has idealised in a wide range of speculations as regards tl 
process, the methods, and the principles of adapting them." Mr. Mathies, ha\ 
ing practised painting more as an amateur than an artist, soon after laid asic 
his pencil and easel and embarked in a patent- right business, \\'hich prove 
more successful in a pecuniary way. He was proprietor for some years of th 
"Arcade restaurant; " also landlord of the Clinton Hotel when he died, aboi 
the year 1834. One of Mr. Mathies's most celebrated portraits is that of tl" 
Indian chief Red Jacket, now in the possession of Mrs. H. G. Warner of th 
city. About 1827, a Mr. Tuthill erected his easel here as a portrait-painte 
and executed several paintings. Among them were portraits of the late D 
Matthew Brown and his wife; also, the father and mother of the late Williai 
Atkinson. It was in this year that Daniel Steele, a portrait-painter of no mea 
abilit)', came here. Mr. Steele was a man of very pleasing address, and soo 
placed his pictures in the parlors of a large number of our best families. Amon 
his best pictures was one of Horace Gay; also one of General Vincent Mathew: 
which is now hanging over the judge's bench in the court-house. Mr. Steel 
remained here about seven years. Philip Boss came to Rochester about i83( 
from the town of Clarkson, in this county. Possessing some talent for portrait 
painting as an amateur, he began the practice of his art here, and produce 
quite a number of very satisfactory portraits. 



520 HisroKV OF THE City of Rochester. 

Grove S. Gilbert graduated with honor at the Middlebury academy, about 
the year 1825. While there, his genius manifested itself in drawing very life- 
like pen and pencil sketches of iiis school-mates. His first essays in portraiture 
were made in the village of LeRny, fr(im whence he removed to Niagara, Can- 
ada, where he sj^ent one winter in teaching school. He removed to this city 
in the \-ear 1834, when he was t\vent}'-nine years of age. He at once opened 
a studio, and erected his easel as a pdrtrait-paintcr. Without the advantage of 
foreign trax'cl, or even a knowledge of the works of the best masters, and liav- 
ing seen but few examples worthy of study, he seems to have invented his own 
methods, and by intuitive genius to have worked out a system of his own, pro- 
ducing results which have challenged the admiration of the best masters in the 
countr)-. During the [last fifty years Mr. Gilbert has produced a very large 
number of excellent portraits, including those of many of our old citizens. He 
still resides here, highly respected as an artist and as a gentleman. Roy Audy, 
a portrait-painter uf rather feeble talent, made his temporary residence here in 
the _\-ear 1836. He painted a few pictures, among which was a full length por- 
trait of I'llisha Johnson, one of our most prominent citizens. This was a very 
showy work, and attracted some attention. Mr. Audy soon left, and has not 
since visitetl the city professionalh'. Vincent P. Shaver, a portrait painter of 
more than ordinary talent, resided here from about the year 1833 to 1838. He 
had a remarkable eye for color, his pictures were well drawn, and he generall)' 
succeeded in giving true expression of the character of his subjects. He painted 
the head of General Vincent Mathews for the members of the bar, which was 
engraved on steel, and presented to Mr. O'Rielly for his Sketches of Roch 
ester, and appeared in that work. Alvah Bradish practised the art of portrait- 
painting here fn.im 1 837 to about 1847. He painted a large number of heads. 
He was a man of decided abilit)', and produced works of great merit. He may 
be regarded as the peer of any artist who has ever made his residence here. 
Among some of his best heads are those of Silas O. Smith, Dr. Levi Ward and 
Orlando Hastings. R. B. Smith was a contemporary of Mr. Bradish, and is still 
a resident of the city. He has for many years practised portrait-painting, and 
has produced many good likenesses. Mr. Smith has high claims for respect as 
an artist, as he has thorough theoretical knowledge of his profession, and is a 
lover of art. Colb_\- Kimball came here about 1835, having in charge an exhi- 
bition which was given in the old court-house, at twenty-five cents admission. 
The show consisted of several paintings. The most attractive feature of the 
show, however, was a live alligator. Mr. Kimball concluded to remain here, 
and soon began painting portraits. He was an indefatigable worker. Of the 
si.xty portraits of the old pioneers now hanging in the court-house, I think he has 
painted the largest number. As likenesses they are generally conceded good. 
Thomas LeClear had a studio in the Arcade about 1858 or 1859. While here 
the artist gave indications of that talent which has since placed him at the head 



The Fine Arts in Rocherter. 521 

of his profession in this country. He painted a few heads. The only one I can 
now recall is that of Hubbard S. Allis, who was at that time a clerk in the post- 
ofifice, nearly under LeClear's studio. As LcClear became identified with our 
city in his early efforts, I copy from Tuckerman a few lines in reference to his 
success as an artist : — 

"Among the comparatively few American jiortrait-painters who have steadily pro- 
gressed in their art is Thomas LeClear. To his native faculty for imitation, LeClear 
now unites a remarkable power of characterisation, a peculiar skill in coloring, and mi- 
nute accuracy in the reproduction of latent as well as superficial personal traits." 

John Phillips, the now celebrated artist of Chicago, was in his youth a 
farmer-boy on the farm of H. N. Langworthy, in the town of Greece, in this 
county. He was a pupil of LeClear in 1839. He sooii left for the West, 
where he has succeeded in his profession to an eminent degree. He has visited 
us for a few months at intervals, and has done a considerable number of fair 
heads. He paints with a rapid, free and bold hand, often producing remark- 
ably fine effects in relief I have known him to paint a portrait in five hours 
which would require as many days, if not weeks, with some artists. When he 
chooses to devote his time to the careful expression of draperies, he can hardly 
be excelled. As a successful Rochester boy, he deserves honorable mention in 
our sketches. Eugene Sintzenich, a landscape-painter, came here about 1840. 
He possessed fair talents as an artist, and was also considered a good teacher in 
drawing and painting. He was employed by Mr. Reynolds to paint views of 
Niagara on the walls of the entrance to the Arcade. These paintings for many 
years attracted inuch attention. He died here in the year 1852 John Bow- 
man came here in I 841, from Pennsylvania, and opened his studio as a portrait- 
painter in the Arcade. He was an artist of more than ordinary abilit)'. He 
painted a few very fine heads ; among which was one of Rev. Dr. Whitehouse. 
Harry B. Brent came here about 1840. He painted several fine landscapes 
from nature; one in particular attracted great attention, " the residence of 
Webster, at Marshfield." Another, a composition of singular merit, represented 
an imaginary view of the scenery of the Genesee at Rochester, one hundred 
years ago. James Cleveland practised the art of landscape-painting here about 
the year 1840. He also taught drawing and painting. He was a man of fine 
ability, and did much to increase the taste as well as to develop a knowledge 
of his art in the higher sense of the term. James Harris came here about the 
year 1845. He opened a studio in the Arcade as a landscape-painter and 
teacher, where he remained for many years. He had many pupils at different 
times ; in fact, for years was the only permanent teacher here. He had the 
singular faculty of inspiring the minds of his pupils with the idea that he was 
a master in his profession ; hence he was quite successful as a teacher. He was 
modest and retiring in his manner. He died here, having the personal regard 
of his pupils and acquaintances. T. G. Gale practised his art as a portrait and 
figure-painter here about the year 1843, ^^'^ for four or five years later. He 



522 History of the City of Rochester. 

had threat \LTsatility of talent. He practised iiearl)- all branches of painting, 
often attempting; lar_L;e historical and Scriptural works. A. D. Beecher came 
hereabout iS6v I le recci\'ed his earl\- instruction from Colby Kimball. Pos- 
sessing nati\e genius, he soon took to his own methods in painting. He was 
an excellent cohirist, and produced pleasing pictures as well as excellent like- 
nesses in portraits. \\\^ _i^'-i-/nr paintings, fruit and flower pieces showed talent. 
Isaac E. Wilbur was born near A\'on, Livingston count}'. He early exhibited 
talent as an artist. He came to Rochester about 1 860, and commenced the 
practice of landscape-painting in w h.ich he steadil}' progressetl until he attained 
an en\iable position as an artist. 

Miss Helen R. Searle, the ilaughter of Henr\- Searle, early evinced a de- 
cided talent for painting. About 1S65 she began painting small fruit and game 
pictures. These early attempts were thoroughly artistic, and soon gave her a 
reputation as a careful student of nature. She was selected as a teacher in 
tlrawing antl painting for tlie 15ryan female seminary, at I^atavia, where she 
remained for sexeral terms, filling her position with rare abilit\', and continually 
progressing in her art studies, until her ambition to place herself in the iront 
ranks of her profession causetl her to seek instruction in European schools ot 
art. She had excelled in fruit-painting, and hence she left for Europe to find 
in Preyor • — the leading artist in German}- in that line of art — at Diisseldorf, 
a master under w hose fostering care she could acquire the practice she so ear- 
nesth' desiretl. Her talent was appreciated b_\- her master, and by her devotion 
to her chosen profession she soon produced works of exceeding beauty and 
delicac)', truthful to nature, exquisite in drawing and color, and of such thorough 
artistic character as to command large and remunerative prices. She is a fin- 
ished artist, and reflects great ci'edit ujjon her native cit}', and as a represent- 
ati\e of the female artists of our countrx*. Miss M. Louise Wagner, a nati\'e 
of Norwich, \. v., received the rudiments of art from her brother Daniel Wag- 
ner. The}- removed to Rochester and opened a studio in the Arcade, in 1873. 
The}- have applieil themseh-es niosti}- to [Jortraitiu'e in iijl, and landscape, fruit, 
and flower-painting, and are strictly conscientious in all that pertains to their 
profession. Christopher W. Forkel is a portrait-painter. He is a Rochester boy, 
who, after spending several }-ears in New York and Europe, has returned here 
and become a resident artist. He paints pictures of fruit, etc., which reflect 
credit on him as a promising young artist. John W. Miller, a resident artist, 
has acquired an enviable reputation as a painter of flowers from nature. He is 
also a fresco-painter, and executes work in that department of art with great 
skill and refined taste. Horatio Walker, one of the youngest of our artists, 
has within a few }'ears developed great talent as a painter of figure-pieces, both 
of men and of animals. His merit is well recognised away from home, so that 
he has had i-iian}- commissions from New York and elsewhere for pictures of all 
sizes. Harvey Ellis, James Somerville, James H. Dennis, John Z. Wood, Al- 



The Fine Arts in Rochester. 523 

fred Perkins and D. \V. Norton are promising young artists. \V. J. Lockhart, 
who died a few years ago, was a painter of rare merit for one of his age. 

Early Art Exhibitions. — It was the custom, some thirty or forty years ago, 
to have meritorious works of art carried about the country and exhibited. Long 
before any suitable exhibition hall was erected here, the court-house and the 
ball-rooms of our hotels were used for such [lurposes. About the year 1843 a 
fine collection of European paintings, including a full-length portrait of George 
IV., by Sir Thomas Lawrence, was exhibited in the court-house. A little later, 
the great painting known as Page's "Venus" was exhibited in the National 
Hotel ball-room. Still later, the first piece of sculpture ever exhibited here, 
Powers's "Greek Slave," was shown in a small hall in a building where the 
Elour Cit)' bank now stands. Powell's great painting, "De Soto discovering 
the Mississippi," which now adorns the rotunda of the capitol at Washington, 
was exhibited in Corinthian hall soon after it was opened; Peale's "Court of 
Death" was also exhibited in the same place. A few years since the late "Wil- 
liam A. Reynolds, who was not only a cultivated amateur and lover of art, but 
a liberal patron, interested himself in establishing an art gallery in the large hall 
over the Rochester savings bank A Mr. Humphrey, who had long been en- 
gaged in other cities in art exhibitions, took the general management and pro- 
cured a large number of fine paintings for the exhibition, including Church's 
" Under Niagara," Bierstadt's " Light and Shadow," and other celebrated works. 
The exhibition for a time proved successful but was finally closed for want of 
sufficient patronage. D. W. Powers, in 1876, soon after the Powers block was 
fully completed, determined to finish the upper suite of rooms in his building 
for a spacious permanent galler)-. He entered upon this enterprise with his 
usual enthusiasm, determined that it should be an honor to Rochester, as well 
as creditable to himself He paid a flying visit to Europe, in company with 
connoisseurs of art competent to aid him in the selection of suitable pictures. 
In a very few months, probably the finest suite of rooms anywhere to be found 
in this country — devoted to art proper — were completed, and the walls filled 
with creditable works of the old masters, as well as many originals of great 
merit, together with several pieces of fine sculpture, forming altogether a pict- 
ure-gallery of rare merit, for which Mr. Powers is entitled to the gratitude not 
only of all lovers of art, but of the citizens generally of Rochester and Western 
New York. In the parlors of our citizens may now be found large numbers 
of valuable works of art, exhibiting a cultivated taste as well as appreciation of 
art. Art feeling and art culture here have been greatly stimulated during the 
past few years by some few persons who have labored efficiently for that object, 
among whom no man is entitled to greater credit than M. B. Anderson, president 
of our university, who is an accomplished connoisseur. His course of lectures 
before the graduating classes of the university, which he has often kindly opened 
to those interested in art, have proved of great \alue. It should be stated here 

34 



524 History of the City of Rochester. 

that he was the first college president in the United States to inaugurate a sys- 
tem of elementar\- instruction in the theor_\- and practice of the fine arts, espe- 
ciall)' engra\'ings, for the yoiuig men committed to his care, as a starting-point 
in art culture from which they could easil)', in after-life, b}' stutly and observa- 
tion, become intelligent amateurs and art critics. 

The .Sculptors. — I'ldward C. Clute came to Rochester in 1.S54, and re- 
mained about two years. He was the first to model and execute in marble a 
life-size bust, in Rochester. His bust of the late James Chappell excited the 
admiration of art critics at that time. He also executed small basso-re/icvos, 
medallions, etc., of exquisite finish and beaut)'. This city not furnishing patron- 
age, he sought emplo)'ment for his genius in other climes. Johnson M. Mund\', 
a native of New Brunswick, New Jerse)-, came to Rochester in 1863 and opened 
a studio in the Arcade, after seven j'ears of study in the studio of Henry K. 
Brown, of I-trooklyn. After 1863 he permanently residetl in Rochester till 
within two j-ears. He has executed in marble a large number of busts of 
leading citizens of Rochester and W^estern New York, among which are those 
of Bishop De Lancey, Dr. Anderson, Ur. Chester Dewey, William A. and 
Abelard Reynolds, Pliny M. Bromle)-. I'red Douglass, etc. Among other 
works which ha\e added largely to his reputation are designs for a soldiers' 
monument, a memorial monument to Charles Sumner, " the Reaper, " and 
several figiu'c-pieces. His products, whether from chisel or pencil, exhibit a 
careful, patient stud)- of nature which stamps him a conscientious worker. J. 
Guernsey Mitchell is a young sculptor of great promise, who is now in Paris, 
perfecting himself in the plastic art. He is the maker of the colossal image 
of Mercury, surmounting the tall chimne)- of Kimball's tobacco works, and he 
has executed many beautiful busts in marble. 

Architects and Architecture. — The first resident architect was Captain 
Daniel Looniis, who came to Rochester in 1820. He furnished plans and built 
the first county jail on North Fitzhugh street, and twent)' years later the stone 
jail on the " island. " He was also the builder of the old " Center market " at 
the foot of Market street, of many of the best residences of the third ward 
erected prior to 1840, and man)- of the business blocks erected at an earl)- da)-, 
among which was the old Rochester bank building. He died in 1864, and 
was succeeded by his son, Isaac Loomis, who has practised this profession all 
his life. The latter is the architect of several churches, including the church of 
the l^piphany, and man)- resiliences, etc., in this cit)- and the towns of Western 
New York. W. H. Richardson is in partnership with him. Tinker, Bolt & 
Ryan date from the )-ear i8j8. St. Paul's church was designed and erected 
by them, with its spire two hundred and twenty-eight feet high, which when 
nearly completed was blown tlo\vn, and the present tower substituted. Jason 
Bassett was considered the leading architect of the city from 1832 to 1840, the 
period of his residence here. He had a penchant for the pure classic Grecian 



The Fine Arts in Rochester. 525 

style of architecture, of which the old City bank buildinij was a good example. 
Merwin Austin came here about 1845, and cxcrtt-d a lart;c influence on public 
and private architecture for \-ears, at a time when the cit\- was growing very 
rapidly and more attention was being paid to modern styles. The old court- 
house was torn down, and the present one erected by him. He was the arch- 
itect of Plymouth church ; he also introduced the Gothic cottages for residence 
in the suburbs. He left Rochester some time since. 

A. J. Warner settled here in 1847. He has acquired an enviable reputa- 
tion at home as well as abroad. His work has been done mainly during a 
period of great financial prosperity, when large wealth had been accumulated 
and our rapidly increasing population warranted the investment in more costly 
and elegant buildings, hence his work is eminently more commanding in ap- 
pearance than that of many of his predecessors. Among the fine and costly 
buildings of which he is architect here may be named the Powers block, the 
city hall, the Free academy, the First Baptist and First Presbyterian churches, 
etc. He has also furnished plans for many private and public buildings 
throughout Western New York, such as the .Soldiers' Home, Hath; the city 
hall, Erie 'county jail and hospital, at Buffalo, all of which are fine specimens 
of architecture and have given him a wide reputation. F"rederick A. Brockett 
and J. Foster Warner are now associated with him. Charles Coots was for 
many years a partner with A. J. Warner, and, though a young man, acquired 
a fine reputation as an architect. D. C. McCallum practised his profession in 
Rochester about the year 1 840, and for a few subsequent years. He was an 
accomplished architect, and held a high position in his profession. Among the 
prominent buildings erected by him are the House of Refuge, St. Joseph's 
church, St. Mary's hospital and the Odd Fellows' Hall building. He did much 
to impro\e the general architecture of the city. His drawings and studies 
were carefully made, and his plans well adapted to location. Henry Searle 
came here in the year 1844, and for some twenty-three years was profession- 
ally engaged as an architect. Among the public buildings erected by him 
are the Rochester savings bank, in pure Grecian style and of rare beauty; the 
old Third church, which nas located on Main street, corner of Stone, a Gothic 
structure; the Central church, on Sophia street; the Monroe county workhouse, 
the Rochester City hospital and Corinthian hall. For the last-named building 
he invented a new and valuable method of ventilation, which has been largch- 
adopted elsewhere, reflecting great credit on him as a genius in his profession. 
He acquired a large reputation throughout Western New York, and designed 
the court-houses of Lyons, Canandaigua and Binghamton. He also furnished 
designs and erected the House of Refuge for the state of Michigan, located at 
Lansing. Mr. Searle removed from here, in 1867, to Washington, D. C. His 
son Henry, who for eight years was engaged with his father as an architect, 
removed from here to Washington, D. C, in 1865, and established himself 



526 History ok the City of Rochester. 

there as a professional architect. He was commissioned to make drawings and 
phins for tlie ini[)rii\'ement and enlargement of our Rochester savings bank, of 
which his father was the original architect, which plans were adopted, and in 
which he has succeeded admirabl}- in preser\ing ,iik1 carrying <iut the original 
exquisite Grecian designs of the c>riginal. The pl.ms nearly double the original 
height, adding about sixt}- feet; the\- also enlarge the building on the ground. 
John R. Thomas commenceil the practice of his profession here in 1866. He 
introduced the Mansard roof which was first applied to private dwellings, and 
has made a specialty of the study of Gothic art, believing that it will be the 
architecture of the future in this C((untr)-. He designed the Rochester theolog- 
icd sennnar\- buildings, .Sibley hall, on the universit)' grounds ; the Opera 
house, the Monroe county alms house, the Uni\ersit\- of Virginia, at Char- 
lottesx'ille, Virginia, .uid the Xew \'ork state reformatory buildings, at I'dmira. 
In I S74 he recei\ed an apjiointment from (j(.j\'ernor iJix as (_)neofthe state 
architects, and was assigned at once to the charge of the Reformatory at I'd- 
mira. ' I. G. Cutler has, f)r some _\'ears, been one of our most p<ipular archi- 
tects, having designed man)- beautiful buildings, reflecting credit on his skill, 
among which the F.hvootl bhick is the most conspicuous. The l^llis brothers, 
among our younger architects, are highly esteemed for their artistic skill. They 
luu'e, already, produced many fine structures, and are now engaged on the 
go\ernment buikling ([xist-office, etc.), the designs for which exhibit tjuite 
practical utility as well as beauty. Putnam & Block have designed many fine 
edifices here, and the name of Louis 1'. Rogers is associated with the Warner 
building, on St. Paul street, of w hich he is the architect. Henry B. Gleason 
has a high reputation in the [jrofession, while Uscar Knebel and Otis & Cran- 
tlall are deservedly popular. The latest comers are Ja\- Fa)- ami John R. 
Church. 

In (jothic architecture we have two fine churches, designed b_\' the cele- 
brated architect of Trinity church, New Vork, Mr. Ui)john. These buildings 
are worth)' of mention in this article as creditable alike to the parties who 
caused them to be erecteil antl to our city. The Unitarian church, on Temple 
street, in the puie pointed Cjothic st_\'le, is an exceedingly handsome edifice in 
its proportions and st}-le. St. Peter's church, on Gibbs street, which is in the 
Romanesque Gothic, presents another very handsome ecclesiastical building. 

Engraving on Wood and Copper. — The earliest wood-cut engraver here was 
Martin Cable. He matle a few coarse wood-cuts of our early newspaper offices, 
for show-bills, etc. He has left no record by which his fame could be perpet- 
uated. V. R. Jackson commenced engraving here about 1835. He engraved 
on copper and wood; also the first copper- plate map of the cit\' was made by 
him about the year 1840. He did a large amount of work on wood, and was 
a man of decided talent in his profession. About 1845 Charles Mix came here 
and formed a copartnership with John Miller, under the name of Miller & Mix. 



The Fine Arts in Rochester. 527 

This firm for a number of years were the only engravers here. They executed 
first-class work on steel, copper and wood, and acquired a good reputation as 
artists. Miller moved away, and Mi.K continued the business for a time, when 
he was succeeded, in 1850, by George Frauenberger, who, as engraver on 
wood or copper, as a draughtsman in mechanical drawing, and as a horticul- 
tural draughtsman from nature, has accjuired an enviable reputation. George 
D. Ramsdell and E. M. Sasseville are also good engravers, with plenty of work 
on hand. 

Lithography. — The first attempt at lithography was made by John T. 
Young, whose name is mentioned by Mr. O'Rielly and who made the drawings 
for his history of Rochester. Young was a teacher of drawing, and an excellent 
draughtsman. He made drawings of the upper and lower falls, which were sent 
to New York to be lithographed. He had other fine drawings which he thought 
he could lithograph here, and for that purpose purchased a lithographic press 
and the material for lithographing, wliich was established in a room in the Ar- 
cade. He obtained the services of a New York lithographer, and commenced 
business. He died soon after. In 1865 the business was established again by 
Adolph Nolte, who employed four hand-presses and the requisite number of 
men to keep them running by hand. The business went on with varied success 
until the year 1871, when it passed into the hands of C. F. Muntz & Co. This 
firm greatly enlarged the business, introduced modern steam-presses as well as 
all the modern improvements in the art, obtained the best artists in this country 
and from luirope, and soon began to produce lithography, plain and in colors, 
equal in every respect to anything seen in this country. The firm name was 
changed in 1875 to Mensing, Rahn & Stecher, and the business is now done 
under the title of "the Lithographic and Chromo company of Rochester, New 
York." This firm have recently erected a large building on North St. Paul 
street for their increasing business. The present firm name is Mensing & 
Stecher. Another establishment is that of Karle & Co. 

Photography. — Daguerreotypes were made here as early as the year 1841 
by Thomas Mercer, who opened the first daguerreotype gallery. It was situ- 
ated in the Arcade. During the few succeeding years quite a number of 
daguerreotype galleries were started, until the photographic process was in- 
vented, when an extensive photograph establishment was opened. Mr. Powel- 
son about this time opened the photograph gallery on State street. He was 
succeeded by Wm. Roberts, and subsequently by J. H. Kent, who may be said 
to have done more than any other artist in that line to establish the artistic 
character of the photograph. He has recently received the highest award from 
the American photographers' association. Jacob Barhydt commenced the bus- 
iness of photography about the year 1870. He associated with him Sherman 
Gregg, who, since Mr. Barhydt's death, has conducted the business alone and 
ranks high. At the annual meeting of the United States Photographic society 



528 History of the City of Rochester. 

these parties rccci\"cd the prize oftered for the best collectiim of photographs, 
ail honor conferred iijion Rochester ait throuL^h their skillful operations. A 
luiniber of photograpli galleries have been opened here, of which it would be 
])roi)er to speak, but for want of sufficient data their names i:)nl\- can be nieii- 
tioneti. Among the most skillful artists \vho may be named among the early 
men were Mr. Appleby, Chauncey Perr}' ; of the later ones, Taylor & l^acon. 
This firm was succeeded by Mr. Bacon, an estimable artist, uho still continues 
the business. M. Monroe, G. \V. Godfrey, B. F. Hale, L. Sherman, John \V. 
Taj'lor, R. H. Furman, B. P. Crossman, A. \l. Dumble (with whom is B. F. 
Mi.Ker, an artist in water-colors) and others are now carrying on the work. 

Music. — The following extracts are taken from my address entitled Afiisicd/ 
Kciiiiiiisciiii't s of Roilhiti r, ilelix'ered at the opening of the Rochester Acad- 
emy of Music in i S63 : — 

■'The occasion which has called us together seems a fitting one on which to review 
the past musical history of our city. From this evening we may date a new era. The 
earlier village history, so far as it relates to music, must, for want of an historian, remain 
shrouded in mystery. I ma\ sa\, hn\\c\cr. that bet'ore aii\' churches or cluui h hells 
were seen or heard here, on Sundays the villagers were called together at the school- 
house for public worship by the music of an old-fashioned tin dinner-horn. 1 begin with 
the first introduction of a church organ here, in the year 1825, at St. Luke's church. I 
believe that Daniel ("lark was the first organist here. He was employed to play the or- 
gan and lead the choir at St. Luke's until a regular organist couki be em|ilo\ed. The 
earliest organist and composer of note was Rev. William Staunton, iloctor of divinity and 
musical doctor, now of the city of New York (this title of musical ifjctor has only been 
conferred upon some three or four .A.mericans). Mr. Staunton, then recently from Bos- 
ton, while jireparing for the ministry, had charge of the choir and organ at St. Luke's. 
He possessed rare musical abilities as an organist and comjjoser. The late Benjamin 
Hill was among our earliest and best 'teachers of the piano-forte, and practised his pro- 
fession from about the year 1830 to 1858. He was organist at Saint Paul's church for 
many years, and was highly esteemed not only as an accomplished teacher, but as a per- 
fect specimen of the 'fine old English gentleman.' 

"The earliest effort to establish a musical societv upon a grand scale was made about 
the year 1833. It resulted in the organisation of a society called the ' Rochester .\catl- 
emy of Music' Its principal officers vvere Hon. .\ddison Gardiner, president; James M. 
Fish, secretary ; and General L. B. Swan, treasurer. The .society immediately engaged 
the celebrated ballad singer and coni|ioser, Henry Russell, as leader and conductor. Mr. 
Russell possessed rare (jualities as a \o(.dist. The great secret of his wonderful success 
as a ballad-singer lay in his clear and distinct enunciation of w(jrds, together with a pe- 
culiarly clear and musical voice. The society fitted up rooms in the Child block, oppo- 
site the old Rochester House, on Exchange street, which for several years was used for 
musical purposes, under the name of Concert hall. .\bout 1839 some eight young 
ladies and gentlemen, former members of the Academy, organised a musical club, for the 
practice of glees and light music. This club had for its conductor Lucius Bell, and for 
pianist Miss Marian McGregor. The first soprano was the late Mrs. Dalzell, of Wheel- 
ing, Virginia, then Miss Harriet Williams. The club gave several amateur concerts, the 
proceeds of which were given to the F'emale Charitable and local societies. The last 



The Fine Arts in Rochester. 529 

concert given was for the purpose of raising a fund with which to erect a monurnent to 
the late Prof. Samuel Cooper. The monument was erected in Mount Hope, and was 
the first erected on these grounds. About 1840 the Rochester Union Gray.s gave a 
series of invisible concerts at the National Hotel — the singers being placed behind a 
.screen. Knoup, one of the most wonderful players in the world upon the violoncello, 
accompanied by Madame De Gone on the guitar, gave a concert at the National Hotel. 
The Rainer family of Tyrolese minstrels sang in the same hall. Braham, the great 
English tenor, also sang in this hall. The first negro-minstrel concert was given by the 
renowned Christy, at the Eagle Hotel. 

"The first public hall designed for concert i)urposes was erected by Anson House, 
on tlie corner of St. Paul and Main streets, It was called Minerva hall, and was opened 
by Mr. Dempster in one of his ballad concerts. About the year 1840 Leopold De 
Meyer, the 'lion pianist,' gave his wonderful performance in that hall. Henry Herz,the 
Parisian pianist, and Sivori, the renowned violinist and direct successor of Paganini, also 
gave their performances at this hall. Several musical societies have been organised since 
that time. An attempt was made about 1843 to reorganise the Academy of Music. 
Robert Barron was selected as leader, and rehearsals were had at the session-room of 
the First Presbyterian church. It, however, proved short-lived. The ne.xt effort in the 
way of a society was the organisation of what was called the ' Rochester Harmonic so- 
ciety,' under the leadership of the late Prof Charles Wilson, a deservedly popular and well 
known music-teacher. Robert Barron also assisted as musical conductor. Its principal 
first soprano was Mrs. Hattie Brown Miller, whose musical talent is too well known and 
appreciated to need any praise from me. This society was for a while quite successful, 
and gave several popular concerts. It, however, had its day, and passed off the stage 
about the time that the Jenny Lind fiiivr and the rage for concerts by foreign artists 
commenced. Mr. Perkins, the father of the present band-leader, Perkins, was among 
our earliest musicians, and a band-master of more than ordinary talent, and for many 
years he furnished our band-music. Captain Cheshire, a well-known bugle-player, for 
many years occupied so prominent a position that he should not be forgotten. About 
the year 1840 Captain Adams organised his celebrated brass band. Captain Ale.xander 
Scott succeeded him. These two bands were so celebrated at home and abroad as to be 
worthy of notice. 

"The first regular music store, for the sale of sheet-music and musical instiimients, was 
opened about 1834 by B. C. Brown, who carried it on for a few years. Harvey Warren, 
about 1837, opened an extensive music store for the sale of music, piano-fortes, and mu- 
sical instruments generally. He was a vocalist and a good choir-leader, and had charge 
for a year or two of the music of St. Luke's church. He finally sold his business to the 
late Rev. George Dutton, who carried it on for several years, when he closed the estab- 
lishment ill 1853. The late James Murray, a vocalist and choir-leader, practised his 
profession for over thirty years in Rochester and Western New York. The late B. W. 
Durfee was for many years an acceptable teacher of vocal music, and a choir-leader 
here, and for some time had charge of the music in our public schools. About i860 the 
late Prof Fred Miller took up his residence here. He possessed fine musical talent and 
culture, and played well upon most musical instruments. In 1849 Mr. Reynolds erected 
his Corinthian hall building. The success of this hall, and the benefit it has conferred 
upon the musical community, are well known. Completed at a time when concerts by 
first-class artists had become popular it has for sixteen years been the popular place for 
music of all kinds. This hall is remarkable for being the most perfectly constructed for 



530 History of the City of Rochestf.r. 

acoustic effects of any in this country, and it has been visited by architects from Boston 
anil other cuies, specially to get its proportions for perfect souml. In 1859 Prof J. S. 
lUack took up his residence here, and commenced the practice of his profession as a 
teacher of vocal music, his specialty being the culture of the voice. In the course of a 
year he had gatliered around him many ])upiis and admirers. He conceived the idea 
of a new musical society for the practice of a higher order of musii. .\ class was readily 
formed, ami the practice entered upon with all that zeal which usuall}- characterises new- 
societies. The l)oard of directors of the Rochester savings bank, in the construction of 
their noble edifice for a banking-house, ami in a spirit of devotion to art, wishing to con- 
fer upon the community a munificent gift which should reflect credit alike ujion the city 
and the institution they represent, had designed and constructed this magnificent hall as 
a perpetual gallery for purposes of art and art-culture. Already had a grant of incor- 
jjoration been obtained from the legislature, and an organisation been perfected under 
the title of -the Rochester .■\ca(lem\' of Music and .Vrt.' To ]ierfect and carrv out the 
])lans of this institution, it remained only to organise the societ\' under these officers and 
take posses^ion of these rooms." 

The Rochester Academy of Music went on siiccessfidly for two or three 
years, when Prof. Black remo\ed from the city to Indianapolis, and Prof Henri 
Appy was called from Xew \'ork as musical director of the institution. Mr. 
Appy came to this country with the Jenn\' Linil troupe brought over by P. T. 
]-?arntim, of wliich lie was the leatliiiL,' \ iolin soloist. The Academy prospered 
under his administratirm fijr a time, but was finally given up, wlien Mr. Appy 
concluded to establish his permanent residence here. John H. Kalbfleisch, an 
accomplished teacher, organist and pianist, has done much to elevate the stand- 
ard of music here. He organised the Philharmonic society, and has been prom- 
inent in musical circles for many years. Herve D. Wilkins has been a success- 
ful teacher here on the organ and piano for several years past. He is regarded 
as an accomplished organist as well as pianist. He has had charge of the or- 
gans of several of our leading churches for years. He has spent some time in 
P..ur(jpe.in schools of music, especially in Lcipsic, in fitting himself as a teacher, 
and now ranks among our best artists. Mrs. C. S. P. Cary, a lady pianist and 
music-teacher, who for some years past has been connected with the Philhar- 
monic societ)' as pianist, is justl\- regarded as one of our best musicians. R. ¥. 
C. Pdlis had a fine reputation as music teacher on the piano as well as organ. 
He fiu- many years liad the organ in St. Luke's church, and composed some 
music for the chants, etc. The Rochester Philharmonic society, organised about 
ten years ago, met with varied financial success, the public patronage not being 
at any time what it should be. The gentlemen composing the society labored 
hard to keep it in existence. It did much to elevate the character of our in- 
strumental music, as well as to cultivate the public taste, by giving each winter 
a series of concerts, under the direction of Professor Henri Appy as leader. 
The Mannerchor, a most successful German musical society, has been in exist- 
ence liere for ten years or more. It has given many concerts, and afibrded 
great satisfaction to all lovers of German chorals and songs. The society 



The Uxiversity and the Theological Seminary. 531 

adorns the cause of music. We have at present several musical societies, all of 
which deserve meritorious mention. Among the most prominent are the Ora- 
torio society, the Orchestra society, the Mendelssohn vocal societ\', the Arion, 
the Liedertafel and the Liederkranz. 

The Rochester Art club had its origin in meetings begun in 1872, for the 
purpose of drawing from life, but the club was not actually formed until 1879. 
The following were the first officers: President, James H. Dennis; vice-presi- 
dent. Miss Emma Lampert ; secretary, W. F. Reichenbach ; treasurer, John Z. 
Wood. The object of the society is the cultivation and advancement of the 
industrial and fine arts and the promotion of social intercourse among its mem- 
bers. In 1882 the club was incorporated, the charter members being James 
H. Dennis, Harvey Ellis, J. Guernsey Mitchell, James Somerville, Horatio 
Walker, John Z. Wood. Exhibitions are held in the spring of every year which 
are patronised by the best artists of the country. The club has a high reputa- 
tion away from home, and man)- of the productions of its members and its stu- 
dents have been hung on the walls at exhibitions in New York and have found 
a ready sale in that cit_\'. The officers for the present \-ear arc : President, Har- 
ve)' Ellis ; vice-president, John Z. Wood ; sccrctar\-, Horatio Walker; treas- 
urer, James Somer\ille. 

The Art Exchange was organised Februar\- 1st, 1881, b\- the election of 
the following officers : President, Miss Lois E. Whitne\- ; manager, Mrs. E. P. 
Reed. The object of the association is the advancement of tlie artistic in- 
dustries. Instructions are given in drawing, engraving and water-color paint- 
ing and cooking by competent teachers. The officers for the present year are: 
President, Miss Lois E. Whitney ; treasurer, Mrs. Elmer Smith ; recording sec- 
retary. Miss Stella Shuart ; corresponding secretary, Miss Belle Watson ; foreign 
secretary. Miss Belle Clarke. The rooms are in the Powers building. 



CHAPTER L. 

THE UNIVKRSII'V AXI> THE THEOLOiaCAL SE.\nNAR\. i 

Madison L'niversily — Plans fur ils Removal — A New University Estalilished at Rochester — Its 
Founders and Trustees — Its Influence on the City — Its Course of Study — Its Lectures, its Library 
and its Museums — Its Benefactors and its IJuiklings — The Theological Seminary — Full Description 
of the Institution. 

AS early as 1820, when the Baptists of the state of New York numbered but 
28,000, they established at Hamilton, in Madison county, a college which 
"had one object only and exclusively — namely, to furnish means for the edu- 
cation of young men who shall give evidence of a call to the ministry." - In 
1839, against considerable opposition and mainly through local influences, ' 

1 The article on the university was prepared by Prof. J. H. CHlmore. 

2 First Half Century of Madison, p. 39. ^ y^/,/., p. 42. 



532 History of the City of Rochester. 

iitlier than canilidates for the ministry were admitted to this college, but it re- 
tainetl, until \'er)- recentl)-, something of the character given to it by its found- 
ers. In the lapse of time, some of the trustees and instructors of Madison 
uni\'ersit\', and still moix- of the members of the Baptist denomination through- 
out the state, became dissatisfied with this singleness of purpose. The idea 
was dawning upcjn the Baptists of the state of New Yoi'k that, if education is 
a good thing for the clerg)-, it is a gootl thing fir the lait)', and that even those 
who "gi\'e evidence of a call to the ministry " will be none the worse preach- 
ers and p^istors fur rubbing and filing their minds, ^hiring their college course, 
against those who ha\e law, medicine, or meicantile life in \-iew. Meanwhile 
man\' tleemed Hamilton an unsuitable site ftir such an institution as the Baptists 
of the state of New York would, ine\'itably, demantl. Howexer attractive the 
rural beauty of its surrountlings, howexer free from temptations and well 
adapted to purposes of stud)-, Hamilton — the HiUiiilton of that day — was 
difficult of access, altogether apart from the rushing tide of human thought aiul 
acti\it\', and tjuite too much engrrissed in the affairs of the " universit}'," which 
pla\xd an important part in church and village politics. Such considerations 
as these induced man\- thoughtful and de\-out Baptists in different parts of the 
state of New \'ork to regard the remoxal of Madisini university from Hamilton 
as absolutely essential to the growth and prosperit}- of that institution — nay, 
to its continued existence. 

The causes which have just been indicated resulted in a strenuous effort to 
secure the removal of Madison uni\-ersity to what some deemed a more favor- 
able localit}'. Rochester was convenient of access to the east and west and 
l)artook alike of the refinement and culture of the one, the bustling activity of 
the other. It sustained intimate I'elations to Canada on the north, and was 
rapidl)- assunnng intimate relations with Penns\-l\'ania on the south. It was a 
cit_\- noted for the intelligence and piet)' of its people, the center of a rich agri- 
cultural region which was, at that time, almost entirely ilestitute of facilities for 
higher education. There was, west of Caj'uga bridge, a district nearl_\- as large as 
the state of Massachusetts, and with a population estimated at 530,000, wdiich 
contained only one college, and that comparativel)' insignificant. C)f this re- 
gion Rochester was the natural center. The Baptists of Rochester wanted a 
college (a desire which their fellow-citizens of other denominations abundantl)- 
shared) and were w illing to work for it, pray for it, gi\e to it. Such were the 
considerations b\- which the Baptists of Western New York convinced their 
brethren in the eastern and central pai't o( the state that, if Madison universit\- 
was to be remo\-ed at all, Rochester was the place for it. They were weighty 
considerations — considerations which had twice before led other denominations 
to contemplate the establishment of a college in the Flour city. It is in some 
resjiects unfortunate that the reasons which determined the new location were 
so strong. That location was substantialh' settled before anv decision iiad been 



The UxivEKsiTv CiiARTEREr). 533 

niadL' upon the general question of removal. It was naturally, therefore, left 
to the Baptists of Rochester and vicinity to take the initiative in agitating the 
question of removal; and equall\- natural that, if they did so, they should be 
accused of being actuated solely by self-interest. Heedless of the imputation 
to which they subjected themselves, "a meeting of the friends of Madison uni- 
versity" assembled at the h^irst Baptist church in Rochester, September 12th, 
1847, ^'''d a motion was unanimous!)- carried "that it be regarded the sense of 
this meeting that Madison university be removed to Rochester. " At a meet- 
ing of the citizens of Rochester, held in the cit\- hall, October 28th, 1847, the 
idea of establishing a universit)' in Rochester was emphaticall)- indorsed, and 
pecuniary assistance was freeh' pledged to it by leading men of various de- 
nominations. 

The action taken by the Baptists of Rochester was indorsed b_\' a majority 
c_if their brethren thoughout the state, but legal obstacles were thrown in the 
way of the projected removal of Madison university to the banks of the Genesee. 
Application was, accordingly, made for a charter authorising the establishment 
of a new university at Rochester, and, at the suggestion of William L. Marcy 
(who had from the first, been an earnest promoter of the new enterprise), this 
applicati(>n was made not to the legislature, where it would have undoubtedly 
met with strenuous opposition, but to the regents of the university. ' In 
response to this application a provisional charter was granted by the regents, 
January 31st, 1850, which sanctioned the establishment of the University of 
Rochester, //VTvV/iv/ that $130,000 be subscribed fortius purpose in two years, 
of which sum $30,000 was to be invested in sites and buildings, and $100,000 
in i">ermanent endowment. On the 2d of December, 1850, the petitioners sub- 
mitted to the regents " satisfactory proofs that suitable buildings had been pro- 
vided for the use of said institution, and also that funds to the amount of $100,- 
000, with which it is intended to provide for such institution or college, have 
been secured by valid subscriptions of responsible parties. " Whereupon, the 
regents, February 14th, 185 i, issued the charter under which the university is 
at present organised — which still, however, contained the proviso that, within 
five years, the regents must be satisfied that at least $100,000 had been per- 
manently invested, in state or national bonds or in mortgages on unincumbered 
real estate worth double the amount of the mortgage, in order that the charter 
might become perpetual — a provision complied with in 1 86 1, when the charter 
became perpetual. 

The charter thus granted (which is, in all respects, similar to the old charter 
of Columbia college in the city of New York) simply invests the corporation of 
the university "with all the privileges and powers conceded to any college in 

1 Not only did the idea of such an application to the board of regents originate with Governor Marcy, 
but it was largely due to his personal influence that that body was induced to grant even a provisional 
charter to an institution which had not a foot of land nor a dollar in money, and no very definite ideas 
as to when either was to be obtained. 



554 HlSTUin' OK THE CiTV (.)F ROCHESTER. 

this state, jjursuant to the pro\-isions of the sixth section of the statute entitled 
'an act relati\ e t" the uni\( rsitw' passed Aiiril 5th, 1S13." Tile cliarter did 
not \est tile control ol the iini\ersit_\' in any I'cliLjious denomination. It simply 
created a self-perpetuatiiii^r board of trustees, t\\ent)-four in nunilier, who hold 
office for lite, but who niav be renioxetl, by \'ote of tlieir assijci.ites, for non-at- 
tend.mce at three successive annual meetint^s. Twent)- of the trustees named 
in the charter' were Baptists, and the Baptists have thus maintained an eftective 
control over the university, though different religious denominations have always 
been represented in its board of trustees and its faculty of instruction, and a 
majority nf its students arc generally from other than Baptist families. In its 
chapel and recitation rooms Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, 
Romanists aiitl Jews meet on a perfect equality.- The religious convictions of 
each are respected, in so fir as this max* be done consistenti}' with a dominant 
purpose to impart instruction, in e\'er_\' department of stud)*, from a thoroughl_v 
evangelical point of xicw. 

The imivcrsit}' maintains no separate preaching ser\'ice, deeming it wisest 
,nid best that its students associate themseK'es with the religious communities 
in the cit)' and receive, from week to week, such religious instruction as is 
adajjtetl to an ordinarx' congregation. The Christian men of the university are, 
howev'er, .issociated for religious work in a \'oung Men's Christian association. 
This association holds a weekly prayer-meeting, in which all the students par- 
ticipate, and a class pra)-er-meeting is held by each class at the close of the 
Saturday' morning's lecture. 

The uni\ersity has no connection with either the state or the general govern- 
ment. In 1S57 the state of New \'ork granted the unix'ersity $25,000 towaril 
the erection of a permanent building for library, chapel and recitation rooms, 
uj.)on Condition that the friends of the university raise a like sum for its benefit. 
This condition was met by General John I*". Rathbone, of Albany, who ga\'e 
$25,000 to constitute a library lund for the institution. With this exception, 
the uni\'ersity has received no aid from either the state or the nation. It has 
no organic connection with the [lublie school s\'stem of the city of Rochester; 
and \'et it is, practically, the cap-stone of that system, and its influence is felt 



1 Tlif names of those citizens of Kocliestcr wlm ha\ e lieen members of the board of trustees are : fohn 
X. Wilder, 1S50-185S; I'rederick Whittlesey, 1850-1851 ; William Pitkin, 1850-1S69; Everard Peck, 
1850-1854; David K. ISarton. 1850-1871 ; K. F. .Smith, 1850-1879; Elon Huntington, 1S50-; Edwin 
Panelist. 1S50-1867; William N. Sage, 1850-; .Vzariah Koody, 1 853 -1 865 ; Jacob Gould, 1854-1867 ; 
C.ideon W. Hurliank, 1S54-1873; Henry W. Dean, .\I. O., 1859-1878; Edwin O. Sage, 1867-; Hiram 
Sil)ley, 1S6S-; William .\. Reynolds, 1870-1872 ; .Martin W.Cooke, 1871-; Francis A. Macoinber, 
1871-; Freeman Clarke, 1872-; Edward M. .Moore, M. U., 1872-; Rev. Charles J. Baldwin, 1878-: 
These names are certainly a guarantee both of the catholicity of the university and of its eminent re- 
spectability. 

- In illustration of this |>onU — four dilTerent denominations are. at present, represented in the board 
of trustees, and four in the faculty. The students reported in the catalogue for 1884-85 are connected, 
either personally or by family ties, with the following denominations : Baptists, 74; Presbyterians, 34; 
-Methodists. II; Episcopalians, 7; Congregationalists, 2; Universalists, 2; Catholics, 2; Jews, 2; 
Unitarians, i : Free Methodists, i ; Disciples, i ; Evangelical Lutherans, I ; German Lutherans, i. 



Orgaxisation of the U.\i\f,rsitv. 535 

to the lowest grade of our primary schools. Three scholarships, yielding free 
tuition in the university, are awarded, each year, to students fitted for college 
in the public schools of the city; and thus through the existence among us of 
the university an intelligent and industrious young man can secure, free of cost, 
a college education. The first time these city scholarships were awarded (in 
185 I) Patrick O'Rourke (a Catholic), Thomas Dransfield (a Presbyterian) and 
Simon Tuska (a Jew) were the recipients. O'Rourke subsequently received an 
appointment to West Point, and Ephraim Gates (a Baptist 1 took his place. But 
for the city scholarships, none of these men would have received a college edu- 
cation. Mr. Tuska (who died in 1872, while in charge of the Jewish syna- 
gogue in IMemphis, Tennessee) was one of the most learned and most liberal 
men ever graduated b\- the universit}'. 

It may be stated that 440 Rochester boys and three Rochester girls have 
availed themselves of the pri\ileges of the uni\'crsit\-, and that 181 Rochester 
boys have completed a course of stud)' and received degrees. The three Roch- 
ester girls point toward coeducation, and it is certainly worth mentioning that 
the late Lewis H. Morgan left his entire estate to the university (after the de- 
cease of his wife and son) to provide facilities for the higher education of wo- 
men. It will be safe, therefore, to predict that, fifty years hence, the catalogue 
of the university will make a better showing so far as the gentler sex is con- 
cerned, but the figures that we give show that it has already proved itself a 
benefit and a blessing to the city of Rochester. Probably not one quarter as 
many Rochester boys would have received a college education but for the ex- 
istence of a college at their very doors; and, meanwhile, the University of 
Rochester has done much, in a general wa\', to elevate the tone of Rochester 
societ}'. Its officers — and especiall)- President Anderson — have been fore- 
most in every literary, social, patriotic and religious wa\'. 

The trustees of the new university met, informally, at Rochester May 13th, 
1850. and appointed a committee of seven to mature a plan of instruction. The 
first duly called and notified meeting of the trustees of the Universit)' of Roch- 
ester (which, it may be said in passing, is the legal title of the institution — not 
"Rochester university," nor "Mr. Anderson's school") was held in the commit- 
tee room of the First Baptist church, September i6th, 1850. The trustees or- 
ganised, under the provisional charter granted by the regents, by the election 
of John N. Wilder, president ; Wm. N. Sage, secretary, and Edwin Pancost, 
treasurer. The committee on course of instruction — appointed May 13th, 
1850 — reported at this meeting and their recommendations were substantially 
adopted. Six professorships (with a salary of twelve hundred dollars) were 
created — of which five were filled by the following appointment : A. C. Ken- 
drick, D. D. — Greek language and literature; John F. Richardson, A. M. — 
Latin language and literature; John H. Ra\'mond, A. M. — history and belles 
lettres ; Chester Dewey, D. D. — the natural sciences; Samuel S. Greene, A. 



536 History of the City of Rochester. 



]\I. — mathematics and natural philosoph)'. Tlie chair of intellectual and mural 
l)hil(>sii]ihy (the presidential chair) wasimt at this time filled. The executix e 
duties of the presii.leiit were subsequently discharL^ed by Dr. Kendrick ; while 
Rev. John S. MaLjinnis, 1). 1)., professor of theology in the Rochester theolog- 
ical seminary, gave instruction in this tlepartment. Re\'. Thomas J. Conant, 
D. D., also connected with the theological seminary, was subsecjuently secured 
as instructor in elementary Hebrew.' 

The trustees further \oted, at this meeting, that the new institution should 
go into active operation on the first Monday in November, 1850, and authorised 
the executive board to lease and fit up for the temporary use of the university 
a building on ]5uffalo (now West Main) street, formerly known as the United 
States Hotel. Suitable rooms for chapel exercises, recitations, etc., were fitted 
up in the building designated ; the under-graduatcs of Madison flocked to the 
temporary c]uarters which the building afforded them ; and, on the day pre- 
scribed, the University of Rochester was an accom])lished fact. Its first cat- 
alogue reported eight instructors and sevent}'-one students. In Jul)-, I 851, it 
graduatetl a class of ten. The progress of the new institution was so sudden 
and so wonderful that Ralph Waldo limerson, according to Mr. Wilder, used 
it as an illustration of Yankee enterprise — saying that a landlord in Rochester 
had an old hotel which he thought would rent for more as a uni\-ersit\', 
so he ]iut in a few books, sent tor a coach-load (.if professors, bought some 
philosophical apparatus, and, b)* the time green peas were ripe, he had grad- 
uated a large class of students. 

The university started on its career of usefulness with two literary societies 
— the Deljihic and Pithonian — which, for some years, maintained a vigorous 
existence. The "Greek letter" societies were, at once (1850), represented b\- 
the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, which was followed, in 1851, by the Delta Psi; 
in 1852 by the Delta Upsilon (at first the "PLquitable fraternity"); in 1856 
by the Delta Kappa I'^psilon; in 1858 by Psi Upsilon; in 1867 b}' the Theta 
Delta Chi (since defunct); in 1S84 b)- the Chi Psi. The universit)- has never 
antagonised these societies; but has sought — and that successfull)' — to make 
them an adjunct to instruction and discipline. The first commencement was 
held in 185 I. A sermon was preached before the Judson societ\- of Inquiry 
by Rev. William R. Williams, D. D., of New York; an oration and poem were 
deli\ered, before the literary societies, b\- Henry Ward Heecher and Park Ben- 
jamin. The papers of current date say that "the iJi'ocession was the largest 
and most imposing civic procession ever seen in the streets of Rochester, and 
Corinthian hall was crowded to its utmost capacit)'." 

1 of the professors named above. Dr. Kendrick had been connected with Madison university since 
1832, Ur. Conant since 1835, Dr. Maginnis and Prof. Richardson since 1838, Prof. Raymond since 
1840. Prof. Oreene diti not accejit the appointment tendered liim, and the chair of mathematics was 
temporarily filled by E. I'eshine .Smith, afterward interpreter of international law at the court of Japan. 
The other apjiointees entered upon the duties of theii' respective departments at the opening of the uni- 
versity. The name of Albert H. Mixer also appears in the first catalogue as tutor in languages. 



President Anderson. — Numerical Data. 537 

In 1853 Martin B. Anderson — the first, and, thus far the only, president 
of the universit)- — entered upon his duties. He was born at Brunswick, 
Maine, Februarj- 12th, 1815; graduated at Waterville college (now Colby 
university) in 1840. The following year he spent in theological studies in New- 
ton Center, Massachusetts. In 1841 he was recalled to his alma mater z.i, tutor. 
In 1843 1'"^ ^^''^s appointed professor of rhetoric. In 1850 he resigned and be- 
came editor of the New York Recorder, then the leading Baptist paper of the 
country. His personal history since that date has been identified with that of 
the university over which he has so ably presided. In the same year it was 
voted to accept the gift of eight acres of land, valued at $10,000, which was 
tendered to the university as a permanant site by Azariah Boody. The land 
thus secured was that on which Anderson and Sibley halls flow stand. Seven- 
teen acres in addition to Mr. Boody's gift were subsequently purchased, with 
the idea of laying it out in house-lots, by the sale of which the endowment of 
the university might be promoted. This idea was abandoned after lots enough 
had been sold to seriously mar the beaut)' of the campus. Many objected to 
the location as too remote from the center of the city. Others would have 
been satisfied with a location equally remote — on the west side. Among the 
other sites mentioned were Lake View, the Wadsworth tract, the Monger tract. 
Brown square, and the Warner property, opposite Mt. Hope. Anderson hall, 
subsequently erected on this ground by R. Gorsline & Son, cost (including fur- 
niture) $39,521.12. The building was occupied in 1861. 

In 1 861 the war of the rebellion broke out and Professor Quinby raised a 
regiment for two years' service — the first two years' regiment raised in the 
state; though mustered in as the Thirteenth New York volunteers. In the 
fall of this year Professor Quinby resigned his colonelcy and resumed his chair, 
which had been temporarily filled by Alonzo J. Howe (of the class of '56). In 
1862 he was, however, appointed brigadier-general of volunteers and was ab- 
sent in command of a division in the army of the Mississippi, till January, 1864. 
The existing classes were, during this and the following years, almost broken 
up, and the entering classes were naturally small, through enlistments in the 
Union arm\-. 

The number of admissions to the university is uniforml\- in excess of the 
number in the Freshman class; some years very largely so — thus, while the 
number admitted as Freshmen in 1875 was thirty-eight, the entire number of 
new students was fifty-five. It will be noticed that the attendance at the uni- 
versity fluctuates with the prosperity or adversity of the nation. In 1856 the 
entering class numbered forty-seven and the entire number of students was 163. 
In 1857, the year of the great panic, the Freshman class dropped to thirty -four, 
and the next year to twenty-eight. In i860 the university recovered its lost 
ground. It had forty-five F"reshmen and a total attendance of 168. Then the 
rebellion broke out, and, through the absorption of a generation of students in 



538 History of the City of Rochester. 

the army and tlie tendency given toward practical rather than sedentary hfe, 
the Freshman class gradually drops to nineteen. The numbers regularly in- 
crease until 1873, when the university touches high-water mark, reporting fift)-- 
three Freshmen and 173 in all. Then another financial crisis breaks upon us, 
and the numbers again diminish. 

The University of Rochester has two courses of instructi(jn : I. The class- 
ical course, extending through four years, at the expiration of which time those 
whn ha\'e satisfactorily met the recquirements of the faculty are admitted to the 
degree of bachelor of arts. II. The scientific course, extending through four 
)-ears and refjuiring the Latin of the classical course as essential to the success- 
ful prosecution of the modern languages and the master)- of scientific terminol- 
og)'. In the place of Greek, a more extended course of study is prescribed in 
the ph)sical sciences and in other departments promotive of general culture. 
Those who satisfactorily complete this course are admitted to the degree of 
bachelor of science. Two thousand, two hundred and si.\t_\' hours are spent in 
the recitation- room by a student during his entire course. These 2,260 hours 
are apportioned, in the case of a classical student, as follows: Latin language 
and literature (including Roman history), 256 to 320 hours; Greek language 
and literature (including Greek history), 246 to 356 hours; I'rench language 
and literature, 130 to 152 hours; German language and literature, 116 to 186 
hours; English language and literature, 96 hours; comparative philology, 11 
hours; jiure mathematics, 232 to 257 hours; applied mathematics, 202 hours; 
natural sciences, 252 to 407 hours; logic and rhetoric, no hours; elocution, 
37 hours; intellectual and moral philosoi)h_\-, 94 hours; history, 121 hours; 
political econoni)- and constitutional law, 71 hours; general jurisprudence (op- 
tional), 70 hours; histor)- of art and pMnciples of art criticism, 14 hours. It 
will be seen that the universit}' cannot be accused of giving undue attention to 
Latin, Greek and the pure mathematics — especially when it is remembered 
that these studies are mainl)' pursued earl)- in the course, when a student's 
time is less waluable than it is after he has attained to greater discipline and 
maturit)'. 

Follow ing the example of Madison uni\ersit)-, the Uni\'ersit)- of Rochester, 
when first organised, established intimate relations with a private school which 
had been already established in the cit)- (the "Rochester collegiate institute ") ; 
and, for a few years, that school was distinctl)- recognised in the catalogues as 
"the university grammar school." In 1854 all connection with that school 
(v\'hich has since ceased to exist) was severed. In 1856 the university, hoping 
thus to create a feeder for itself, advanced $I0,000 (which has since been repaid, 
principal and interest) toward the " Brockport collegiate institute, " now the 
Brockport Normal school. With these exceptions, the University of Rochester 
has had no connection with an\- "preparatory department," and is not likely 
to have. Ample facilities for fitting bo)'s for college are afforded b)- the public 
and private schools of Rochester and its immediate vicinity. 




Ui. /J. 



X?^^^,2^^ 



The Faculty. 539 

The same impulse that gave birth to the Universit)- of Rochester gave 
birth, also, to the Rochester theological seminary. The two institutions were 
established in the same year and, mainly, through the instrumentality of the 
same men. At first they occupied the same building (that of the university), 
and it was supposed that the)- would ultimately erect permanent buildings on 
the same lot. There was from the first, however, no organic connection be- 
tween the two institutions ; and to-day — though cordially sympathising and 
cooperating with each other — the)- have separate corporations, separate treas- 
uries, separate local habitations and separate faculties of instruction. The e.x- 
istence in Rochester of a well endowed and thoroughly equipped theological 
seminary, under the auspices of the Baptist denomination, has, however, as a 
matter of course, precluded all thought of a theological department in the 
university. Nor has there been serious thought of the establishment of depart- 
ments of law and medicine. Indeed, overtures looking to this end have been 
rejected, with the idea that it is wise to fullj- supply the demand for academic 
instruction before attempting to train men in special departments of study. 
Neither the Baptists of New York nor the citizens of Rochester feel the need 
of a law school or a medical school, as the\' felt the need of a college thirty- 
odd years ago ; and, until they do feel this need, it is hardly wise to attempt to 
supply it. A school of applied science is, undoubtedly, already demanded b\- 
the Baptists of the entire coimtr}' and the people of W'estern New York;, antl 
it is hoped that the uni\ersit\' ma\', at no distant da\-, supply that want. Had 
the state of New York di\ided the land grants of the United States be- 
tween existing institutions, instead of concentrating them upon the founda- 
tion of a new institution, such a school woidd ha\-e been now in successful 
operation in Rochester, and would be sustained as onl\- a great agricultural 
and manufacturing center can sustain such an institution. The foundation of 
such a school has, indeed, already been laid in the ample cabinets of the uni- 
versity and in its chemical laboratory'. 

The faculty, as at present constituted, consists of Martin B. Anderson, LL. D., 
president, Burbank professor of intellectual and moral philosophy; Asahel C. 
Kendrick, D. D., LL. U., Munro professor of the Greek language and litera- 
ture; Isaac F. Quinby, LL. D., Harris professor of mathematics and natural 
philosophy; Samuel A. Lattimore, Ph. D., LL. D., professor of chemistry ; 
Albert H. Mixer, A. M., professor of modern languages; Joseph H. Gilmore, 
A. M., Deane professor of logic, rhetoric and English literature; Otis H. Rob- 
inson, A. M., professor of mathematics, and librarian; William C. Morey, Ph. 
D., professor of history and political science; Henry F. Burton, A. M., professor 
of Latin; Harrison E. Webster, A. M., professor of geolog\' and natural history ; 
George M. Forbes, A. M., assistant professor of Greek; Herman K. Phinney, 
A. M., assistant librarian. Among those who have been connected with the 
faculty in the past, and whose names have not, hitherto, been mentioned, are 

35 



540 History oi-' thk City of Rochester. 



Prof. S. S. Cuttiii--, D. 1). (1855-68), and Prof, llciiry A. Ward (1861-75), both 
of wIkhu Ikuc done iiiiicli — iIkhil;!! in widely different directions — to pi'd- 
iiiotc tlu- welfare and re[)utalion of the uni\'ersit\'. 

llie uni\'ersity campus is twenty-three and a hah" acres in extent, and is 
situated in the noitiieastern i)ai-t of the cit\-, about a mile and a half from the 
business center. The buildings of the uni\'ersity , ire three in nimiber. Ander- 
son hall, which was completed in 1861, is a sexcreU' i)lain, but extremely sub- 
stantial, stiucture of brown stone, one hundred and fifty feet in Icns^th by sixty 
in l)readth, with ,1 central prt)jection <>f hfteeii feet in front and rear and orna- 
mental jjrojections at either end. It is three stories in heiijht, with a basement 
— which .i[)pears as such in front but constitutes an additional stor)- when the 
buildiuL; is \icwed from the rear. This buildinij 1 which could not, to-da}-, be 
erected for less than $75,000) is devoted to chapel ami recitation-rooms. 

In 1871 llii'.un .Sible)- of Rochester ])romised the universit}' a fire-proof 
buildini;, to cost not less than $75,000, for the accommodation of its librar\-. 
In 1872 the found.itions for the buildinj^- were laid. In 1877 it was made the 
receptacle of the library, and in 1883 the t^eoloi^ical and mineralo<^ical cabinets 
were transferred to the up[)er storw The buildini,' is situated on the collet^e 
campus, frontint^, like .Anderson hall, on L'ni\ersit)- a\enue, but between that 
structtu'e and Prince sti'eet. Its dimensions are one hundred and twent_\'-fi\'e 
feet b}- sixt\-, with a projection of twenl)' feet in the center of the front. The 
building; has onl_\- two floors — thoui;h the walls are fift\--two feet in heii,dit, 
from the water-table to the cornice — but each stor\- is ultimateh' to be di\-ided 
b\- iron tjalleries so that the structures will reall_\- furnish four stories in two. 
The upper storv is used for the cabinets of the uni\-ersity, the lower stor_\-, which 
will attord shelf-room for 90,000 \-olumes, being ample for library purposes for 
some time to come. The buikhng is absoluteU' fire proof and cost not less than 
$100,000, the whole expense being assumetl b\- Mr. Sible)-, who stipulatetl 
merely that it be ojien for a free reading librar}- forever to the citizens of 
Rochester. 

The president's mansion is not situated upon the campus, but on a lot of 
land, f(.)ur acres and a half in extent, upon the corner of University avenue and 
Prince street. This lot was purchased, with funds subscribed by the citizens of 
Rochester, in 1868. There was then standing upon it a substantial brick resi- 
dence, which hail been built hut a few \-ears. This building was considerabl}' 
enlargeil, and entirely remodeled and refitted, so as to adapt it to its present 
purpose. The grounds, also, were tastefully impro\'ed and rendered at once 
attractive and useful. This pro[)ert\- (which is owned b)- the university, but 
occupied, rent free, by the president) is valued at $48,000. 

The library of the uni\ersit\- is, as }-et, comparatively small, but is more 
valuable than many larger libraries, from the fact that it has been acquired 
inainU- b\- purchase. It contains more than 20,000 volumes, in the purchase 



The Librar\- and Cabinets. 5, 

of which preference has been ^i\-en to those works that arc demanded by t 
officers and students for the successful prosecution of their inquiries in t 
various departments of study. A fund of $50,000 (the gift of Gen. John 
Rathbone and Lewis Rathbone of Albany) is devoted to the maintenance a 
increase of the Hbrary ; and a card catalogue, which is accessible to every v 
itor, makes its contents easily available. All the students ma)- draw books frc 
the librar}-, and are aided in consulting it by the librarian and other membt 
of the facult)'. The library is also, through the generosity of Hiram Sibk 
accessible, as a free reading library, but not as a lending library, to the genei 
public. The library is open daily, throughout the year (excepting on Sunda 
and legal holidays), from i to 5 p. m., and the officers in charge will show eve 
attention to visitors. 

The cabinets of geology and mineralogy were collected by Professor Hen 
A. Ward during ten years of extensive foreign travel and during many care 
\isits to the most fruitful American localities. The)- were purchased in i 8 
by the citizens of Rochester for $20,000 (a sum much less than their estimat 
value,) and presented to the university. Dr. Torrey, of Columbia college, N( 
A'ork, says that "no geological cabinet in the United States can compare 
magnitude and value with this," and that the mineralogical cabinet, "althou 
it is not the best in the United States, is excelled by very few and is admiral 
selected for the purpose of instruction." "For fullness and perfection of spe 
mens," says President Loomis, of Lewisburg university, "it is superior to a 
cabinet which I have ever seen." Professor Sillman, jr., characterises it 
" the most extensive geological museum in the United States " and predii 
that it "will ultimately attract students from all parts of the country" — a pi 
diction which is already realised. These cabinets have recently been transfer: 
to the upper story of Sibley hall, and are now being arranged in new cases 
the most improved construction. 

Through the liberality of the late Lewis Brooks, of this city, the foundati 
has been laid for a cabinet of archaeology by the purchase of a small but well a 
thenticated collection of flint and bronze instruments from the drift region 
Abbeville and St. Acheul, in France. To this cabinet have been added a \'c 
choice collection of stone implements from the vicinity of Copenhagen, an equa 
choice collection of North American stone implements, and numerous specime 
of pottery from the tomb of the Incas. 

Something has also been done toward establishing an art gallery. In 18 
President Anderson began to give lectures to the Senior class on the history 
art. These lectures were at first delivered between the final examinations 
the class and the annual commencement, and attendance on them was option 
They were, in 1872, transferred to the first term of the Senior year, becomi 
a regular Saturday morning exercise. In 1874 the Saturday mornings of t 
first and second terms of the Senior year were devoted to this purpose; a 



542 HlSIOKV OK THE ClTV OF ROCHESTER. 



the course was extended sons to cox'er a historical outhnc of the jj;rowth of the 
se\ei'al fine arts and some L;eneial pi'inciples apphcable to eacii. An incenti\e 
to tills enlarL^enient of the course was fmnd not only in tlie oljvious advantat^cs 
of siicli a coui'se of instruction to tlie student l)ut in the interest manifested by 
the general public, who tested the capacity of I'resident Anderson's recitation- 
room to tlie utnicjst. This course of instruction naturally created a demand for 
illustrative material, a demand w hich has been, to some extent, supplied (through 
the liberality of \-arious friends of the university, but especially of Jolin Fahy 
of the class of '66) by the purchase of a collection of engravings, chromo-litho- 
grajihs and autotN'jies illustrati\e of tin- masterpieces of architecture, sculpture 
and ]),iinting. This collection has been graduall}- and carefuU}' m.ide with a 
\ lew not only to the significance of the snl:)jects illustiati'd, but also to the ar- 
tistic skill displavetl in handling those subjects so that an tnigra^'ing, for instance, 
shall not only illustrate a master])iece of painting, but be itself a masterpiece of 
engraving. lllustrati\e ni,iti:rial of .mother kind, in the shape of models, casts, 
etc.. is imp(.-rati\'el\- diuiaiuled, in order to gi\e the highest efficieiic)' to the 
Course of art instruction ; and we mention wh.it has been accomplished in this 
direction ])artl\' in the hope that some lo\ei' of art ma\' help the university to 
do something more and better. Its friends iiuleeel lia\e not forgotten the ;es- 
tlietic \\<mtsof the unix-ersit)', though their benefictions ha\e not alwa)'S taken 
the lorm of illustr<iti\'e material for class-room use. The alumni lia\'e presented 
to the universit)' .i marble bust of President Anderson, chiseled by Johnson 
Mund)', of Rochester. The sons of Robeit and William Kelley have presented 
portraits of their re\'ered fathers, painted b_\- lluntington of New \'ork. and at- 
tractive as works ol art e\en to those who h.ul not personally known and hon- 
oretl the men whom tlie_\- represent. This example led to the |)resentation. b)- 
the alumni, of portraits of I'resitlent Anderson and Professors Keildrick and 
(Juinby. In i 876 a portrait of Prof John 1". Stoddard, the founder of the Stod- 
dard ])rize nu'dal, w as atlded to the collection ; and still more recently the walls 
of the facult)' room have been adorned with a fine portrait of President Ander- 
son, painteil b_\- l\astnian Johnson. The library has, also, been made the recc])- 
tacle of a fine bust of Prederick Douglass, chiseled by Johnson Mundy, and its 
reading-room contains a series of eighty choice lithographs, illustrative of arch- 
itectural subjects, which ha\ e been colored (with scrujiulous attention to his- 
torical accurac)) b_v the' most emiiu'Ut Pngiish water colorists. 'I'lie \alue of 
this absolutel)' unique collection is estimated at $5,000, and it v\as given to the 
universit)- b_\- Rew Iv L. Magoon. 1). 1).. of Philadelphia. In books illustrati\'e 
of the department of art, the librar>- is — thanks to the benefactions of Hir.im 
Sible)', Re/.in A. Wight, of New N'ork, and Dr. Magoon — exceptional!)- rich. 
The cabinets and art collection of the universit)- are open to the [jublic ever)- 
afternoon from I to 5. 

In liS68 a chemical labor.itory w as tempoiaril)- fitted u[j in the basement of 



Facilities p'or Instruction. 5^ 

the university. The accommodations thus afforded being found insufficien 
the laboratory was, in 1873, transferred to the first floor of the universit 
and considerably enlarged. It still, however, affords tables for only twent) 
four students, and undergraduates who desire to take analytical chemistr 
(which is an elective study during the Junior and Senior years) are sometimi 
compelled to apply for this privilege a year in ad\ance. The pressure upc 
the laboratory is also considerable from students of medicine and pharmac; 
and even from farmers and mechanics who desire to fit themselves for the ii 
telligent pursuit of their vocation. The laboratory is as well fitted and equif 
ped as is possible in view of its temporary nature and crowded condition, an 
is so conducted by Professor S. A. Lattimore as to command the unqualifie 
respect of those who are familiar with its workings. A building to be devote 
entirely to the natural sciences is, however, absolutely necessar\', in order I 
give to this department that development which it already claims. 

During the past year a room, near the chemical lecture room in Andersc 
hall, has been suitabl)- arranged for a chemical cabinet, which consists of sue 
raw and manufactured articles as may serve to illustrate the application ( 
chemical processes to the industrial arts, and it is hoped to make this cabin^ 
an especiall)- attractive and valuable adjunct to the work of instruction. 

The university is fairly well supplied with apparatus for the illustration ( 
applied mathematics and the physical sciences, though much of the most usi 
. ful apparatus represents a greater outlay of the instructor's skill and ingenuil 
than of money. In these departments the attempt is made first to develc 
in the mind of the student distinct conceptions of scientific principles. Clas 
room illustrations of those principles are then given to such an extent as ms 
be necessary to classify those conceptions and impress them on the memor 
In giving instruction in physiology and zoology, which are taught mainly . 
comparative sciences, the extensive private collections of Prof Henry A. Wai 
are at the disposal of the instructor and are freely used in the class-room. 

The uni\'ersity has never contemplated the establishment of an astronomic 
observator)', believing that such an establishment does not render any servii 
to general education which is at all commensurate with the vast expense whic 
it entails, and that the country is already supplied with such institutions cw 
in excess of the demands of special scientific discovery and investigation. Tl 
need was felt, however, of a telescope which should enable the classes in a 
tronomy actually to observe the phenomena which are described in their te: 
books, and practically to apprehend at least the simpler processes of the trains 
observer. On mentioning this want to John B. Trevor, the president of 01 
board of trustees, he promptly agreed to supply it, and, after consultation wi' 
Dr. Wm. Harkness of the Washington observatory (a member of the class ( 
'58), an instrument which can be made serviceable not only for class instructic 
but even for purposes of special investigation, was ordered of Alvin Clarke 
' Sons, of Cambridgeport, and permanently mounted in a building special 



544 



HisroKV <iK iiiK Cirv or Rociikster. 



ercctcil fur llial purpose. This iiistniiiicnt is inmuUcd ciiiiatoriall)-, li.is a focal 
U-iiLitli "f sc\ c'li feet six inclu'S and a six-iiicli (ibjcct <^lass, is supplied w ith riL;lU 
■ isceiisioil and dixlinalion circles and so arrani^ed that clock-\\ nrk cm he added, 
<it slii^ht e\])ensi:. 

In I1S49-50. when the ciueslion of an eslablishnient of a college at Koch- 
ester was pendin<;, $130,000 was subscribed — parth' b}- residents of Roches- 
ter and vicinit}', partly b\' members of the 15aptist denomination in other parts 
of the state to secure this end. Of this subscription, all but about five per cent, 
was paid into the treasur_\-. In 1862 $20,000 was raised in Rochester and its 
vicinit)', for the purchase of the Ward cabinet of fjeolofry and niineralof,fy. 
Lewis Hrooks headed the subscription list with tile sum of $5,000. The other 
])rincMpal Roclu'ster subscri])tions wvrc : l,e\i .\. Ward, $1,500; l-'reemaii 
Clarke, $ 1 ,000 ; W'illi.uii A. Reynolds, $1,000; .\ristarchus Champion, $500; 
John W. Dwinelle, $500; Aaron Mrickson, $500; Samuel L. Selden, $500; 
I liram Sil)le\-, $500 ; .\tldison (iardiner, $350 ; Isaac R. Mlwood, $250 ; I''red- 
erick .St.irr, $250: Don .\lon/o Watson, $250. 

In 1865 an attemjH was made to raise $100,000 amoiiL; the members of 
the Baptist denomination, loi- the m.>re adecpiate endowment of the unix'crsity. 
This mo\'ement was conducted b_\- Dr. Cuttin;^, ami the entire amount was 
pledged, but only about $80,000 was paid into the treasure In 1867-68 
$19,650 was raised by the citizens of Rochester to |)urchase a resilience for the 
president of the university, which sum was augmented by a d(5nation of $12,- 
500 from John B. Trexor, of New \'ork. In 1871 another attemjit was matle 
to add $100,000 to the permanent endowmc-nt of the uni\ersit)'. This effort, 
which was conducted b>- Rev. lulwanl Bright, 1). D., of New \'ork (editor of 
the r.xaDiiiur eV t /irotiu/c, I'resident ^Anderson's old paper), was entireU' suc- 
cessful. .A simil.u' attem]>t was made in 1876, but it resulted in but slight im- 
metliate addition to the endowment fund. Meanwhile the expenses of the 
uni\ersit)' largeh' exceedetl, yeai' b\- year, its recei[)ts, and were steadily eating 
up all subscriptions for its support that were not definitelv designated as trust- 
funds, .Strenuous efforts were necessary to i)lace the universit)' on a sound 
financial basis, and those efforts were crowned with success in 1880, when, 
through tile instrumentalit)- of President Anderson, the addition of $256,800 
to the permanent endowment fund was announced. The names of the givers 
were : — 



John H. Ilc-niu-, .\c-w \\n\. . . . $100,000 

John If. TiL-vor, .\\-w \ork, . . 50,000 

Jeremiah Millbank, New NOrk, . 25.000 

John 1). Rockefeller, rlevehml, ( I.. . 25,000 

Lewis Kathbone, .\lhaiiy, . . . 12,500 

John K. Katlilione, .Mliany, . . 12,500 

Col. Wni. H. Harris, Clevelanil, (1.. . 6.000 

Mis. Stillman Will, ( leveland, (I.. . 5,000 

Saimiel S. ( (instant. New York, . . 5,000 

William .\. Caulflwell, New York, . . 5,000 



Col. James T. (irillin, l.oniliin, I';ni;., . .$5,000 

Charles J. Martin, .New \'iirk, . . . 1,000 

Rev. Eclwaril Bright, New \'ork, . . 1,000 

Rev. Robert H. Hull, New York, . . 1,000 

Robert Colgate, New York, . . . 1,000 

Byron K. Huntley, Brockport, . . . i.ooo 

Jacob Hayes, New York, .... 500 

Benjamin R. Jenkins (estate), Toledo, ()., . 100 

Rev. Elia.s FI. Johnson, Providence, R. I., . 100 

Sargent & Greenleaf, Rochester, . . 100 



Financial. 



5- 



Of this sum $45,000 was designated to endow the Deane professorship 1 
logic, rhetoric and English; $50,000 was set apart as the John H. Deane fur 
for the assistance of the sons of Baptist ministers; and $25,000 went to increa 
the Rathbone librar\' funtl. Rochester names are conspicuous b)' their absen 
in this last subscription; but let it not be forgotten that Rochester and its ir 
mediate vicinity had, previous to 1876, contributed to the support of the ur 
versity the sum of $228,239. The names of all those who, up to the date 
this history, have subscribed $5,000 or more toward the purchase of lo 
erection of buildings, furnishing of library and cabinets, permanent endowmei 
or current expenses of the university, is as follows: — 



* John B. Trevor, Vonkers, 

* John H. Deane, New Voric, . 
Hiram Sibley, Roche'.ter, . 

' John V. Rathbone, .\lbany, 

* WilHam Kelley, Khinebeck, . 

* Charles Pratt, Brooklyn, 

* Tracy H. Harris. New York . 

" Joseph B. Hoyt, .Stamford, Conn., 
■Jeremiah Millbank, New York, 
'John I). Rockefeller, Cleveland. () 
-State of New York, . 
*J. F. WyckolT, New ^■ork. . 

* James B. Colgate, \'onkers, 

* Gideon W. Burbank, Rochester, 
' Ijcwis Rathbone, Alb,iny, 

* Oren Sage and family, Rochester, 



$120,275.00 
112,538.06 
102,279.00 
44,425.00 
33,550.00 

32'438-33 
30,250.00 
30,100.00 
25,000.00 
25,000.00 
25,000.00 
24,280.00 
20,000.00 
17,500.00 
14,075.00 



' Lewis Roberts, Tarry town, 
Hon. Azariah Boody, Rochester, 

* Mrs. Stillman Witt, Cleveland, ()., . 
'John N. Wilder, Albany, . 

*Col. Wm. H. Harris, Cleveland, n., 

* Thomas Cornell, Rondout, 

» Rev. E. L. Magoon, U. D., I'hila., I'a. 

* John Munro and family, Elbridge, . 

* Rezin A. Wight, New York, . 
Is.aac Sherman, New York, . 

* koswell S. llllrrow^. .\lbion, . 

* Samuel S. ('onslant, New \'ork. 

* William A. e'auldwell. New York, . 
Lewis Brooks, Rochester, . 

*Col. James T. Criffin. London. Kng., 
*Mrs. Ann K. Waters. Brooklyn. 



$10,925. 
10,250. 
10.000. 
10,000, 

9.59I- 
8,087. 
. 8,397. 
6,500. 
5,300. 
5 . 200. 
5,000. 
5.000. 
5,000. 
5,000. 
5,000. 
5,000. 



12,865.00 

We have marked with an asterisk, in this list, those who, by personal or fam 
ties, are connected with the Baptist denomination, in order to give a part 
answer to the question why the University of Rochester regards itself as 
Baptist college. As the result of the subscriptions that have been given 
detail, the university reported, on the 1st of June, 1883: — 

Unproductive property to the value of . $435,275.48 

Productive property to the value of .... 449,006.99 

Total ■ . . . $884,282.47 

The expenses of the university for the year ending June ist, 1883, we 
$35,797.37 ; the income was $39,135.88, showing a balance on the right si< 
of $3,338.51. This state of things has existed ever since the subscription 
the endowment fund made in 1880 ; and, that the balance may not immediate 
be on the wrong side, John B. Trevor and John D. Rockefeller have recent 
pledged $1,000 apiece per annum for five )-ears to help to meet current e; 
penses. If their subscriptions are not needed for this purpose, the)- will go 
swell the endowment fund. Meanwhile the friends of the university alreac 
contemplate such additions to its permanent endowment as will greatly enlars 
its sphere of usefulness. 

The expenses for a student at the university are, for tuition twenty doUa 
a term ; for incidentals (including janitor's salary, and use of library) five dolla 



546 



History of the City of Rochester. 



a term — making the annHiiit paN'ablc to the college scvent\'-five dollars a year, 
or just about one third of what the etlucation of a student costs. The univer- 
sit\' has no dormituries — ccmfoi'minL;, in this respect, not to the I'",nL;lish, but 
to the ("lerm.m model, which is ye.irly t,nv)winL; in ta\oi- in the I'nited .States. 
In a cit\' of the size of Rochester suitable accommod.itions for more students 
than the L'nixersitv of Rochester is likely soon to numbei- can readily be found. 
It is not neeess.iry, then, to Iodide the students in barracks. Nor is the ide.i of 
monkish seclusion w hich is t)-pified by the I'aij^lish quadrangle (,ui institution that 
results in a seclusion anj'thing but mon.istic) adopted by the trustees of Roches- 
ter as a neccssar}- conditioil of student life. The)- belie\'e, instead, that it is — 
physicalK', niental!\- and moralh' — better loi- thi' student to be subjected, so fu' 
as may be, to the influence of a C'hristi.m Iujuic ; .md to learn to regard himself 
as an integral ])art of the community in which he resides. Meanwhile it is 
ff)und, b}' careful com|)arison, that dormitories (which are objectionable on e\'er\' 
other ground) can not \k' xindic.ited on the plea of economy; and that our 
poor students would be betti'i' off if the amount in\'ested in creating ,iiul main- 
taining an abnoini.il and unhe.ilth)' condition of student life were devoted to 
relief funds. The .uer.ige price paid at Rochester for a furnished room, suit- 
able for two students, is about two doll.u's ]5er week — which is less, on the 
average, than dormitor_\' accommodations would cost the students in money, to 
sa)' nothing of morals. ]5oarding can be obtained in priwate families for from 
three dollars and a half to five dollars per week. 

I'^orty scholarships \'ielding free tuition (si.vty dollars a \-ear) are open to 
candidates for the ministr_\- who are appro\ed b\' the Union for Ministerial I'^d- 
ucation and b)- the presi<K-nt of the uni\ersit\'. lueU'e similar scholarships 
(three each \'ear) are awarded as pri/.es for excellence in the studies in the I<.och- 
cster cit\' schools jirt-paratory to college ; ;uul four similar scholarships (one 
each year) are, through the generosity of John II. Deane, open to competition 
b_\" graduates of the Hrockport Normal school. Twelve other scholarshijis (en- 
dowed b\- \arious indixiduals at an expense of $i,ooo each) afford free tuition 
to an\' student who shall be approved by the faculty as especially wortli)' of 
assistance. There is, also, a fund of $50,000 contributed by John H. Deane, 
of New \'ork, the interest of which is to be devoted to the assistance of the 
sons of Baptist ministers who require aid in procuring an education — prefer- 
ence being given, other things being equal, to students from the states of New 
York and New Jersey. The university has received from Is.iac Sherman, of 
New York, the sum of $5,000 as a permanent cndownu-nt for .t post-graduate 
scholarship in the dejiartment of political economy, and John 1'. Townsentl, of 
New \'ork, has jjledged the income of the same sum to endow a similar schol- 
arship in the de])artmcnt of constitutional law and the history of political insti- 
tutions. '1 hese scholarships are awardeil to those two members of each grad- 
uating class wlio, during the third term in the Senior year, pass the best and 



The UxivKKSiTV, 



the second-best examination, respectively, on some French treatise on polit 
ccononi}', and some German treatise on political history, to be designated by 
facult)-. The sum of one hundred and fifty dollars is paid to each of the s 
cessful competitors, at graduation ; and an additional sum of one hundred ; 
fifty dollars, if he shall, within two )-ears after graduation, present to the fact 
a thorough and exhaustive written discussion of some specially assigned c 
noniic or political theme. 

The prizes of the university are sufficient to stimulate its undergradi 
members to healthful acti\it\-, though not of such a nature as to render tl" 
much pecuniary assistance. Thirty-five dollars is divided among the best i 
or three speakers out of the first twelve men in point of scholarship, in the So 
ompre class — these prizes being endowed by Dr. Beadle, of Philadelphia 
commemoration of his friend Dr. Dewe)'. The university has received fr 
one of its alumni, Rev. R. B. Hull, of New York, the sum of $i,ooo to enc 
a prize which is given to the member of each Senior class who shall present 
best essay — not exceeding 3,000 words in length — upon a subject selected 
the faculty. A medal of the value of one hundred dollars in gold (endowed 
John F. Stoddard) is given to that member of the Senior class who passes 
best examination on some te.xt book work, assigned by the faculty, in e.xtens 
of the regular mathematical course; and presents the best dissertation on sc 
mathematical topic assigned for special investigation. Two gold medals, of 
equal value but amounting in the aggregate to sixty dollars (given by Is 
Davis, of Worcester, Massachusetts), are awarded for the best and the seco: 
best graduating oration — thought, expression and delivery being taken i 
account. In addition to these endowed prizes small gratuities are open to cc 
petition by the Freshman class in the department of mathematics; by the So] 
omore class in the department of Latin; by the Junior class in the departm 
of Greek. The custodians of the university are disposed to render all the ass 
ance in their power to poor but worthy young men who are in pursuit of 
education. Such men, if approved by the society for ministerial education, n 
expect one hundred dollars a \-ear toward their expenses from that soui 
Other students are occasionally aided from funds at the disposal of the pr( 
dent; though his means in this direction are altogether too limited. It is 
to be a dut)', however, to provide, for the sons of the rich as well as for 
children of the poor. While due honor is paid to those who are struggling 
adverse circumstances of poverty and want, to secure an education, and eiv< 
effort is made to help them, honor is paid also to those who are struggling 
adverse circumstances of luxury and affluence for the same end. It is belie' 
that rich and poor should meet together in perfect equality in the recitat 
room, receiving from the instructor that consideration and respect which tl 
diligence and correctness of deportment may deserve. It is intended to h; 
regard, in the organisation of the university, to the wants of the rich and pi 



548 



History of the City of Rochester. 



alike; and sec to it that wcaltliy I^aptists shall not be able to plead the lack of 
a colle!4e of their o\\ n which is full)- iq) to the denianils of the aL;'e, as an excnst' 
for sendinLj their sons to \'ale or llarwird. 

The number of students who have, since the orL;anisation ol the uni\ersity, 
completed the classic. d course and receixed the ile^^ree of ;\. H. is 753. The num- 
ber who ha\'e completed the scientific course and received the deforce of B. S. is 
44. The whole number of i^raduate-s, down to and includiuL; I SS3, is 79". Ihi-- 
name, residence-, and occupation of the alumni of the \mi\ersity — toL;ether 
with some ficts res])ectinL; their jjcrsonal histoi-y — are indicated in the last 
<^reneral catalogue. It will be seen from an inspection of this list that of 797 
graduates more than 200 (includiuL; such nanu's as Hridi;nian, of New \'ork ; 
Goodspeed, of Chicago ; Crane, of l?oston ; Saj^e, of Hartford; l'"ulton, of 
l^rooklyn ; Telford and Chilcott, of Chin.i; Jameson, of l^assein) ha\i- entered 
the Christian ministr\- ; while nearl_\- 150 (represeiUetl b\' Hem-)- Strom; and J. 
M. Bailev- of Illinois, Judj^e A. W, Touri,'ee of North Carolina, !•:. S. Chitten- 
den of Alinnesota, and Judi^e, I", A. Maconiber of our own city) ha\e studied 
law. Some tueiity-fue ha\e sludie(_l medicine, and nearly as many (including 
Manton Marble of the World, Joseph O'Connor of the Buffalo Coitricr, and 
Rossiter Johnson of .Ipp/cioii's Cyclopedia) have filled the editorial chair. 
More than 100 ha\e, as teachers, transmitted the influence of the univt-rsitv to 
other institutions of learniuL;. Amon;_; the latter we may mention (ialusha 
Anderson, 1) 1). l.I,. 1)., presi<lent of the Cni\ersit>- of Chicai^o ; Lemuel 
Moss, 1). I)., LI. I)., inesideiitof Indiana universit)' ; Merrill V.. Crates, LL. D., 
presiilent of Ruts^x-rs college; rrnm.m J, Backus, LL. I)., principal of the 
Packer institute, Brooklvn, \. \'. ; Win. C. Wilkinson, I). D,, professor of 
rhetoric in the Rochestc'i' theological seminar)-; W'm. Wirt hay, professor of 
moral philosoph\- in the- L'nited States naval academ)- ; Prof William Hark- 
ness, of the United States n;i\al obser\-atory ; Norman Robinson, professor of 
natural history and chemistr\- in Bethel college, K)-. ; Norman I'"ox, professor 
in William Jewell college, Mo.; A. J. Howe, professor of mathematics, and J. 
C. Clarke, professor of (ireek, in the Lhiiversit)' of Chicago; U. H. Robinson, 
professor of mathematics in the University of Kansas; Otis H. Robinson, pro- 
fessor of mathematics; Wm. C. Morey% professor of histor\-, and George M. 
Forbes, ])rofessor of Greek, at Rochester; Milton G. Potter, professor of an- 
atoni)- in Buffalo inedicd college; Carl T. Kre_\-er, professcjr in Kauchang 
Mian college, China; Albei't T. Barrett, jirofessor of mathematics in Mary 
Sharpe college, Tennessee ; J<.)hn C. (.)verhiser, professor in the Brooklyn Poly- 
technic institute; Malcolm McX'icar, LL. D., of the Potsdam Normal school; 
I-. JV Palmer, IT.. D., of the I-'redonia Normal school; Wm. J. Milne, LL. D., 
of the Normal school at (ieneseo; I^'rank S. Capen, of the Normal school at 
Cortland; J. I'". I'^)rbes, of the Brockport Normal school. 

It is not alone in the learned professions, howe\-er, that our gratluates are 



The Un'iversitv, 



found. They may be met w ith on the farm, at the counting-house, in the n- 
chine-shop, and wherever met they evince an independence of thought, 
breadth of culture and an adaptation to the exigencies of practical hfe, which i 
equally essential to success in secular and sacred callings. 

When the war for the suppression of the rebellion broke out, the alumni of t 
university numbered (including the class then about to graduate) 198. Oft 
nimTber, twent}'-fi\-e (or about one in eight) entered the Union arm\-. A lar 
number of the undergraduates also enlisted — fi\e of whom came back, at t 
expiration of the war, to complete their studies, but most of whom never 1 
turned. Three undergraduate members of the university and seven of its alun 
fell in the service of their country: Brig. Gen. J. C. Drake, 1852 ; Capt. Sidn 
E. Richardson, 1853 ; Capt. Wm. E. Bristol, 1856; Lieut. Theodore E. Bak 
1857; Sylvanus S. Wilcox, i860; Capt. Chas. H. Savage, 1861 ; Lieut. Jose 
Webster, 1861 ; Lieut. Wm. C. Hall, 1863; Lieut. Wm. E. Orr, 1864; Ca 
J. Harr)' Pool, 1865. The memory of those who thus j^erished is perpetual 
b\' a memorial tablet in the university ch.ipel. The Intcrprcs for 1865 cc 
tained a list of Rochester students, fifty-four in number, who served during t 
rebellion. So far as it is known, onl\- one graduate of the university enter 
the Confederate arm\-; he was faithful to the cause that he es[joused and seal 
his devotion by his death. 

On the whole, the friends of the Uni\ersit\- of Rochester may well congr; 
ulate themselves on what it has accomplished during the first twenty-four ye; 
of its existence, and yet those years have been rather a struggle for existen 
a preparation for real life, than life itself The board of trustees and the facu 
of instruction count not themselves to have attained the end which they 
before them at the outset; neither do they deem the institution which has be 
the object of such tender solicitude and such earnest toil altogether perfe 
The foundations of such a university as shall be a blessing to ever\- citizen 
Western New York have been laid, and laid solidl}^and well. The superstru 
urc begins to show a little, just enough to indicate what the design of the ei 
fice is ; but it still remains to rear the stately walls and crown the complet 
structure with its ample dome. Looking forward and pointing upward, t 
friends of the university devoutly adopt the legend which is inscribed upon 
seal and say: " God helping us, we hope for better things than these." Stro 
in the affection of a noble band of alumni who are yearly increasing in influer 
and in wealth, freed from the inexorable necessity of providing for daily neci 
sities at whatever sacrifice of permanent advantage, blessed with intelligent a 
powerful friends, who already have its prospective wants under thoughtful cc 
sideration, the University of Rochester may well hope for better things, 
friends fix their eyes to-day upon the future rather than the past. 

And yet the past is fraught with precious memories, which, in surveyi 
the history of the university, can hardly fail to press upon us. Many who ha 



5sO IIlSliiRN' • >y rilK Cl IV i)K RoCllKSI'KK. 

Uiilcii most (.'.inu'stly and ])i-,i_\ccl must fcr\cntl_\' fur tin' l_'ni\crsity of Roches- 
tci' li.ui- passfd a\\,i\'. ( )t the li\iiiL; — i>t' Aiuicrsdii and l\i-ndiick, of Sago 
and Ratliljiini-, and ni that mihlc l),indcif Iji-ncfactoi's v^ho h,i\c rccu/ntl)- ral- 
hi-d t<i the sii|i|ii>rt lit the iinivfi'sity, Irt-Mii' and I )t;.inc, Sihliy and Rnckcfcllt-r, 
\\')ckoll' and llciyt, Millh.mk and I'ratt — w c may nut now spc^ak as tlicy de- 
scT\(.-. Hut. tn John X^ Wildir and Oirn Sa-c; to h'rccUTirk W'liittlescy and 
lu'crard I'rck : to Wihiani I,. Marcy and Ira ilai'iis; tn the bi-otliers Rob- 
ert and W'ilhani Kcllc)- ; to Chester Uewey and Jnhn !•". Richardson ; to Gideon 
W. l^urbank and Tracy IL Harris the uni\ersity owes a debt of gratitude 
wliich may well find fuller expression e\'en now. No man was more active 
with tongue and pen in ple.iding the cause of reinox'al ami ad\ocating the fit- 
ness of Rochester tci l)eciime the si-. it nf a great uni\ersit)- than John N. W'ildcr. 
His earnest, shrewd ,ind praelic.il spirit inl'used life into the frit-nds nf the uni- 
versity and enaljled him ti> rer.der it ser\'ice which \\as fully recngniscd b)' 
placing him at the head nf the hoard of trustees. Hack n( Jnhn N. Wilder — 
and a pnwer nearer tn the thimie which determines the failure nr success of any 
undert. iking — was l)eacnn ( )ren .Sage, a man whnse interest in the cause of 
ethic. ition was all the nmre intense fi-nm his nwn scant}' op[)ortunities and a 
m.in whn, peril, ips, did more than any either to enlist the 1.5aptists of Western 
W-w \'ork in the new enterprise. h'ellnw -citizens nf Deacon Sage, but iden - 
tihed with nther dennmin.itinnal interests — the nne an ICpiscopalian, the other 
a l'resb\'terian — were Chancellor W'hittlese}- and ]'".\erard Peck, both of them 
trustees of the unixeisit)' and e;ich ku'gel_\- insti unu-nt.il in conciliating to the 
new institution th.it confidence and sujiport which it has e\-er reci'ixi'd from the 
peojjle ot Roche'ster. The ser\ ices ol (hnernor Marcy <ind Judge I larris were 
largel)' in the line of their ])rofession and ha\e .ilread)- been specifically men- 
tioned. Hoth of them were, till the close of life, kee-nl)' ali\-e to the interests 
of that unixersit)' which the}' IurI tlonesomuch to found. I'he brotlurs, Rob- 
ert and William Kelle)- were men who combined with the practical shrewdness 
ol Wilder and tlu' sturdy good sense of Marcy something of the devout and 
winning spirit ot L)eacon Sage. Robert, espeeially, was a man of generous 
culture ami did much to shape the i:ourse (.if stud_\- in the university. When, 
in 1.S56, he resigned his [)osition on the bo.ird of trustees (in order to accept 
an appointment to the board of regents), he was succeeded by his brother, 
William, wIk.), on the death of Mr. Wilder, was appointed president n( that 
body, .1 pnsitinn which he filled fnr fnurteeii \-ears. During all tliat time he 
rendered ser\'ices tn the uni\eisit_\- which fe-w men of his means and social po- 
sition wi.iuld have cared tn uiulert.ike. Among its friends the uni\-ersit\- has 
knnwn nniie truer and better than Robert and William Kelle\-. The grave, 
sweet smile, w hich gle.tms frnm the can\-as th.it ])er])etuates their nu-mor)-, falls 
u])nn us above the (lust_\- \oliimes in our librar\-, like a benediction. Dewey 
and ivichardson brnught tn the uni\ersit\- reputations alread)- matured, and gave 



The Theol()(;ical Seminary. 55 

to it the ripest fruits of j'ears of culture. Their memory is still cherished b; 
generations of students whom they influenced for good, and lingers even ye 
in college halls. The name of Gideon W. Burbank must ever be associatei 
with the presidential chair, which he endowed at a sacrifice that he did no 
realise at the time, but which he never regretted ; and with his name is linker 
that of Tracy H. Harris, the noble \-oung merchant whose lamented death cu 
short a career of beneficence that bid fair to ha\-e few equals ever among th 
Christian laymen of America. Trul)- the university which at the end of it 
first generation can recall such benefactors as these has a heritage in the past a 
well as a hope for the future. 

ROCHESTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 1 

Rochester theological seminary was founded in 1850. Up to this time th 
only Baptist school for literary and theological training in the state of Ne\ 
York was Madison university, situated at Hamilton. In 1847 many friends o 
education throughout the state, with a view to securing for this university 
more suitable location and a more complete endowment, sought to remove th 
institution to Rochester. This project was opposed by friends of Hamiltor 
legal obstacles were discovered, the question was carried into courts, and th 
plan of removal was finally abandoned as impracticable Not so, however, th 
plan of establishing a theological seminary and university at Rochester. Rev 
Pharcellus Church, D. D., with John N. Wilder and Oren Sage, devoted mucl 
time and energy to awakening public sentiment in behalf of the new enter 
prise. A subscription of $1 30,000 was secured for the college. Five professor 
in Hamilton — Drs. Conantand Maginnis of the seminary, and Drs. Kendrick 
Raymond, and Richardson of the university — resigned their places, and ac 
cepted a call to similar positions in the new institutions at Rochester. In No 
vember, 1850, classes were organised in the Rochester theological seminary a 
well as in the University of Rochester, and instruction was begun in temporar 
quarters secured for the purpose. Many students came with their professor 
from Hamilton. The first class graduated from the theological seminary num 
bered seven members, and the first published catalogue, that of 1851—52, en 
rolls the names of two professors and of twenty-nine students. 

Although the early history of the seminary was intimatel)' connected witi 
that of the University of Rochester, and the two institutions at the beginning 
occupied the same building, there has never been any organic connection be 
tween them, either of government or of instruction. While the university ha 
devoted itself to the work of general college training, the Rochester theologica 
seminary has been essentially a professional school, and has aimed exclusivel; 
to fit men, by special studies, for the work of the ministry. It has admittei 
only college graduates and those who have been able successfully to pursu 

1 This article was prepared by Rev. L)r. A. H. Strong, the president of the seminary. 



152 



History of the City of Rochfster. 



cmirscs of stud)' in cnnncctioii witli college graduates. l^cijinning with the 
two pr(ifcssorslii]is of thcoldL;)' and (if I Icljrcw, it has a<ldL'd professorships of 
ecclesiastical history, of \cw Tcstanicnl (ircck, of lioniilctics ami pastoral thc- 
oloL^v, and of clocntion. l^csidcs its two orij^inal [jrofcssoi's — Rc\-. Thomas J. 
C'onant, 1). 1)., and livw John S. Mas^innis, I). I). — it has nunihcrcii in its 
facult\- the names of M/.ekiel (i. Robinson, John 11. Raymond, X'elona R. 
Hotchkiss, Gcor>;e W. Nm'thrup, Asahcl C. Rendrick, iv. J. W. Huckiand, 
Horatio B. Hackctt, William C. Wilkinson, Howard Osgood, William Arnold 
Stevens, Albert H. Newman, T. Harwood Pattison and Benjamin O. True. 
To Rev. Ezekiel G. Robinson, D. D., LL. D., however, professor in the semi- 
nar}- from 1S53 to 1872, and from 1868 to 1872 its president, the institution 
probabU' owes more of its character and success than to any <ither single man. 
His successor in the presidt'ucy auA in the eh.iii' oi Hiblical theolog)- is Rew 
Augustus H. Strong, I). I)., who has luiw (1S84) for twelve j'ears held this 
positicHi. 

In 1854 a (jerman department of the seminar)' was organised. The der- 
nian I^aptist churclKs of the counti'w which in 1850 wert- onl_\- ten in number, 
have now increased to more than one hundrt'd. 'I'his constant growth has oc- 
casioned a demand for ministers with some degree of training. The (ierman 
department is designed to meet this necessit\'. In 1858 Rev. Augustus Rausch- 
enbusch, I). D., a pupil of Nc;inder, was secured to take cliarge of this work, 
and in 1872 Re\'. Hermann M. Schiiffer was chosen as his colleague. The 
course of studies in the German department is four \ears in length, antl being 
designed for young men who lia\e had little preparator)- training, is literar)' 
as well as theological. This course is totall}' distinct from the regular course 
of the si-minar)-, whicii is accomplished in three j'ears. 

When the seminar)' began its existence it was wholl)- without endowment, 
and dependent as it was upon the churches for means to defra\' its current ex- 
penses as well as to su])port its beneficiaries, the raising of a sufficient endow- 
ment in aikhtion was a long and arduous \\ork. The fu'st securing of sub- 
scriptions for the maintenance of instruction in theology, and for the support 
of beneficiaries, was done by Rev. Zenas Freeman. It has recpiired thirty years 
of effort since that time to bring the endowment of the seniinar)- to a point 
where it is sufficient to meet the necessary annual e.xix'uscs of tlie institution, 
even apart from the support of beneficiaries. The sum first sought to be se- 
cured was $75,000. This was not obtained until after ten years had passed. 
In 1868 the funds of the seminar)' had reached $100,000; in 1874, including 
subscriptions of $100,000 )et un[)aid, the\- amounted to $281,000; in 1884, 
including subscriptions of $79,000 )'et unpaid, the)' amount to $485,000. 
Adding to this sum the real estate of the seminar)', valued at $ 1 23,000, its 
library valueil at $32,000, and other propert)' to the extent of $6,500, the total 
assets of the institution ma)- now be stated as amounting to $647,000, from 



The Theological Seiviinarv. 



5; 



which, however, is to be subtracted an indebtedness of $10,000, leaving 
net propert)' $637,000. When all subscriptions are paid in and its debts a 
cancelled, the institution is expected to ha\-e a producti\e endowment 
$450,000, an amount sufficient to maintain its operations only upon conditi 
that the churches shall continue to provide, as they have hitherto done, 
annual contributions, for the support of students preparing for the ministi 
Although much still remains to be desired in the way of enlargement of 
facilities, and although large sums may still be wisely invested in buildin! 
lectureships and scholarships, whenever the generosity of its friends shall pi 
vide the means, its present condition is greatly encouraging. This compai 
tive prosperity of later years has been due, under Providence, to the wise a 
liberal gifts of a few tried friends of the seminary, among whom may be me 
tioned the names of John B. Trevor, ofYonkers, N. Y. ; Jacob F. Wyckofif, 
New York city; John D. Rockefeller, of Cleveland, O. ; William Rockefell 
of New York; Charles Pratt, of Brooklyn; Joseph B. Hoyt, of Stamford, Con 
James O. Pettengill, of Rochester, N. Y. ; John H. Deane, of New Yoi 
Charles Siedler, of Jersey City, N. J.; William A. Cauldwell, of New Ynt 
Mrs. Eliza A. Witt, of Cleveland, O., and Jeremiah Millbank, of New York. 

The seminary instruction was for some years given in the buildings occupi 
by the University of Rochester. In 1 869, however, the erection of Trevor hall, 
an expense of $42,000, to which John B. Trevor, of Yonkers, was the larg 
donor, put the institution for the first time in possession of suitable dormitory ; 
commodations. The gymnasium building, adjoining, erected in 1874, and co 
ing, with grounds, $12,000, was also a gift of Mr. Trevor. In 1879 Rockefell 
hall, costing $38,000, was built by John D. Rockefeller, of Cleveland, O. It ct 
tains a spacious fire-proof room for library, as well as lecture-rooms, museu 
and chapel, and furnishes admirable and ample accommodation for the teachi 
work of the seminary. In addition to these buildings the German Studer 
Home, purchased in 1874, at a cost of $20,000, furnishes a dormitory a 
boarding-hall for the German department. 

The library of the seminary is one of great value for theological investij. 
tion. It embraces the whole collection of Neander, the great German chui 
historian, which was presented to the seminary in 1853 by the late Roswell 
Burrows, of Albion, N. Y. It also contains in great part the exegetical apj 
ratus of the late Dr. Horatio B. Hackett. Valuable additions have been ma 
to it from the "Bruce fund" of $25,000, subscribed in 1872 by John M. Bru 
of Yonkers, and further additions from this source are hoped for. The generc 
subscription in 1879 of $25,000, by William Rockefeller, of New York city, 1 
furnished means for extensive enlargement, so that the library now numb 
over 20,000 volumes, and it is well provided in all the various departments 
theology. In 1880 the " Sherwood fund," contributed by the late Rev. Ac 
Sherwood, D. D., of St. Louis, Mo., furnished the means for beginning a rr 



554 



History ok the City of Rochester. 



scum of Bil.)lical jj;coL;ra]ili_\- and arch;voloL;y, intciuicd to provide, in object les- 
sons, valuable aids for the stiidv of the Iloly land, its enst(inis and its physical 
features. 

Thus the Rochester llu;oloL;icaI seminar)' has ijrown from small be^inninys 
to assured strength .ind success. Its early years were \ears of trials and finan- 
cial strui^ijle ; but, founded as it w.is in the prayers and faith of i;odly men, it 
has li\ed to justif)' the hopes of its founiK-rs. (,)f those who took a deep inter- 
est ill its fteble- beL;inninL;s should be mentioned the names of Alfred Bennett, 
William K. Willi. mis, lustin .A. Smith, Zenas h'reem.ui. AKali Stroni;, friend 
llumi)lirey, !■:. i;. I.. ra\lor, hi. l.athroi), J. S. l^aekus. 15. 1'. Welch, William 
Phelps, Lemuel C. Paine, II. C. 1ms!i, A. B. Capuell, N. W. Benedict, (;. C. 
B.ddw in. ("i. 1). Boardman, .\. R. I'ritch.ird, I lenr\- V.. Robins. .\ll these have 
been offict'is of the \ew \'nrk B.iplist L'nion fir Ministt-i'i.il I'.ihication or mem- 
bers of its board of trustees. The financial mana_L;ement of this board has bee'ii 
such that no loss of funds, of an_\- sii^nificance, intrusted to its care, has vvcv 
occurred. 

The results of the work of the senfinary can ne\t;r l:)e measuretl 1)\' arith- 
metic. y\s its purpose has been to niake its graduates men of thinking ability 
and of practical force, as well as stutlents anil preachers of the word of (jod, it 
has leavened the denomination with its influence, and has done much to give an 
aggressive, in(.le[)endent, manl\- tone to our ministr)- The names of its former 
students are enough to show that its training has combined in equal proportions 
the intellectual .and the spiritual, the theoretical anil the pr.ictical. During the 
thirt\--tliree ye.irs of the semin.iry's existence, and u]) to the present \-ear ( I iS84), 
.S45 persons h,i\e been comie'cted with the institution as students, of whom 660 
ha\'e attendi'd u|)on the P'.nglish and 1S5 upon tin- (ierm.ui depai'tnient. ( )f 
the 660 in the b.nglish department, 4<S4 ha\-e been graduates of colleges, .and 
84 have pursued partial courses in colleges. Seventy different colleges and 44 
different states and countries have furnished students to the seminary. Of stu- 
dents, 402 have completed the full three-years' course, including the stuil_\- of the 
I lebrew and (ireek scriptures; 239 have pursued a partial course, or have left the 
si-minar_\- before graduating. The average number of students sent out each }'ear 
has been 19. The number of students during the List seminary year has been 
S7, ot whom 51 wei'e in the I'.nglish department. Of its former students, 44 
ha\e filled the position of president or jirofessor in theological seminaries or col- 
leges; 35 have gone abroad as foreign missionaries, and 33 have been mission- 
aries in the West ; 22 ha\-e been secretaries or agents of our benevolent socie- 
ties, anil 5 have become editors of religious journals. With such a record in 
the past, and in the present more fully equiiiped tli.m ever before for its work, 
there seems to open before the seminary a future of the utmost promise. It 
remains only to state that the Rochester theological seminary is maintained and 
controlled b)- the New York Baptist Union for Ministerial Education, a society 



The War Record 



5 



composed of contributing members of Baptist churches, and that the acti 
trovernment and care of the seminar)- is in its details committed to a board 
trustees of thirty-three members, eleven of whom are elected by the Union a 
nually. The present president of the board of trustees is John H. Deane, 
New York, and the corresponding secretary is Rev. Samuel P. Merrill, of Roc 
ester, N. Y. The corresponding secretary will furnish, on application, cop: 
of the annual catalogue, containing a full list of the officers of the Union, of t 
faculty, of the seminary, and of the present students of the institution, togeth 
with a complete account of the curriculum of studies, and of the methods 
beneficiary aid to those who need it in their course of preparation. From 
who are purposing to stud\- fir the ministry, as well as from all who are willi 
to contribute in large or in small sums to its work, the institution invites cc 
respondence. 



CHAPTER LI. 



TirE WAR RECORD.i 

What Rochester Did to Save the Nation — The Regiments ami Other Ori;anisations Raised in 
I'ity and Sent to the Field — A Brief Account of their Service — Their Achievements and their l.oj 
— The General Officers from the City — The Grand .\rmy of the Republic. 

IN chapter XXI. alltision has been made to the state of ptiblic feeling at t 
breaking out of the great rebellion — the intense excitement, which dee 
ene'd into an enthusiasm unparalleled in the history of the community. Ref 
ence has also been made to the noble and generous response in money a 
moral support so freely given by our business men, aided by the city and cour 
officials. Aside from the amount of money contributed by the city for boi 
ties and to promote enlistments, added to the almost fabulous amounts paid 
individuals during the war for substitutes, the rapidity with which local re 
ments and other organisations were filled by eager recruits in 1861 and 
attests the patriotism of Rochester. During the first year enlistments W( 
made by officers authorised by the governor. Early in 1862, however, rccru 
ing was under the supervision of a " war committee" of citizens of Mom 
county, commissioned by the governor of the state to assist him in the wc 
of raising and organising troops under the call for "three hundred thousa 
more." Judge J. C. Chumasero was chairman and Captain S. W. Updike si 
retary of this committee. Dr. M. B. Anderson, Gen. John Williams and oth 

1 This chapter was prepared under the supervision of a committee of George H. Thomas post, 
A. R., of which Capt. A. L. Mabbett was chairman. The various descriptions of different organ 
tions, regimental and otherwise, were furnished by officers connected with those commands, respectiv 

36 



556 



History of the City of Rochester. 



were efficient nienilici's. .\niong dther functions it exercised tlial nf selectini; 
the officers raised undtr its supervision and nominated tlieni to the L;(>\ernor, 
who tlien issued to the ofticers their eoinnn'ssions. 

The leal test of [)atriotic de\'otion of any coinmiuiit}' to the countr)-, in lliis 
iioui' of its deepest need, was demonstratet! in the nuniijer of men it furnished 
for tile army. Xearl\' or ipiite 5,000 recruits were crechted to the cit_\- of Roeh- 
estei' duriiiL; the war. Tile a\ei'a!4"e total \'ote east in Rochester in tlu- _\i'ars 
iSfjo-l-J-j and .1 was 7,176. Thus it will he seen that thi.' number of men 
the cit\' lurnished to su])i)ress the ri'l)ellion was more than ecpi.il to two-thii'ils 
of its entire xotinL; i)opulation. In the suijjuined histoiy (jf the orL;anisations 
r.iiscd in Rochester and its immediate \icinit_\' we have onl)' space to narrate 
hriell}- the moi'e ])ronunent incidents in their ser\-ice. Man\- of these com- 
mands, re])rt'si-ntinL; one oi- more conipanies from this citv, ha\f been hareU' 
alluded to, a hiller histor)- heiuL;" precluded I))' our limited space, and in some 
instances a lack of data from which to compile it. It \sill he understood that 
all the orL^anisations are of New \'ork volunteers and that the regiments are in- 
fantr)-, unless otherwise specifically designateil. 

The Tliirtcciith Rcginiciit. — This, known as the "Rochester reijiment" was 
recruiteil in April, 1S61, in Rochester and \icinit_\-, with the exception of two 
companies — IS, hom I),ius\ille, and K, h^Jin Fudckport. The first im[julse 
L;iven toward the birth of the "( )ld Thirteenth" cime from the Rochester LiL;ht 
(iuard (company C, 54th \. \ . S. M.), captain R. 1'". Tax-lor, man)' of whose 
members did L;allant service in the ami)- durin;_; the ci\il war. Immediately 
after President Lincoln's proclamation, calling' for vohmteei's, members of the 
Lii;ht Guard met in their session-room in the old armor)- on ivxchaiiLje street, 
sit^ned the roll xdhmteerin;^- their services, and beL;,ui the ort^anisation of a com- 
])an)' which became the nucleus of the Thirteenth New York volunteers. Other 
companies were soon raised and on April 25tli five companies, having obtained 
the required nnmljer of men aiuhpassetl ins])ection, took the oath of allegianct; 
and entered the service of the state for two )-ears unless sooner discharged. 
The com])anies first organised were raised b)- Cajitains Robert I'". Ta\-|or, Leb- 
beus lirowu, Adolph Nolte, Francis A. Schceffel, H. H. Williams. Then fol- 
lowed those oi Captains Hiram Smith, (ieorge \V. Lewis, Win. h". Tulle)-, Hor- 
ace J. Thomas and Carl Stephan. ( )ne conipain- w-as wholl)- (jerman, the oth- 
ers wire of mixed iiationalit)', about three-fourths being American-born. The 
companies tluis recruited took- their departure Ma\- 4th for KImira, N. V., the 
place designated as the militar)- rendezvous for Western New Voi-k, and were 
tlure organised as a |-egiment, which, on the 14th of May, numbering 780 offi- 
cers and men, was mustere-d into the United States serx'ice for tiie period of 
three months. The regimental officers were: I'rof Isaac V . Quinby, of Roch- 
ester university, colonel ; Carl .Stephan, of Dansville, lieutenant-colonel; Oli- 
ver L. Terr)-, of Rochester, major ; David Little, of Rochester, surgeon ; (ieorge 



The War Rec(.)KD. 557 



W. Avery of Rochester, assistant surgeon ; Montgomery Rochester, of Roches- 
ter, quartermaster; Charles J. Powers, of Rochester, adjutant; J. D. Barnes, of 
Binghamton, chaplain. At Elmira, clothing, arms and equipments were issued 
to the men. On the 29th of May the regiment, uniformed in a baggy suit of 
gray shoddy and armed with muskets (old flint-locks altered over), took its de- 
parture for the seat of war, as told in chapter XXI, The train was stopped just 
outside of Baltimore, and the regiment alighted. Orders were given to load, 
and each man was supplied with three rounds of cartridges. With bayonets 
fixed and muskets at half-cock, led by Colonel Ouinby, they took up the 
line of march through the city. The company on the right and the one on the 
left marched in full company front, sweeping the street from curb to curb, the 
other companies marching in column by fours. This formation was made to 
guard against and repel any attack which the Baltimore roughs might feel 
inclined to make. The sidewalks were crowded by spectators, but no dem- 
onstration on the part of the "Plug-Uglies" was made, though curses and 
threats, muttered low and tlccp, were frequently heard. Arriving in Washing- 
ton on the 31st, the Thirteenth went into camp on Meridian hill the ne.xt day, 
and remained there until June 3d, when the regiment crossed the Potomac to 
Fort Corcoran, Va., and engaged in camp and picket duty until July i6th. 
Before this time some changes in the regimental start' and company officers had 
taken place. Several officers had resigned, Captain R, F. Taylor (Co. A) 
had been promoted to be colonel of the Thirty-third, and Lieut. George C. Put- 
nam was promoted captain in his place. The regiment was brigaded under 
General W. T. Sherman, Tyler's division. On July i6tli, with three days' ra- 
tions, the regiment started for Manassas, reached Vienna and bivouaced there 
that night, and the day following marched beyond Fairfax Court-House. Early 
on July 1st it came on the Bull Run battle-ground, filed into the woods and 
slung knapsacks, each company in a pile by itself, and started across the field 
in light marching order, soon coming under fire in support of Griffin's battery. 
In the afternoon the regiment, led b)' Col. Ouinby, advanced to the attack and 
was immediately engaged under a sharp fire. Troops in other parts of the 
field began to give way, and were shortly in full retreat. The Thirteenth was 
ordered to fall back, which it did in good order and was about the last regiment 
to leave the field, having a perfect organisation around the colors. The strength 
of the regiment in action was 600, killed 12, wounded 26, missing and taken 
prisoner 27. The men returned to the Potomac and went into camp near Fort 
Corcoran three miles from the river. On August 2d Col. Ouinby resigned. 
The three months for which some of the regiment were sworn into the United 
States service, only, had expired, and great dissatisfaction prevailed among the 
men because the government had decided to hold the regiment for two years. 
The regiment also became reduced by discharge under the "minor act." On 
August 27th John Pickell, of Frostburg, Md., formerly of the United States 



55i^ lIisroRV i)K 'I HE Citn' oI' Rociikstkr. 



army, assumed commaiul, liaviiiL; bcon ap])i)intc(l b\- Gov. Morgan. About 
|anu,u'y : si tlu- i\';_;inu'nt was stiH'iiL;tliciU'il by about 300 rt-cruits. DuriiiL; the 
winter man)- pi'onKitiiins look place fiom the ranlss ol tlie ri'L;inieiit and a num- 
ber were transfcrri'd to llle Tweiit)' fifth (.1 New \'iirk reL;iment in the' same 
brii^ade), which h.id l)ecome tutall)' ilemnrahsi-d and its colonel (J.unes !■',. Ker- 
rigan) dismissed fi'om the service. All thnuigh the winter the regiment re- 
mained at I'lH't Corcoran, guarding that and other torts and doing se\ere mili- 
tary duty. 

( )n the ifilh of March, i.S()j, the ailvance "on to Richmond" was begun, 
(ioing to Ale.xandri.i, the' Thiiteenth embarked tlu-re, reached I'^ortrcss Mon- 
roe on the J4th and arrived at \'orkto\\ii .April 5th under command of Lieut. - 
Col. Carl Stephan, Col. I'ickell having been disch.u'geil from the service about 
tiiat time. During the siege of \'orktoun the regiment was engaged in tloing 
picket dutv and digging trenches. .\pril 24th Col. !•',. G. Marsliall assumed 
commaml of the regiment. Way 4th a detail of 100 men from the regiment 
were on picket belore N'orktow n, ,intl earl)' in llu' morning, discovering that 
the eiiemv had evacuated tile place, the)' oveiran the fortilications and town. 
()n .\pril 8th the I'egiment joined I'ranklin's division at West Point on the York 
river. At ( )ld Church it destr())ed some britlges across the I'anumk)' river 
and at I lanover Court-! louse, on Mav' 27th, it was engagetl in tlur battle, routing, 
with the assistance of a section <.)f (iriffin's battery, two North Carolina regiments 
which left 27 dead and wounded and yo prisoners captured. On May 30th it re- 
joined the brigade (Martindale's) at the Chickahomin)-, and on June 26th 
marciicd to Mechanicsville and remained on the skirmish line at that battle dur- 
ing the afternoon and on picket that nigiil. The ne.xt da)' (the 27th) it w.i^ 
liotl)' engaged in the battle of (jaines Mills, repulsing, twice, an attack from a 
large sujierior force whicli, after the regiment had been subjected to a severe 
artiller)- tire, charged with gre.it imijetuosit)- anil braver)-. The h'ifth /\la- 
bama, directl)- in front of the Thirteenth, was repulsed with great loss, its 
battle-flag being captured b)- the Thirteenth. The strength of the regiment in 
tliat battle was about 400; loss loi men killed, wounded ami taken prisoners. 
The remainder crossed the Chickahomin)' that night and White Oak swamp 
the ne.xt thi)-. Through all the rest of the combined fighting and retreating 
which constitutetl the famous "seven da)-s' battles" the Thirteenth bore its full 
share of danger and of exposure, gaining glorv' and losing in every engage- 
ment a number of its force. /\fter participating in the battles of Turkey Bend 
and Malvern ilill, in both of which it repulsed the rebels at every attack, the 
regiment left the peninsula on the 14th of ,\ugiisl. Its subsequent career em- 
braced the blood)- battles of the "second liull Run," Antietaiii and Fredericks- 
burg, and in all of these terrific struggles the Old Thirteenth sustained the bril- 
liant reputation which it had [jreviousl)- acquired. Its losses in all its fights 
amounted to 465 in killed, wounded and taken prisoners. It came home on the 



w 



The War Recurd 



2d of Ma)' and was received with an ovation by its fellow-citizens, who \ 
corned it with open arms. Its officers on its return were : E. G. Mars! 
colonel; Francis A. Schteffel, lieutenant-colonel; George Hyland, jr., maj 
Job C. Hedges, adjutant ; Samuel S. Partridge, quartermaster ; David Li 
surgeon; Charles K. Hill and Isaac V. Mullen, assistant surgeons; E. 
Cooley, Mark J. Bunnell, Jerry A. Sullivan, John Weed, Charles C. Bro 
A. Galley Cooper, Henry Lomb, captains ; James Hutchison, E. P. Bed 
Homer Foote, J. p:iliott Williams, J. M. Richardson, J. H. Wilson, John Ma 
Edward Martin, W. R. McKinnon, first lieutenants ; James Stevenson, Jai 
D. Bailey, Thomas Jordan, John Cawthra, Gustav Spoor, W. J. Hines, E 
Hamilton, D. S. Barber, ¥.. C. Austin, second lieutenants. 

T/ic Tivcnty-fifth. — The Twenty-fifth has a warm place in the heart; 
Rochester soldiers, from having been brigaded with the Thirteenth from sho 
after the battle of Bull Run to the expiration of its time of service, from wl 
regiment it received Lieut. -Col. E. S. Gilbert, Major Sheppard Gleason, C 
tains B. F. Harris, Thomas Y.. Bishop, J. S. Graham, W. W. Connor and All 
W. Preston and First Lieutenants Thomas Coglan and W. W. Bates, all 
whom had been non-commissioned officers or privates in the (_)ld Thirteei 
and who applied for and passed examination before Gen. Martindale and v 
transferred and promoted into the Twenty- fifth. The regiment became nc 
for its discipline and management and was engaged at Yorktown and Hanc 
Court-House, where it lost nearly half its numbers, thirteen commissioned ( 
cers out of twenty-four being killed or wounded, Col. C. A. Johnson be 
wounded in the thigh at Mechanicsville. Its other battles were: Gaines M 
White Oak Station, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Shepard's Fi 
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville. It was mustered out in New York cit 
July, 1863. 

Tlic Tiucnty-sixth. — This was organised at Elmira, where it- was muste 
in, and was known as the " Utica regiment." Company G (captain, Gilber 
Jennings, who was soon promoted to the rank of major) and company H (c 
tain, Thomas Davis) were recruited in Rochester. It was a two-years' regim 
under command of Col. Wm. H. Christian. The regiment served most of 
time in the defenses at Washington, until the spring of 1862. It was enga 
at Bull Run, Centerville, Antietam and Fredericksburg. It returned to T 
York in the spring of 1863 and was mustered out May 14th. 

The Tivcnty-scvcnth. — This was raised to serve two years, with Col. H. 
Slocum as its commander and J. J. Chambers lieutenant-colonel. The n 
ment contained one company (E) which was raised in Rochester — capt 
George G. Wanzer ; lieutenants, Charles S. Baker and E. P. Gould. It 
mustered into the service May 29th, at Elmira; was in the first fight at ] 
Run, where it was the second regiment to engage the enemy, charging tl 
with fixed bayonets and driving them back. It suffered very severely h 



56o 



HlSTilKV OK THE ClTV OF KuCilESTER. 



beiiiL; al sliort raiii^c and licildini; tlic rebels in clicck until forced to fall back. 
Here its colonel was badly wcjunded. ( )n the promotion of Col. Slocuni, James 
J. l^artlett \\ .is placed in command. ( )perations commenced in the sprini^of 
i<S6j with a sharp lii;ht at West i'oint and then on thi'ouyh the Peninsula cani- 
paiLjn, wlierc the 'r\vent\--se\'enth Ijore a [)romincnt and gallant part, coverin<; 
itself with glory at Mechanicsville and (iaines Mills, Gen. Slocuni commanding 
the division to which it belongetl antl Col. ]?artlett their brigade, Lieut. -Col. 
Adams commanding the regiment. It was presi.nt and i-ngaged at Antietani 
ami at l-'redi'ricksburg. its term of service having expii'ed, it returned home 
anil was mustered out May _' I st. 1S63. Captain W'an/.er had ixen promoted 
majoi-, and 1',. 1', (iould ca[)tain of the compaii)'. Henry I., .\cliilles. jr., now 
of this cil\', conmuuuled company K, which was laised at .Mbion. 

The '/'Tcriitv-rij^/it/i. — This was recruited pi'incipall_\- in neighboring coun- 
ties, though a large number enlisted from Rochester, distributed through its dif- 
ferent companies, CajHain Charles II. I'"enn of this city raising a portion of his 
compan\- hei'e. lie entered the seivice as lirst lieutenant, but was soon jjro- 
moted to the command of his conipan\- (I'"). The regiment was engaged at 
Winchester on Maj- 24th, 1S62, but its greatest achievements were at Cedar 
Mountain on August 9th, 1S62, where, with the Forty-sixth Pennsylvania, it 
bore the brunt of the battle. Three successive times Crawford's brigade, in 
which it was serving, with these two regiments in the advance, was hurled des- 
perately against the enemy's lines before their advance could be checked. This, 
however, was at a terrible sacrifice, and at the close of the action but 150 men 
could be mustei'ed from tin; gallant TwiMity-eighth. Ai Antietani and Cliaii- 
cellorsville the reginu'iit also won distinction. At the latter place a portion of 
the command were taken prisoners, being flanked b)'sui)erior force. The colo- 
nel, IJudle}- Donnelly, was killed at Cedar Mountain. lie was succeeded by 
Lieut. -Col. Ldwin V . Brown, who commanded the regiment during the remain- 
tier of its service. Being a two years' regiment it was mustered out June 2d, 
1X63. 

The I'liirty-third. — Although no company organisations in this regiment 
could be claimed as distinctively belonging to Rochester, a large number of 
men were enlistetl lure. In September, 1862, 240 recruits from this city joined 
the regiment, which was raised mainly in the counties of Livingston, Ontario, 
Seneca, Yates and Wa)'ne. It was mustered into the service at I'-lmira, May 
22d, 1861, eight da\'s after the Tliirteenth, from which regiment its colonel was 
chosen — C'aptain Robert I'". TaN'lor. 1 le was an excellent officer and s(.)on had 
the Thirty-third in eftieieiit condition. In the Peninsula campaign the regiment 
participated in nearl_\' all of the engagements; particularly distinguishing itself 
for bravery in charging and re])ulsing the advancing enemy at Williamsburg, 
for which the command was warmly complimented by Gen. McClellan person- 
ally. At Mechanicsville, Gaines Mills, Savage's Station and Crampton Gap the 



The War Record. 5 



Thirty-third bore its part with honor, and at Antietam a heavy loss was si 
tained. In storming the heights at Fredericksburg, it was also hotly engag 
and won distinction. The term of service was for two years, and the regime 
was mustered out May 12th, 1863. 

TIlc One Hundred and Fifth. — This was organised at Rochester and 
Roy, the men being, mainly, recruited in the counties of Monroe, Niagara, Gc 
esee and Cattaraugus ; companies G, Captain McMahon ; H, Captain Bradh 
and I, Captain Purcell, enlisted in Rochester and vicinity. James M. Fuller, 
Le Roy, was its colonel, Henry L. Achilles, sr., its first lieutenant-colon 
Howard Carroll, of Rochester, succeeding him on the consolidation of this wi 
the Ninety- fourth New York, which occurred in March, 1863. John W. Shec 
of Le Roy, was major, and Daniel A. Sharpe, of Rochester, adjutant. T 
regiment was mustered into service at Camp Upham, Le Ro\-, the i6th of N 
vember, 1861. The men of Monroe county were mostly of the Irish natic 
ality, possessing zeal and patriotism. They were ordered to Washington so 
after their organisation in the spring of 1862, and brigaded with cavalry, art 
lery and other infantry, the brigade comprising some 2,500 men, and coi 
manded by Gen. Dur\-ea. They were present at Manassas, May 26th, a 
from May 24th to June I'X, when the\- arrived at k^'ont Ro\-al, they endur 
severe and successive marches over bad roads, without baggage or tents — e 
periences often more trying to the courageous soldiers than fighting its( 
About the middle of June they left Front Royal, and were ordered to mo 
forward when Pope was engaging Jackson at Bull Run. They did not rea 
the field until late in the day, when they received a volley from the rebel art 
lery, but no loss. August 30th, 1862, they were in the battle of Centervil 
In this action Gen. Duryea was wounded in the hand, but retained his positi 
in the field. After preliminary firing, and some heavy skirmishing, they wc 
surprised toward night, b}' a concealed battery, supported by infantry, whi 
opened upon them. They charged nobly, but were overpowered by the enen' 
and forced to retire. The battles of this staunch regiment comprised Cec 
Mountain, Rappaliannock, Thoroughfare Gap, Second Bull Run, Chantill 
South Mountain and Antietam. Colonel Fuller resigned, and Colonel Carre 
who succeeded, was fatally wounded at this last battle, and died a month lati 
Also, at Bull Run, company I was badly cut up, coming out with only thirte 
men out of thirty-three. In October Major John W. Shedd was commission 
colonel. They again participated in another battle, that of Fredericksbui 
December 1 3th. The regiment was subsequently consolidated with the Ninet 
fourth. Captain John McMahon, of this city, afterward raised the i88th res 
ment and was commissioned its colonel. 

Tlic One Hundred and Eighth. — The first three regiments organised in tl 
state under the call for 300,000 troops were to be honored as the banner ret 
ments. The 108th was the second of these regiments, bein" mustered in 



562 



IIisTOKV OK THE City ov Rochester. 



Rochester Auc^ust iSth, 1862. It had been recruited in less than a month, the 
107th hav'int; been niustt'red at I'^hnira fiw da_\'S earher. The field and stall 
were: Colonel, ( ). II. I'alnier ; lieutiMiant-eolonel, C. J. Towers; major, (ieorj^e 
l\. l'"orce ; adjutant, John T. Chumasei'o; (|uartermasler, Joseph S. Harris; 
surgeon, J. I'". W'hitbeck ; assistant-suri^eon, W. S. ICly ; chaplain, James 
Nichols. The companies were commanded as follows; Company A, Cajit. 11. 
11 Williams; H, Cajjt. II. .S. Ilooohoom; C, Capt. W'm. II. Andrews; D, 
Capt. J. (i. Cramer; ]■'., Capt. A. K. Cutler; I", Capt. I''. 1'.. I'ieree ; (i, Capt. 
T. M. Vale; II, Ca])!. !■:. I', h'ulk'r; I, Capt. Wm. C.r.iebe ; K, Cajjt. Joseph 
l)i\erell. The reL;inu:nt left Rochester /Vugust 19th, reached W'W \'ork the 
21st and was tendered a L;rand ovation on its wa)- to the barracks in tlu' cit\' 
hall park. It left tlu- ne.\t da\' for WashiuL^lon, s^oini;" into camp on tin- j^rountl 
occupied 1>_\' tlu' ( )ld Thirti'enth tlu- )ear before. Aui^ust 30th the first sound 
of cannonading; was heard in the direction of Bull Run and Ci'nter\ille ; anil 
September 4th the men had their first experience of a call "to arms" for active 
service. Orders wert- soon recei\ed to "fall in," and alter seseral days' march 
the)- were, near Keetys\'ilK', on the 1 6th, under fire all d.iy. ( )n the 17th, 
opposite the Dunkers' church, the\' oijenetl on the enemy not tliiit)' rods dis- 
tant with a rapid detc'rminetl fire. j\11 da\- the)' held their stand before the 
enem)-'s batteries, ,ind on niakiny a chartje captured the colors of a North Car- 
olina reLjiment with 1 66 prisoners. The res.(iment suffereil severely, 26 killed, 
124 wounded, 47 missiiiL;, a total of \t)j men. AnioiiL; the killed were Major 
I'orce and Lieutenants I'arbo.x anil Holmes. In the death of Major l'"orce the 
re_s,nment suffered a severe loss. He was a superior ilrill officer, as well as a 
_q;allant soUlier, and to him the res.;iment oweil largel)' the rapiil proijress it had 
made in drill and discipline. I'lMin .Antii-tam to Harper's Leri)-, fording the 
ri\er waist deep, camping at Holivar Heights, on October 29th the regiment 
marched across the Shenandoah, thence to Snicker's Gap, where friend and com- 
rade exchanged welcome greetings with the boys of the Thirteenth and the 
140th. Hecembei- 12th they cmsseil the Rappahannock, and the order was 
given lor an aiKance upon the works at I''redericksburg. Their ilivision — 
Trench's, of Sumner's corps — was in line for the charge, the lO.Sth at the front. 
Here their heroism won for them immortal honor. To take the first [josition 
of earthworks, the\- must be carried at the [joint of the bayonet. 'I'hey rushed 
forward, under a raking fire; faltered but socm re-formed, aihanced at double- 
quick, under a solid lire of .artiller)- and infmtr)' which was o\'er[)owering ; 
halted, rallied again, and reached the stone wall at the base of the rebel works, 
on the other side of which la)- the determined foe. Ceil. Sumner brought all 
his cannon to bear, but the attempt to dislodge the enem\- proved futile. L'nder 
Cover of the night the regiment was withdrawn, and returned to its camp at 
T'almouth, where it remained for the winter. ( )n the resignation of Col. Palmer 
in March, 1863, Charles J. Towers was promoted colonel. In his case, to the 



The War Record. 



se 



thorough soldier were added fine disciplinary powers, great care and love for h 
men, at the same time imparting that zeal and courage which brought the; 
to the highest rank. He was specially distinguished for great personal bravei 
and remarkable coolness in action. At this time Major F. E. Pierce was mac 
lieutenant-colonel, Capt. H. S. Hogoboom being major. When Jackson wil 
a large force swept down upon the eleventh corps near Chancellorsville, and tl 
brigade advanced into the wild conflict, Col. Powers's appeal " not to lose the 
former prestige" gave inspiration and helped to maintain tlieir well-earne 
fame. 

During the first day's fight at Gettj'sburg, July 1st, the regiment made 
forced march of thirt)'- eight miles to reach the battle-field. Here their brai 
ery was also prominent. They supported Rickett's old battery, which wi 
doing effective service among the rebels. These, under the rebel gener 
who recognised the batterw attempted its capture, but were repulsed by tl 
loSth. With the men at the batter}^ being rapidly swept away, the hors' 
killed, the loSth gallantly assisted in working the guns. The struggle was ii 
tense. As the conflict raged, their regiment was singled out by Gen. Hayes : 
an example of bravery in a warm compliment bestowed. Here they lost 
commissioned officers, three killed and nine wounded ; in the ranks 146, 
whom 14 were killed, the rest wounded or missing. The regiment was ei 
gaged in Meade's fall campaign, Lieut. -Col. Pierce losing an eye at Morton 
Pord, and was in all the battles of the Wilderness. In the second day's figf 
Col. Powers, while leading the command, was shot through the lungs, but r 
covered. At Spottsylvania, under cover of a heavy fog the, second corps cai 
tiously gained the rebel works and with a shout rushed on, taking part 
the main line, with a capture of two general oflficers, and 6,000 prisoners. C 
May 1 8th the regiment lost nine killed, and nearly lOo wounded, but the ren 
nant never faltered. Captain Deverell was placed in command of the res 
ment. In the charge at Cold Harbor, on June 3d, he was wounded, and Liei 
Kinleyside killed. Here Lieut. P. C. Kavanagh took temporary comman 
At Petersburg it was empl<)\'ed on the fortifications until the last of Septen 
ber, when it was assigned the front line in P^ort Hell, and as the besieged ei 
emy held on with dying grip through weary months, the regiment became dd 
imated to a mere handful, less than 100 men being on duty. During tl 
three years of active service, with the losses it sustained, and the few recrui 
received, the io8th maintained the qualities which earned for it the reputatic 
of a "fighting regiment. " From the time it went to the front it was engagi 
in all the battles and skirmishes of the army of the Potomac, numbering twent; 
seven. On the ist of June, 1865, it returned to Rochester, when 169 hare 
soldiers were escorted by military and other societies to the court-house, whe 
a generous welcome was extended by Mayor D. D. T. Moore, with a banqu 
followinsf. The foUowins: officers came home in command of, or were mu 



564 



History of the City of Rochester. 



tcrctl out with, tlic re,L;inu-iit : Cliarlcs J. I'nwcrs, colonel; I'". !",. Pid'ce, licu- 
tcnant-cojoiul ; I''. I1. Iliitcliiiison, i|ii,iitcrmastcr ; Reuben 11, 1 lalsteail, ad- 
jutant ; [■". M, Wallr. sui\L;eon ; Robei't Ste\enson, assistant-sui'Ljeon ; John H. 
Kt'imed)', W. 11. Andrews, Sanuiel I'orter. J. C. Cramer, S. 1". llowaid, A. J. 
Locke, A. J. Hoyd, c,ii>tains; W. 11. Raymond, Jay W. Smith, JohnO. Jewell, 
Chris. Traiit^ott, James W'cstcott, Alfred Rhvood, II. !■'. Richardson, Solo- 
mon I'atzi'r, first lieutenants; Alfred K. 1 l.idley, John (laKin, second lieu- 
tenants. 

/'//( (h/i' I !nitd)\(l aiiil horthth. — This regiment was ors^anised in the latter 
])art of the' snnnner of 1862. CompaiU' .A was raised at I^iMckpurt, but all the 
other companies were raised in Rochester, althoui;!) a lart^e number of their 
men were residents of the surroundiuL; couirtr)' towns of Monroe ccumty. 
When the regiment was full it went into (juarters at Camp l'"it/John Porter, 
where, on Se[nember C5'''. 'S'''-, it was formall)- mustered into the United 
States service for three )-ears. Two da)-s after, at the residence of I lenr}- L. 
{■"ish, a number of )'oung ladies of Rochester presented a flag to the officers of 
the reginuMit. I )n l*"rida\', September 19th, it left Rochester by the Northern 
Central railroad for Washington. The da)- is memorable above all others in 
the histor\' of our city, as one in which the most serious fceling.s of the [)ul)lic 
mind weic profoundly stirred. The news of the battle of Antictam had that 
morning reached the cit_\', .md the air was rife with wild rimiors of losses in the 
Rochester regiments alreatly in the tield. Nearly e\c-r_\' famil)' in the cit\' hail 
a representative or a relati\'e in the r.mks of the 140th, and the whole po[)ula- 
tion turned out to bid them good-b\'e. The roster of the first officers of the 
regiment was as follows: l'"ield and staff — Colonel, Patrick II. O'Rorke; 
lieuteiiant-colone-l, Louis L.riist ; major, Isaiah I''. P'orce; atljutant, Ira C. Clark; 
quarterm.istir. Win. II. Creiinell; surgeon, Theodore 1''. Hall; first assistant- 
surgeon, Wm. C. Slayton; second assistant-surgeon, O. Sprague Paine; chap- 
lain, Charles Machin; sergeant-major. W. .S. Coon; commissary sergeant, 
John Hume; f|uartermaster sergeant, J. Sidne)- Alunn; hospital steward, Joseph 
!■". Moon. Com])an_\- officers: Co. /\ — capt., Milo L. Starks; 1st It., Joseph 
M. Leeper; 2d It., J. 1). Decker. Co. B — capt., Christian Spies; 1st It., 
August Meyer; 2d It., Chas. P. Klein. Co. C — capt., W. J. Clark; 1st It., 
Bartholomew Crowle>'; 2d It., John Buckley. Co. I.) — capt., IClwell S. Otis; 
1st It., Ilenrx' B. Ho>-t; 2d It., Alex. H. McLeod. Co E — capt., Monroe M. 
Hollister; 1st It., Patrick A. AIcMullen; 2d It., Benjamin Ridle>-. Co. I' — 
capt., B. F. Harmon; ist It., James H. Kno.x; 2d It., Isaac Simmons. Co. G 
— capt., Perr\- B. Sible\- ; 1st It., IIenr\' I'",. Richmond; 2il It., Porter Farley. 
Co. II — cajjt., W. S. (;rants>-nn; 1st It., Joseph II. Suggett; 2d It., Chas. H. 
l^urtis. Co. I — cai)t., Wm. !•'. Campbell , 1st It., Addison N. Whiting; 2d It., 
Lewis Hamilton. Co. K — capt., Patrick J. Dowling; ist It., Patrick PL Sul- 
livan; 2d It., Hugh Mctlraw. 



Thk War Record. 



The regiment left Rochester in command of Lt.-Col. Ernst, was armed 
Ehiiira and reached Washington late at night on September 22d. The ne 
afternoon it marched over the long bridge which crosses the Potomac, ai 
went into camj) on Arlington heights. September 39th it was moved b)' r 
up to Frederick, Md. ; thence, October 5th, to Sandy Hook, Md. Thei 
October 8th, its first colonel, Patrick H. O'Rorke, joined it and took cor 
mand. Space forbids any but the most meager recital of the experiences 
this organisation. After it entered upon active service it was permanent 
connected with the fifth army corps. It was present at the battle of Fre 
ericksburg and formed part of the force which occupied the town from t 
evening of the 13th till early morning of the i6th of December. 1862, and w 
in the last brigade which left the city. It was not actually engaged, but k 
a few men wounded, while lying as a reserve for other troops. It was prese 
and slighdy engaged at Chancellorsville, May ist to 4th, 1863. It lost sevei 
men in this campaign by the shells and bullets of the enemy. At Aldic, 
Virginia, on the 24th of June, 1863, the depleted ranks were reinforced 1 
seventy-six enlisted men and one officer, Capt. Willard Abbott, who had b 
longed to the Thirteenth regiment. That \v'as a two-years' regiment and 
time had expired, but these men had belonged to two companies which h 
been raised for the Thirteenth during its second year and they had been nui 
tered in for three years. 

On the 2d of July of the same year, on the rocky slopes of Little Roui 
Top, on the historic field of Gettysburg, the regiment rendered a service a 
suffered a loss by which it earned the gratitude and applause of all the lo) 
North. In a sharp action, into which it was thrown unexpectedly and withe 
a moment's notice, it gallantly helped to repel the charge by which the ener 
so nearly gained a footing on Little Round Top. Col. O'Rorke was shot b> 
bullet through the neck and fell dead without uttering a word. It is not t 
much to say that he was the most illustrious sacrifice which during those blooi 
years of war this community was called upon to mourn. He was the foremc 
soldier of Monroe county, one who possessed great gifts by nature and w 
had cultivated his talents with an industry which had placed him conspicuous 
the leader of all his associates. Capts. Starks, Spies and Sibley and Lieu 
Klein and McGraw were all severely wounded, the last two fatally. Twent 
five enlisted men were killed and eighty-four wounded. The command of t 
regiment devolved for some weeks upon Lieut.-Col. Ernst, and, after his resi 
nation, for some two weeks upon Major Force, when it was assumed, Augi 
29th, by Col. George Ryan, a regular army officer, a captain in the seventh i 
fantry. During the following winter the regiment, in common with the bri 
ade to which it belonged, adopted the zouave style of dress — red fez cap, w: 
white turban, blue jacket and sash, both trimmed with red, immense bag 
blue trousers, gathered by a band just below the knee, leather leggins and lin 
gaiters. It retained this dress during the remainder of its term of service. 



566 History of the Ciiv of Rociikster. 



lliicler Col. R)-an tlic regiment readied a liigh det^nx-e of discipline and 
niilitar\- efficienc)'. It participated in the bootless Mine Run canipaii;!! in the 
latte'r part <>f Nowmber, 1S63. DuiinL; the winter followiiiL; it lay in cani[) at 
W.irrenton junction, on tlu' ( )range iv Alexandria railioad. Its camp was 
a moilel of neatness, and in point of comfort a i;reat contriist with that ol the 
])rcvious winter at I'almouih. Its location upon tlu- railidad, its picturesc|ue 
dress and liiLjii disci|5line, [jroveil attractive and elicitetl the admiration of many 
\isitors, both military and ci\'ilian, who inspected its (|uartcrs anil witnessed its 
drills and parades. On the jt)th of April, 1 S64, it broke camp and mo\(.'d down 
toward the ]va])i)ahannock ri\er to join the main body of the army on the 
blooth' o\-erland campaign. It st.irtetl out on tli.it march more than Cic)0 strong, 
com])osetl of men all inureil to hardship, s])leiididly disciplined .uid e(iui])i>ed. 
There was no tiner ori;anisation in the army. On the 5th (if Ma\' it went into 
action in the wilderness in the \'ery openiui^ of the I'lL^htinL; of that terrific cam- 
])aiL;n. In an en<.;a;^ement of not more th.ui half an hc>ui' it lost in killed, 
wounded and missinj^ a total of ele\'en officers and 257 enlisti-d men. On Sun- 
day Ma)' 8th, in the action near SpoltsN'Kania Court- 1 louse, the regiment again 
lost five officers and sixt)- enlisted men. Among the killed in this action were 
Col. Ryan and Major Starks, both men of the truest fiber, who deserve remem- 
brance among the bravest of those who met death in the defense of the national 
cause. Thus in three thu's after the o])eningof this cam]5aign the splendid i4C)th 
regiment, which had started o\-er 600 strong, h.id been reiluced to a comj^ara- 
ti\'e handful, 333 men ha\ing been lost in two successi\e .ictions. Considerably 
o\er half its strength had melted awa\', and by far the greater part of those 
whom it had lost were ne\er to I't'turn. The command of the regiment now 
dexdhed upon I.ieut.-Col. i{. S. Otis. During tlu' next three weeks there were 
losses b_\' men being wounded while' on picket oi' skirmish tluty or by stray 
sIkUs which came into the lines. ()n the 2d of June, in the action at Ik'thesda 
C'hurch, there was a fiirther loss of lifty-four men and two olficers, making a 
total in a space of le-ss than a month of 41 i out of a force of a little more than 
600. This is a record of losses in battle unsurpassed by any organisation from 
this region, antl peril, qjs hardly etjualed during the war. The regiment formed 
part of the investing force during all the operations about I'etersburg, took 
p.ul in the actions at the W'eldon railroad, Hatcher's Run and Five I-'orks ; 
was present at l.ee's surrender at Appomattox, took part in the grand review 
at Washington, whei-e, June 3d, 1865, it was mustered out of service, and 
reached Rochester June 6th, 290 strong, under command u( Col, W'ni. S. 
(Irantsjnn. 

'/'//(■ One lliDidrcd and I-iJ'ty-jirst. — This regiment was organised at Camp 
Church, Lockport, N. \'. It was mustered into the ser\'ice of the United States 
October 22d. 1862, and left that city the following da\', uiuler the command of 
Colonel William l'".nierson. The regiment was quartered in Ikiltimore tluring 



The War Record. 56 



the following winter. On the 22(1 of April, 1S63, it wa.s ordered to West Vit 
ginia and narrowly escaped sharing in the disastrous defeat of the Union force 
under General Milroy at Winchester. It was at Frederick City, Md., when th 
battle of Gettysburg was fought, after which it was merged in the army of th 
Potomac. Company E of this regiment was raised in Rochester. Peter Im 
was in command as captain and went with it to the field. Jcjhn C, Schcen we 
first lieutenant, and, on the resignation of Captain Imo, was promoted to th 
command of the company and was killed while bravely leading his men in th 
charge at Cold Harbor on the 3d of June, 1864. At the close of the war h 
remains were brought back and interred at Mount Ht>pe. The regiment wj 
engaged at Wapping Heights, and at Mine Run in 1 863. In the spring of 1 86 
it moved across the Rapidan and participated in the battles of the Wildernes 
Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. On the 6th of July, 1864, th 
third division of the sixth corps, to whicli the regiment belonged, was ordere 
to Washington. This regiment suffered severely in the battle of Monocaci 
when, overwhelmed by a largel)' superior force, it was compelled to retrea 
Twent3'-one were killed and more than one-half of the remainder wounded c 
missing. It was engaged in all the brilliant campaign of General Sheridan i 
the valley of the Shenandoah, the Opequan, F"isher's Hill and Cedar creek. I 
November the regiment was consolidated into a battalion of five companies, j 
battalion being entitled to no higher officer than lieutenant-colonel. Col. Emei 
son was mustered out, Captain Charles Bogardus succeeding him. Early in tl: 
winter of 1864-65 the sixth corps was ordered back to Petersburg. The reg 
ment was in the line that broke through the rebel defenses on the 2d of Apri 
was in the battle of Sailor's creek on the 6th, was in at the death of the rebe 
lion, when Gen. Lee surrendered to Gen. Grant on the 9th of April, 1865, an 
shared in the jubilant demonstrations of that memorable day. The regimei 
was mustered out on the 26th of June and reached Rochester on the 1st c 
July, with 21 officers and 308 enlisted men. They were warmly welcomed b 
the citizens, and company E was given a dinner at the Brackett House and ac 
dressed by the mayor. Of the members of this regiment now living in Rod 
ester may be mentioned Colonel Emerson, who made it one of the best drilk 
organisations in the service. He had command of the first brigade, third divi: 
ion, sixth corps, from the day following the battle of Monocacy till he was mu: 
tered out. George J. Oaks went out with company E as second lieutenan 
He was twice promoted, and brevetted major, and came home in command (_ 
the company. He was for some time on the staff of General Morris, who w; 
in command of the third division of the sixth corps. Edward Heller went 01 
with the company as an enlisted man, but came home as lieutenant. Julii 
Armbruster received a commission, but was not mustered. He was hit at tl 
battle of Winchester, directly between the eyes, the ball passing through an 
coming out at the back of his head. The surgeon said that the woun 



568 His'idRV OF riiK Crrv of Rociiestf:r. 



was fatal, lint in a few \\ ccks he was back in tlie ranks, doinij duty as a soldier. 
It is (ine i>f the must reniai'kaljle cures lint occurred dui'iiiL; the \\;u\ C W. 
Wall, who enlisted as a private in coni[)<ui\- L), of this rcLjinient, was soon ap- 
pointed commissar)' sert^eant, afterward niatlc c[uarterniaster sergeant, and was 
commissioned ,is (piartermaster near the close of the war. 

I'lii ritird L avalry. — 'I'his was recruited in the summei' of iS6i, the mus- 
ter extending from June 14th to August 27th. C'ompanies A, Ca[)tain Charles 
I-'itzSimons ; C, Capt. Alon/.o Ste.uais ; I', (."apt. Judson Downs; II, Capt. 
John M. Wilson, a'ld M, (.'apt. Nathan V I'ontl, were raised in Monroe county. 
Captain (ieo. W. Lew is, of the " Oldriiirteenth," was transferred with his corn- 
pan)- late in the summer of i ,S6 1 and it became company K. The field and staff 
were: Colonel, James II. \'an .Allen; lieutenant-colonel, .Simon II. Mi.x; sur- 
geon. Win. II. I'ahner; assistant-surgeon, l'"red'.-rick Douglass; regimental atl- 
jutant, Sanuiel C, Pierce, subsequentl)' ])romotetl lieutenant-colonel. It is 
claimed tliat this regiment should have bei-n the l-'irst \ew \'<)rk c.ivalr)-, 
which would h;i\e been its number if it had not persistent!)' hekl on to the 
name of its first colonel, and been known fir some time as the " \'an Allen 
cavalr)-." It is a matter of histc^r)-, in which much pride is taken, that A and 
\\ companies (the former raised lu-re' and the fitter in S)-racuse) were the first 
X'olunteer ca\alr)- mustered into the ser\'ice of the United States. It was not 
until after the battle of Hull Run that Gen. Scott would concede the need of 
cavalr)', and e\er)' obstacle possible to recruiting for this branch of the service 
was imposed by the government. I""or instance, every recruit must be at least 
five feet five inclu-s t.ill, ]),iss a ver)- rigid examination by the surgeon and 
mustering officer, and must furnish his own horse and ecjuipmcnts, for which, 
however, the government .'igreed to p,i)- him fort)' cents jjcr day and to sup])l)' 
forage. In addition to this, each horse- must be ba)' in color, with long tail, 
not less than fifteen and a half hands high, and worth at least $175. These 
restrictions, however, were in firce onl)- during the recruiting of .'\ and H com- 
panies. Major John Mix was sent to them, being promoted from the reg- 
ular army. The comm.md entered u])on active service in the fall of iSfji 
Their work of scouting, |)ickel dut)' and skirmishing extended through the 
winter of i86i-'62. In A|)ril, 1862, they joined Gen. Hurnsidc in North 
Carolin;i, their subse()uent service being mainly in operations connected with 
the army of the James. Upon the resignation of Col. Van Allen in April, 
1862, Lieut. -Col. S. II. Mix was promoted colonel, Major John Mix lieutenant- 
colonel and Ca[)tain George W. Lewis ranking major. The junior majors were 
Charles I'"itzSinions, Jephthah Garrard and Cjeorge W. Colo ; Alonzo Stearns 
and Isr.iel IK-iir)' Tutnam were subsecjuentl)' promoted majors. The regiment 
here won great distinction. One of the most brilliant achievements was that 
of Private White, of ccmiiiany A, previously an engineer on the New York 
Central, who captured a railroad train ; galloping alongside the locomotive, he 



The War Rfxord. 51 



spran<j from his horse into the cab, put his pistol to the head of the enginec 
reversed the lever, and brought the train, loaded with a detachment of tl 
enemy and an immense quantity of stores, into the Union lines. Capt. Poi 
was afterward made lieutenant-colonel of the First U. S. colored cavalry, ai 
other Rochester men who gained promotion were Major Maurice Le)-den, A^ 
jutants George D. Williams and William L. Ogden, Captains Walter S. Jc 
and James R. Chamberlain, Lieutenants Sherman Grcig, John Gregory ai 
Milton H. Smith. The regiment participated in the following battles and ski 
mishes : Ball's Bluff, October 21st, 1861 ; Winchester, March ist, 1862; Tre 
Road, N. C, May 15th; Rail's Mills, November 7th; Kingston, Decemb 
14th; Whitehall, December 1 6th ; Goldsboro', December 17th; Jacksonvill 
January 15th, 1863; Trenton, January 30th ; Trent Road, March 14th ; Blun- 
Mills, April 8th; Peleteer's Mills, April i6th ; Leard's Creek, April 20tl 
Belleview Cross Roads, April 23d; Warsaw, July 4th ; Tarboro', July 20tl 
Street's Ferry, July 25th; Bottom's Bridge, Va., February 7th, 1864; Stor 
Creek, May 7th; Nottaway Bridge, May 8th ; Chula Station, May 12th ; Blac 
& Whites, May 14th; before Petersburg, May 15th; South Quay, June 2( 
Staunton Bridge, June 25th; Roanoke Bridge, June 26th; Ream's Statio 
June 29th ; Malvern Hill, Jul)- 27th; Yellow Tavern, August 25th; Prini 
George C. H., September 15th; Johnson's Farm, September 29th and () 
tober 7th; Charles Cit)- Pike, October 20tli and 27th ; South Ouay, Decen 
ber 1 2th. 

The Eighth Cavalry. — This regiment was organised for three years' ser' 
ice under Col. SamueL J. Crooks in the autumn of 1861. Lieut. -Col. Chas. ] 
Babbitt, Majors W. L. Markell and W. H. Benjamin and Chaplain Van Ing( 
were among the officers. The regiment was ordered to Washington and drillt 
while in winter quarters. In the spring it was sent to Gen. Banks, then in tl 
Shenandoah valley. Col. Crooks having resigned in F"ebruary, the regimer 
under Lieut. -Col. Babbitt, had, in May, a sharp contest with the enemy, whi 
guarding the Winchester & Potomac railroad. , In June Captain Benjamin 
Davis, of the regular army, was made its colonel. Active recruiting had bet 
going on at home, and in September the regiment, reinforced b}' 600 men, w 
mounted, equipped and well disciplined. Very soon it met with a lively e; 
perience, surrounded by Stonewall Jackson's force at Harper's P'erry. A su 
render was demanded of Col. Miles, in command there. Col. Davis, foreseeir 
that it could not be held, sought permission to escape with his regiment, b' 
was refused. At midnight on September 14th, having made known his plai 
to his officers, he led the men to the Maryland side, where the column almo 
literally flew through the rebel camp, regarded by the Confederates as a po 
tion of their own cavalry. The following day the regiment captured Lont 
street's ammunition train on its way to Antietam, toward which McClellan w: 
advancing. In October it pursued the rebel army up the Shenandoah; ei 



570 I lis TORY OK THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



gained at Snicker's ("lap, riiillciiiont, L'liion. U]ipcrvillc, Barber's Cross-roads 
and Aninsxillc, and [)icki-tcd alont,' tlic Ivapiiahannock, until after the battle of 
l'"reilericksljiiri4, when tile rei;iinent went into winter (|uarlers nntil .April, 1865. 
In the tii;ht at C'liaiicellors\iIle, in June, a prominent part was taken, and heavy 
loss snstaineti. At 15e\'erl\' l'"ord, while le.ulin;^ the column, Col. Davis \v,is 
killed by a secreted rebel, who in turn w.is killed b_\' saber sti'okc at the hand 
of Ailjutanl I'aisons. .\t I.ee's inxasion of l'enns}-lvania the I'.ii^hth were on 
the alert and nunetl on toward ( iettysbur;^, where the)' llred the fu'st yun, and 
by their couiml^c in charL;inL; the enemy L;a\i' protection to the infantry, fiLjlit- 
ini; not only on horse, Ijut dismounted. In September the- scpiadi'ons of the 
iML^hth adxanced with Hnford's di\asion on Cul[)e[jer. ( )ni- stjuaili'on, in cap- 
tnrin<4 a batter)-, was sin-rounded b\- the noted Ilampton LeL;ion, a furious 
h.md-ti >-hantl flight follow int;, w hen, under a show er of b.dls, the troopers dashed 
throuL;h the eneni)-. .\fter a number of en!4aL;ements in the tall of 1S63, the 
regiment encanipeil at Culpeper Court-I louse for the winter. 

In the sprinL; of 1S64 the luLjhth could report but 600 men for duty. Two 
htUKli'ed returned on t'urloui;h as re-enlisted \'eterans ; 300 were killed or 
woimdetl. Besides their colonel, Captains k'oote, Cutler, hlfiier and I'^ollett, and 
Lieutenants Reeves and Smith were killed, and Major Pope lu-ld as prisoner. 
The le^imeiit had been in thirt)'-three actions. L.iter they participated in 
.Sheridan's raid toward Richmond, as well as Wilson's raid out from I'etcrs- 
burLj. I )urint4' this famous ca\alr\' expedition, after da\-s ,uid niL,dits of constant 
liL;htini; anil niarchiui^, the)- were fmally surrounded, but the Miyhth made f^ood 
their esca|)e, losing; fi\e officers and thirty-five men captured. The)- took a 
])rominent part with Sheridan in his memorable fight at Winchester, and for 
their t;,illantr)- received, with the rest of his division, conj.;-ratuIations from (ien. 
Custer. .Xuioiil; the tokens of this victoi-)' were fi\-e battle-fia<4S. A number 
of prisoneis, including,' a major-general, with hft)- [)ieces of artillery, were cap- 
tured within ten da)-s. The I'"ighth wintei-ed at Winchester, and the records of 
1864 were hnished b)- a close fight on the last da)-, when a great nmiiber were 
wounded. In [S()^ the regiment, in command of Major Conipson, charged 
upon the entrenchments of (ien. ICarl)- at Waynesboro', capturing them in the 
face of reljel cannon, with ten battle-flags, six guns and caissons anil 1,300 
])risoners. ICarl)- just escajied, his horse being shot by Major Compson, who, 
for this, was honored as the bearer of dispatches to the secretary of war : carr)'- 
ing, also, seventeen battle-flags, of which ten were taken by the lughth. Prior 
to the sin-render at .Xppomattox in .\])ril, the)- were on acti\-e duty, receiv- 
ing the fkig of truce on tin- yth. The)- took [jart in the grand re\-iew- in 
Washington 011 Ma\- 22il, and reached Rochester on June 2Sth, in command of 
Ci.)l. I'ope. 1 he actions inscribed upon their battle-flag numl.)ered oversixt)-, 
in which the)- lost one colonel, eleven cajjtains, two lieutenants and a color- 
bearer. The)- were disbanded in Jul)-. Col. Markell succeeded Col. Davis, 



Tin; War Record. 



5 



and commanded at Gettysburg and until August following, when Col. Be 
jamin assumed command and held it till 1865. Cols. Pope and l^enjamin we 
breveted brigadiers. 

TJic Twenty- First Cavalry. — Four companies — G, Captain J(jhn S. Je 
nings ; L, Captain VVni. Godley ; M, Captain David A. Signer, and II, Captc 
J. S. Graham — were from Rochester. The regiment was mustered into t 
service during the fall of 1.S63. Col. W. H. Tibbitts, of Troy, Lieut.- Col. Ch, 
FitzSimons of Rochester and Majors C. G. Otis and G. V. Boutelle were t 
original field officers. The regiment was in a fight at Moorfield, West Va. ; 
the battle of New Market, Va. ; with Hunter in his raid under Sigel, wh 
Early swept down the valley and threatened Washington in 1864, hanging 
his flanks and rear at Frederick City, Md., and in Loudon- county, Va., wh 
the regiment cut out and captured fifty-two wagons from Early's train a 
burned many more. A few days later the regiment charged across the She 
andoah river at Ashby's Ford, in the face of rebel infantry and artillery, sufift 
ing a heavy loss. Lieut. -Col. FitzSimons was wounded. Jul\' 24th, 1864, 
Kernstown and W'inchester, Va., the regiment was shar[)ly engaged fir t^ 
days, the last day covering a retreat of our infantry and artillery, bringing c 
two guns which had been abandoned b\' our troo[5s. Hard fighting and marc 
ing had nearly dismounted the regiment and it was sent to Cumbei'land, M 
to remount and refit. In November, 1864. it was again in the \allcy. Wh 
enjo\-ing Thanksgi\ing dinner, Mosby attempted a surprise but was quickly 1 
pulsed. In December, 1864, the regiment held the advance in a raid of 2,5 
cavalry toward Gordonsvillc, and again in February, 1865, in a heavy reco 
noissance under Merritt, up the valle\'. It was left in the valley when Sherid 
moved on Richmond, and after Lee's surrender was sent to Washington a 
from there to Colorado, when it was mustered out in detachments. The f 
lowing officers were from Rochester or the immediate vicinity: Lieut. -C 
FitzSimons, Major John S. Jennings; Captains \V. M. Godley, David A. Si 
nor, J. S. Graham ; First Lieutenants W. II. Joslyn, N. H. Meldrum, E. H. C( 
lins, Wm. E. Pfoyt ; Second Lieutenant S. H. Draper. Band-master Ale 
Scott and nearh- all the regimental band (said to have been the best in Sh( 
idan's command) were from Rochester. Many of the men of the four Roche 
ter companies were veterans who had served in the Thirteenth, Twent}--si.\l 
Twenty-seventh and other two-sears' regiments. 

The Twenty-second Cava/ry. — A number of companies in this regime 
were raised in Rochester, being mustered in in February, 1864. While in t 
service it was brigaded with the Eighth cavalry, in Custer's famous third div 
ion, participating in all of their brilliant achievements. Its first colonel w 
Samuel J. Crooks, but the most of its fighting was done under Major Cal 
Moore, detailed from the Eighth cavalry, and the following Rochester men scrv 
as ofiicers : James H. Nellis, A. K. Tower, Jacob Fisher, Frank A. Callist 

37 



572 



HisTdRV OK TiiK CiTv OF Rociii:stp:r. 



Micharl McAIullcn, R. K. l^llt-rhcck, Charlc; C. Brown, John W'rcnn, Gcori^c 
S])(.rry, Isidore Iv I'rtAiist, Cliris. C. Hruton, Jaiin-sW. \\'ccl<s, Henry 1'. Starr, 
Patrick R. (llcrinan, tJlark S. Ncllis. 

Battery I., first X. )'. f.i^i^/it Artillery, or Rryiioliis s Ihittrry. — At the or- 
y;anisation of the ( )l(rrhii-tccnth, in Ajjrii, iS6i,thi; Rochester L'nion (jra\-s, 
an artiller\- e(inipan_\- attaclied to the l~ift\-- fourth re^iinient, \ohinteere(l as a Ijat- 
ter)' ot artiller)-. Their str\'it:es, liow e\'er, were (let:hne<L Three months later, 
("luiltoril 1). Haik.}', tlu'n ,i hc-uten,mt in the rt-!_;ukir arni\', was autliorised to 
raise a le^iiuent of H^iit artiher}-, to consist of c'i<^ht l)atti-ries. He wrote to 
John A. Re_\nokls, then cijitain of tlie l'nion ("ira\s, asl^ini;' him to raiseacom- 
jiany for this I'e^iment. Recrnilint; was commenced earl\- in .Se])tember, Cap- 
tain l\e)'nolils, Lients. v.. A. I.oderand (i. H. R<,')-nokls witli ei^ht men, mem- 
Ihis of tile (irass, forminL; the luickais; the list filled ra[)idl}' and in the kitter 
part of Si-plemher the compan)- left for h.lmira, whence the\- were sent to A\- 
baiiy and fii'ward to W.ishiiii^ton. On Capitol Hill the\' joined the regiment 
umki' Cok Haik)and ret'ei\cd the dcsit^nation of Batter)- L. The batter)- was 
here hirnished with six tlii'ec' inch rifled rei^ulation, or Rodman yuns. In l'"eb- 
riiar)', I.S62, it was ordered to ikdtimoie, where, on Sunda)-, Ma)' -'5th, it was 
ordered to the front. Hanks hail been re[)iilsetl and dri\'en back to Ilar[)er's 
k'err)-. That ])]ace was reached the next iki)-, when the batter)- crossed the 
ri\i:r anil moved to Holi\ar lleiL^hts. It was soon after assigned to Cooper's 
brij:;ade of SiL;tTs division, anti niarchecl to i''ront Ro)'al, where it was assiLjiicd 
to Kin;4's ilivision of Mcl)oweirs corps. On AuL;ust Jist, icSfjj, orders came 
to lake a position in which one of the Union batteries had been disabled; here its 
fh'st ri-al eni;aL;ement with the eneni)- o])ened. At White Sulphur S])riiigs, whicii 
followetl, a sliar]) artiller)' duel occurred. Then followed (iaines\-illc, a sharp, 
blooil)- battle, Listing till long after dark. .Next came "second Bull Run," 
where position was takt:n al"u-r d.irk. The next ila)- the infantr)- mined off to 
the riglit, leaving the batter)- in position, with Weed's regular batter)- on its 
right; and ,1 vnhmteer baltt-r)- on its left. Soon after, the eneni)- opened with 
artiller)-, to w Inch llu- three batteries replied ; the infantr)- near them, suffer- 
ing sev-erel)- li-om the enem)-'s artiller)-, with n<i opporlunit)' to return the fire, 
withdrew to Ik; out of range. Soon after the other two batteries withdrew, 
leaving ikitter)- 1, alont- and unsujjporled. A general officei- ordered Captain 
l\e)-nolds to hole* the ])osition and keep the enemy back in front. He sent one 
of the batteries back, and gave also infmtr)- su[)[)ort, Ijut neither remained long. 
Soon the rebels charged over a fuld, completel)- through two of our batteries, 
leaving the guns still in position in their rear, the drivers having escaped with 
the limbei's. I'eing so hotly engagetl, Captain Re)-nolds did not realise his po- 
sition, with all suppoi-t withdrawn, until he was notified that tiie enemy's skir- 
mishers were working in ini Ins flank and rear, and iiad already shot down some 
of the horses. Ijuiriedl)- the caissons were ordered back out of range; the 



The War Record. 57 



pieces limbered up and withdrawn a short distance, taking position just in tim 
to repel with canister a charge of the rebel infantry intended for their captun 
the lieutenants dismounting anij assisting to work the guns. This repulse c 
the enemy was a gallant achievement, of which both officers and men were justl 
proud, greeting the rebels with cheers as they withdrew beyond range. Th 
battery held this position till nearly sunset, when ordered quietly to withdra 
and join its command. Captain Reynolds had been left all day, to rely solel 
upon his own judgment, except as two general officers happened to come th: 
way, and give such orders as the movement called for. The battery joined i 
brigade the next day at Genterville; then back to Washington, having bee 
threei weeks without baggage- wagons, tents, or change of clothing; fighting < 
marching every day, with no shelter in stormy weather but to crawl under t! 
gun pawlins — a hard campaign for the men, but a harder one for the horse 
who were frequently in harness for da\'s at a time, with scanty or no forag 
Then followed South Mountain and Antietam. After a long halt near Sharp 
burg the battery again crossed the Potomac, into Virginia. Then came tl 
battle of Fredericksburg. The famous " mud march " followed. The bottom h; 
completely dropped out of the whole country; the wheels could go no deep 
on account of the axles, and the depth to which a horse would sink was mea 
ured b\- the length of his legs. Progress was impossible, and they returned 
camp for winter quarters at Waugh's Point. 

Their campaign in 1863 opened with a fierce artillery duel below Fre 
ericksburg. Then came the march to Chancellorsvillc, halting in rear of t 
battle-field, to protect the crossing on the withdrawal of the army across t 
river during the night. Next morning Battery L returned to its old quarters 
Waugh's Point. As an illustration of this march, read the following: Sor 
one discovered a pair of ears projecting slightly above the surface of the mudi 
road; nothing more was visible. Operations were begun; soon a head, a 
finally the whole body of one of Uncle Sam's mules in harness was exhunu 
By the united efforts of a dozen men, he was lifted to his feet, supported lo 
enough to get his blood in circulation, and gradually acquiring the use of 1 
limbs was triumphantly taken to camp. Farly in May, 1863, Captam Jo 
A. Reynolds was promoted major and left the battery. He was twice brevett 
for meritorious service, became assistant chief of artillery of the first corps 
Gettysburg, and afterward chief of artillery of the twelfth coips, going w 
that "command to reinforce General Thomas after the battle of Chickamau; 
At the opening of the battle of Lookout Mountain he was, by General Hook 
appointed his chief of artillery, remaining with him till relieved, and afterwj 
accompanying Gen. Sherman on his march to the sea, and .subsequently throu 
the Carolinas as chief of artillery of the army of Georgia. Lieut. G. H. Rt 
nolds was commissioned captain, and assumed command of Battery L. 

Preliminary to the battle of Gettysburg, the battery, being attached 



574 



IIlSroKV 111' TIllC C'lTV OF KoClllCSTKK. 



(icncial W'.nKwdrtirs dixisimi (iftlu- Mrst corps, rcaclieil (ictt_\'sbur^ amoiiL; Ihc 
c.iiiirsi of tlu- I'liimi tnrci-s. In tin: (i^ht df Jul_\' 1st, \\\\cn the ciiciu)- .ittackcd 
and took the place, the hatter)- ft-h hack witli the army, thcm^^h repeatedl)- re- 
Ijiilsin;^ the furiinis chai\L;x's ol' the- fne. ('ai)lain (i. II. Keyiinlds was wciunded 
and taken prisoner, hut w.is |-ecaptnred h_\- iiui' Inixes, not haxiiiL; been parnled. 
In the meantime I.ienl. HiH-ck commanded the hatte-rv. It was here that it 
siit'tered the tirsl and onl_\- loss of a ;4un, I,ie-nt. H, I-'. Wilher was I'allin;^ back 
with a section, when a leirihi' volley of ninsketi)' li'oni the eiie'iii)' killed all the 
horses attaclu-d to the piece, as w't-ll , IS the horse he was ridini;. The enemy 
were ahm 'sl \\ ithin bayonet thrust, and the t;un had to be abandoned. |)urint; 
the remainder of the bailie, extendiuL; until the 4th of Jul)', the batleiy hekl 
position on the ii;4ht slope of (."emel<.'ry hill, closel)' eni;ai;ed w ilh l.)oth inlanti')- 
and .irtillei)- which nearl_\- em ircled it with leiTifK: file. As to the loss of the 
piece ('len. I hint said: "Artillery can sometimes be lost with honor," addini;, 
"so it was wilh you on thai tlisasti'ous da\'." it is proper here to add th.it 
this identic. il piece was recaptured and restored to the batter)' and has beeai 
donated b)' the war depaitnieiit to the batter)' or;.^anisation which is slill kept 
up, and this Ljun has f'oi' a number of \'ears hail a [ilace in line on Memorial 
tki)' ,ind other parades. In \o\'ember a winter cam[)aii;n was attempted, 
le.ulini; to a sharp enj^a^ement b)- Batter)' L, with other artillei)-, at Mine 
Run. At the- WiUlerness, Re-)-noKls's b.ittt.-r)- was present, but not cnt^agcd. 
On Ma)- Jth it nicned with driffin's division, fifth corps, in advance toward 
Spotts)'lvania, aidint;- to ri-])cl a charge of the cneiii)', and contcndiiiL; with a 
rebel batter)'. ( )i-i the I 2th it was hotl)- enLraj^ed, anil the nic-n ac(|uitted thcni- 
sebes whli honor. ( )n ,Ma)- 23d the)- reached the North .\nn.i, and cnj^a^'cd 
a bod)' of infanli)-, whoweie drix-ini; thi- Union forces. Anions^ the- troops 
thus di-iven was the "Iron brigade," and as e'videiice of the close h_L;ht, with 
the assistance of L and othei- b.itteries, the rebels were full)' met and driven 
back in turn. In the several actions follow int;, the batter)' partici|)ati-il, and 
on .\ui;iist Jist assisted in snstainin<^ the position of the L'nion troops at the 
W'eli.lon r.iilroad. It was afterward assiLjaied to the- ninth corps, and stationed 
at various points before I'etersbur;^. and, when the place was taken, was placed 
in the artiller)- reserve. With 1^7 men it reached Rochester, having been 
mustered out June 17th, 1865. ( )n returniui;-, the following were the officers: 
George Breck, cajjtain and brevet major; Win. II. Sheldon, I). M. I'errine, 
Frederick Dietz and F. ( ). Kinne, lieutenants. 

/■//<- Foiirh-ciith Heavy ArtilUry. — This was foi-med at Rochester, and 
comprised many veterans of the ( )ld Thirteenth. It was raiseil in detach- 
ments. t"ol. I-",, (i. Marshall had he-en ordered to raise a regiment of heavy 
artiller)-. At the time of the New \'ork riots, in Jul)' 1863, out of 300 men, en- 
listed and in camp, about 200 were hastily dispatched to New \'ork to re- 
store order. By the first of September, llenr)' R. Randall had enlisted 150 



TiiK Wak Recokd. 5; 



more. Two otlier companies went on to New York in December of th 
year. Its officers were, besides Col. Marshall, Lieut-Col. Clarence A. Cor 
ing, Major Wm. H. Reynolds, Adjutant Job C. Hedges. They crossed tl 
Rapidan in Ma\', 1 864, their first action occurring at Spottsylvania. Tn t: 
charge upon the works at Petersburg, the Fourteenth was placed in line, se 
ond to the first brigade, which led the division. The men were ordered to i 
bayonets and take the breastworks. In the face of a cutting fire, which sa 
tered the first line, they marched over them, advanced, and scaled the forti 
cations, capturing a general, 300 prisoners and a battle-flag. They held t 
works two hours, when, the enemy being reinforced and their own amnuu 
tion failing, they were forced to leave the stand they had so nobl>' gauu 
Here Col. Marshall was wounded and Major Hedges was killed at the head 
his battalion. He was succeeded by Joseph P. Cleary. Of the 930 men w 
entered the action, only 649 came out. When the works were subsecpienl 
retaken, they were honored with a position in the front line. Other memc 
able actions were at Cold Harbor, Weldon railroad, Poplar Spring Church a 
Hatcher's Run. 

ALrc-/ys Battery, or tlic Eiglitccuth Light Arti/lcrj. —Thh was first: 
cruited as a part of the io8th infantry, but was subsequently organised as 
independent battery, never being attached to any artillery regiment. It v 
mustered into the service September 13th, 1862, and left Rochester Noveml 
1 8th. The officers on leaving were : Captain, Albert G. Mack ; first lieute 
ants, George H. Mumford and George S. Curtiss ; second lieutenant, George 
Davis. P^ranklin V. Van Dake was promoted first lieutenant, Stalham L. \\ 
liams, A. B. McConnell and D. W. McConnell were made second lieutenai 
The battery was armed with six twenty-pound Parrott guns. It served m 
department of the Gulf, joining Banks's expedition, which sailed from New Y. 
December 2d, 1862. After a stormy passage on the steamer Illinois, \.\ 
reached New Orleans on the 13th. In February they were sent to Bal 
Rouge, joining in the feint upon Port Hudson in March, 1863, to enable / 
miral Farragut to run his flag-ship, the Hartford, with the Albatross, into 
upper Mississippi. Early in April they joined Banks's expedition throi 
Western Louisiana. Their first fight was at Bisland on the 12th and i 
of April. In his report of this battle. Gen. Arnold, Banks's chief of artilk 

says : 

'■The Eighteenth New York battery under Captain Mack, was first posted in 
right center, "but subsecjuently removed to the front, and attached to Payne's brig 
at the request of Gen. Emory. In this last position it performed most admirable s 
ice, and delivered its fire with astonishing accuracy and effect, under a galling and c 
fire from the enemy, silencing the battery in its front in a very short time. Too m 
praise cannot be bestowed upon this command in its first engagement." 

The battery was with the expedition through its entire march of betw 
400 and 500 miles. It was not again engaged until the investment of 1 



57'') IIlSl'iiK\' (iK THE ClTV OK R< JCIIKSTER. 



Hudsiin, Ma_\- 241)1, 1X63. Ilcrc it rendcreil efficient service during the siege 
and until the surrender ol" tiiis rebel stronghdld im the 8th of July. 'I'he right 
section (if the ixittery was next engaged at C'oniite Bridge, May 31I, I S64. It 
w'.is assigned to garrison duty at tiillei'ent [loints, until the- earlv spring of lcS65, 
when it left for Mobile liay and assisted in llie capture of Sp.misl; l-'ort, which 
fell April Slh, and the next tlay it joined in the assault on h'ort HIakely, which 
was t.iken that night, 'I'lu' batter\- was next taken to .Montgomery, .Ala., .md 
tin, illy returni-d to New \'ork on the Illinois, tlu' s,uiie \ e-ssel in which it h.ul 
s.iiled, under se.iled orders, two ,uid .i luilf ye'.u's ln:fore. The biilters' w.is mus- 
tered out Jul)- Joth, lS((5. 

In addition to the oi'g.anisalions described .ibo\ e, portions of otluT regi- 
ments were raised and organised here — such as the Sixth, 'i'wenty-fourth, 
,uid hirst Wteian ca\-.ilr\-, the l''.le\enth b.itt.ilion of ,irtiller\-, the Twent}-- 
sixth b.Utery, the l'"iftieth engineers, and the .Sixt_\--se\enth, .Seventieth, .Sev- 
ent_\'-cighth, Mighty-ninth, Ninets'-fourth, 104th ,and iS.Sth infuitry — and 
m.ui)' Rochester men enlisted and served as olTicers .uid prixates in regiments 
that had no recruiting station in this cit\'. Their n.uiies cnmot be set forth 
here, but it will be competent to gi\e, in closing, the names of those citizens 
who during the conflict .attained to the rank of general officers. The\' were: 
Isaac 1-". Ouinb)-, John II. Martindale, Mlisha (i. Marshall, Charles J. Powers, 
I iarrison S. l'"airchikl. 

'///(' (Iraud . \niiY of the Rcpnblii. — This is com])oseiI of those who served 
in the ami)- or na\_\- during the rebellion, and have an honorable discharge 
therefrom. Its puri)()st:s are to keep alive the memories of those days and to 
assist needy .mil deserx'ing soldiers and the widows and orphans of those wh<i 
dii.d. The org.uiisation was started in Illinois, in I,S66. The first post in this 
state was org.inised in our city soon afterw.ard, .md was named after the gallant 
Col. (I'Rorke, who w.is killed at ( jett\'sburg. After se\'ei'al \'ears the seconil 
post here (number 106) was organised, com|)osed e.xclusivel)- of (ierm.ms, 
atUipting the name of a worth)' (ierman soldier, Col. I'eissner. In 1875 was 
organised another post (taking number 4, which had been surrendered), which 
atlojjted the name of that noble cjUI hero, (jen. (jeo. II. Thomas. Within the 
p.ist )ear two new [josts lia\'e been organised — the C. J. Powers post (391) 
and the P.. (i. Marshall post {^9"]^, taking the names of two gallant soldiers of 
our cit)'. The h\'e [)osts now nimiber 500 men, each of whom has a proud 
and honorable record. There are about SOO jiosts of the Grand .Ami)' in the 
state, with ,1 membership of 30,000; th.it throughout the United .States is 
about 250,000. 

The First Wtiraii Ih-ixadc. — 'This is composed of the five Grand y\rniy 
posts, together with the veter.m regimental antl compan)' organisations of the 
Thirteenth, 108th and 140th regiments, the Third and P^ighth ca\alry. Battery 
L Plrst New York light artillery, and P^ighteenth Independent battery. The 



The Rochester Water Works. 577 



brigade was organised in January, 1879, for the purpose of uniting all the 
above organisations in the proper commemoration of Memorial day. The 
brigade commander is elected in January, appoints his staff" and holds the po- 
sition for one year. At the organisation Gen. J. A. Reynolds was elected com- 
mander, and reelected the ensuing year. Col. H. S. Grcenleaf was elected in 1 88: 
and reelected in 1883. Gen. John McMahon, elected in 1884, is now in com- 
mand of the brigade. 



CHAPTER LII. 

THE ROCHESTER W.V'I'ER WORKS.' 

The Necessity of a Water Supply for ihe City — Ecirly Plans for Kuniishing it — The Company o 
1852 — hs Failure an<l the Report of the Expert — Works Finally Constructed by the City — Fu 
.\ccount of their Operation — Tests Made in 1874 — ;\ Remarkable E.'chibition — Sources of a Wate 
Supply — The Lakes and the Reservoirs —The Holly Works, the Pump House and the Machinery - 
The 'relephone to Hemlock Lake— Total Cost of the W.irk — .Analysis of the Water. 

/'\NF, of the earliest experiences of all civilised communities is the need o 
\J a convenient and abundant water supply for use in the protection of house 
and mantifactories from destruction by fire. The need of a supply of wate 
for domestic uses usually makes itself felt at a later period, when the populatio 
becomes compact and the soil saturated with foul matters of nameless varietie 
and constituents, so that the watercourses beneath the surface become the cat 
riers of what may be fairl\- termed diluted sewage to the springs and wcl 
of the town. The adjacent streams, if an\-, also, from kindred causes, cease t 
be fit for domestic uses. 

The necessity for a supply of water for use in the suppression of fires we 
appreciated at an early date in the history of Rochester and long before it too 
on its corporate existence as a city. Up to the close of the year 1824, whic 
marked the completion of the Erie canal, when the population of Rochest( 
was about 5,000, the water for this purpose was obtained principally from wel 
and from the Genesee river. The Erie canal, from the date of its completic 
until the introduction of the city's present water supply, remained an importai 
factor in the problem of furnishing a supply of water for protection from fire 
During the season of navigation the water was obtainable without expens 
and in the winter it was retained for the purpose, by the yearly constructic 
of dams in its channel, and at a later date the water was conducted in ire 
pipes at considerable expense to artificial reservoirs beneath the surface of tl 

1 This article was prepared by .Mr. Nelson J. Tubbs, the engineer in charge of the water wor 
and under whose supervision they were constructed. 



57S IIlSTOKV OF THE ClTV OF RoCUFSTKR. 



varimis streets, located at points convenient for use in cases of conflagration. 
At an early period, also, the subject of a supply of pure water for douH'Stic 
uses was largel}- a_L;itated and discussed by the citizens, resultin;^ in the [)assa,L;e 
of a law b\- the leLjislature of the state, designated as chaptei' 173, lawsof 1S55, 
and entilletl "an act to incorpcjrate the Rochester Water Works cuuipan}'." 
H\' said act, the capital stock of the company was fixetl at $I0,000, tli\'ided 
into four hundred shares of $25 each. James Se>-mour, Isaac Hills, I. R. Ml- 
Wdod, ( K'orge W. I'l'att ami Charles J. Hill wei'e designated as commissioners 
to receive subsci iptions to tlu' capital stock. A com[)an\' was organised under 
this cliai'ter, but nothing was accomplisheil b_\- it, aiul ,ig,iin, in 1S5J, another 
conipau)' was chartered under the same name, which e.Npemk'd, as it was au- 
thorisetl to do, the avails of $Soo,ooo in bonds and the same amount of stock. 
The condition of the work performed b\- this compan)- is fairl)' set forth in a 
report made to the stockhohk'rs 1 )eci'ml)er Jd, 1871, by McRee Swift, a ci\-il 
engineer, from which the f)llowing extracts are taken: — 

"I went ti) that city (Rochester) on the 21st of November, and spent three davs on 
the works, e.xaiiiininn into the condition of the same, to enable me to give an o|)inion upon 
the present condition and value to any party desiring to complete tlicm. Tiie general 
jilan of the works is a good one. A series of lakes, Iloneoye, Canadice and Heinlock, 
38S feet above, and about thir.ty-three miles distant from Rochester, furnish reservoirs of 
water, exc-elleiu in i|ualily atid abundant in (juantity. These lakes are supplied by springs 
anil the rain-l'all of a large district, and tuiite in discharging their waters into the Hon- 
eoye outlet, a large stream wliii:h empties into the (leiiesee river, fourteen miles .south of 
Ro<hester. The water is di\erted from this stream at a ]j()int near Smithtown, sixteen 
and one fourth nnU-s from the s)stein of distributing ])i])es on the outskirts of the city of 
Rochester, and iVom this ]K)int of diversion it was to have been carried to Rochester by 
wooden conihut twenlv-fuur inches in diameter. .-Xn ingemous weir is constructed at 
Hemlock \.\kr. by whu h that lake, seven miles long by one third to one half nule wide, 
can be made to ser\e as a reser\'oir to the de|ith of tlu'ee feet, thereby providing for all 
p(.)ssible c cintingeni ies of low water and an\ damage that could ensue to the mills on the 
stream, by reason of the di\ersion at Smithlouii. The works, so far as completed, consist 
of: — 

" first — a canal eighteen hundred feet long by twenty feet wide, by sc\'en deep at 
the lake, with the weir partially cf)nstrucle(l, as above referred to. 

"Second — a wooden conduit twenty-four inches in diameter by sixteen and one 
fourth miles. 

"Third — a reservoir about two-thirds completed near Kast Henrietta. This reser- 
voir measures, at the middle of the embankment, seven hundred by eight hundred feet 
and is twent\-one feet deep, and, when com]ileted and filled to within three feet of to[), 
will I ontain 70.000.000 gallons, a supply for twenty days at a full estimate for consum])- 
lion. 

" Fourth — a small disiributmg reservoir on the outskirts of the city, too small tor 
inirposes of a reser\-oir, and which when com])leted can only be useful to relieve the head 
of water or pressure on the city distribution (not essential), or to screen the water, should 
leaves or debris be brought down by the conduit. 

" Filth — seven and one half miles of cast iron distributing ])ipe in the city, and six 



The Rochester Water Works. 57 

miles of wrought iron (lined with and laid in hydraulic cement) distributing pipe, all wit 
partial appendages of gates, hydrants, etc. 

" Si.xth — a farm of one hundred and ten acres near the lake, with mill and houst 
upon it, an<l which cost $21,000, upon which $10,500 is paid. 

" Seventh — a plat of fifty acres near East Henrietta, upon which the large distril 
uting reservoir is located, and lastly the right of way across jirivate property, at tli 
upper end of conduit for a distance of about four and one half miles. 

" From the examination I was enabled to make, I am forced to conclude that tli 
■wooden pipe can not be relied upon. 1 do not think you should calculate to use mot 
than two and one fourth miles of it, mostly at the upper end. In the tests made, th 
difficulty encountered was in ])reventing leakage so overwhelming that the water coul 
not be forced through the depressions at Sibleyville in sufficient quantity to overcom 
the adjoining elevations at Halleck's hill. In some cases during the trial, the water \\i 
forced through imperfections in the staves themselves, such as knots etc., and some c 
the iron bands were also broken. I find the iiiterior slope of the Henrietta reservoir t 
be one and one half horizontal to one vertical, not flat enough to resi.it the action 
waves which may be looked for on so large a surface of water. My calculations for fit 
ishing this reservoir involve the alterations of this slope to a slope of two horizontal t 
one vertical." 

The following estimates were submitted by Mr. Swift : 

Estimated present value of work done : — 

Canal and works at the lake $ 2,75 

Reservoirs at Henrietta and Mt. Hope, including gate chamber 53>oo 

Seven and one half miles cast iron pipe laid in district 75AS 

Six miles wrought iron and cement " " •' '• 51^79 

Gates and hydrants connected with above 2,97 

Hoppaugh farm, etc., near the lake, less$io,5oo due thereon. lo^Sc 

Right of way for about four and one half miles of conduit 2,50 

Two and one fourth miles twenty-four inch wooden conduit laid 23,76 

Total -$222,73 

Estimated cost of completing the work ready for use: — 

.\mounts due on Hoppaugh property at that lake $ 10.5c 

Mr. Marsh's estimate at the lake 1.20 

Thirty-seven thousand feet of wrought iron anil cement pipe twenty inches 

diameter between inlet and reservoir 149, 1 1 

Thirty-seven thousand feet wrought iron and cement pipe twenty-four inches 

diameter between reservoir and city 193,88 

Completion of Henrietta reservoir — 3'>35 

Additional hydrants for present distribution 4,50 

Engineering, superintendence and contingencies in construction of iiresent dis- 
tribution on west side of city_ i9iS2 

Total $410,06 

Thus it will be seen that after a corporate existence of nineteen and one hal 
years, and the issuing of $1,600,000 in stock and bonds, and the entering into th 
repeated contracts with the city of Rochester, all of which were violated by th 
company, the report of an expert shows that all of the work performed by th 
compan)-, including its property of all sorts, has a substantial value of less tha 



580 History of the City of Rochester. 



$223,000, and tlial tn intriKlucr watrr iiiti) the city with twenty miles of dis- 
tribution pipe would iri|iiire an addition, il t/xpeniliturc- of $410,000, altlioiiL;ll 
said expert jiroposiid to finish the construction of the woi'ks with the cheapest 
[)ipe whiih \^ as procurable, ami which experience had shown would hold water 
under ordinar_\- pressures, and the water to be taken from 11 oneoyc .creek near 
\orth Hloomfield. 

The bondholders e\'identl)- came to the conclusion that they had been badl)- 
swindled, and [iroceedint^s were commenced to foreclose the mort_<^aL;e on the 
water works propi'rt)', <;i\'en to secure p.i^-menl of the bonds. It .appears that 
the sale h.id been full}' consummated early in l.Sjj, as on the 2Sth da_\- of M;iy, 
iSjJ, Thomas H. K.md and associates pi-est-nti.'d a memorial to the common 
Council, I'epresentiuL; that the\' had become the owners of the lands, propei't)-, 
estate, reser\'oirs, ])ipes, ri^iils of land ,uid water, water works, fixtures and ap- 
l)urten,mces and the rights and franchises of the Roclu;sti-r W'.ater Works com- 
p.in_\'. In this memorial it is stated that thee ha\e become satisfied that the 
wooden conduit pipe laid from Smithtown to the city is not sufficient, and needs 
to be relaid i>\ iron, and they oflereil to thus relay said conduit during the }'ear' 
iS-2 ;uid ,ilso to construct a liiu: of ipetallic, brick or other proper conduit, from 
Smithtown to llemjuck- Like, and complete the same during the )'ear 1S73; 
also to l.iy an .ulditional amount of pipe in the streets in 1872 to make a total 
of thirts' miles, ;md enough in 1S73 to .miount to fort\' miles of distribution ; to 
connect Intlr.ints thereto each fair hundreel feet, and sup^pl}- water to them and 
to ten ])ul)lic f >untains and to ,ill public buildings, on such terms as might be 
deemcil just ami fair. A contract w.is tlnalh' drawn and presented to the com- 
mon council for r.itific.atioii, which provitied that the compensation to be p.iid 
to the cit)' for such use of w.iter should be $70,000 ])er annum for four hundred 
hytlrants and $100 per annum fir each fire h_\-drant exceeiling that number. 
It is believed that this contract would h.ive btx-n dul\- executed, had not the 
board of water commissioners, then recentl)' appointed, procured the ser\'ice of 
an injunction on the common council preventing such action. This last pro- 
posed contract met with great fa\c)r with the then common council and with 
m,in\' citizens, antl was .also strongl)' advocated b_\- at least one of the daily 
newspapers. It is [lerhaps sufficient comment on the propriet}' of the ])roposetl 
.action to sa\- that tin- number of fire h)'drants now (April, 1S.S4) in use in the 
cit)- is 1,220, .and that with the same number set by the compau)- under the said 
contract the city would now be pa\'ing a )-earl\- rental for the s.ame of $152,- 
000, and th.it fir inferior hydrants connected with inferior jiiiJi's and works gen- 
erally. 

Thom.'is H. R.ind and .associates, soon after their purchase of the assets of 
the old compaii)', organised a new company under the title of the Rochester 
Water comp.ui)'. The new company, finding that the newly appointed water 
commissioners were m.iking vigorous efforts for furnishing a supply of w.ater 



The Rochester Water Works. 



to the city from Hemlock lake, on an entirely difterent plan and by a dififerer 
r<iute from that proposed by the company, and that, if successful, no part of tb 
property owned by it would be necessary to the city, with the exception of th 
right of way over the Hoppaugh mill property at Hemlock village, thencefoi 
ward made strenuous attempts to dispose of its property to the said commission 
ers at prices ranging from $250,000 to $90,000, and, failing in this, used ever 
means to embarrass the operations of the commissioners, by litigation and othei 
wise, until the period arri\-ed when success had crowned the efforts of the wate 
commissioners in introducing water into the city. Finally, on the 1 8th of Au 
gust, 1882, the city made a purchase of all the property of the Rochester Wate 
compan}' which was regarded as of any account, for the sum of $26,000, a sa 
falling oft" in value even from the $223,000 estimated by Mc'Ree Swift in 187: 

The writer has no desire to criticise the motives of the managers of th 
Rochester Water Works company, previous to the time when the control an 
management of its affairs went into the hands of Alexander Easton. Durin 
this person's administration, it may be safely asserted, the Rochester Watt 
Works company was in the hands of a Philistine. The wooden conduit jjip 
laid b\- him was so notoriously unfit for the purpose that it was a common rt 
mark among the farmers, as they saw it manipulated, that it would not hoi 
"white beans," much less con\'ey water under heavy pressiu'e. The cast irn 
pipes laid in the streets of the city were largely gas pipes and cullings from th 
yards of the pipe manufacturers, and the wrought iron, cement-coated pipes wer 
of poor quality and careless workmanship, as proven wherever they have sine 
been exposed to give room for other improvements. The hydrants and gate 
used were the crudest and cheapest to be procured, and the source froi 
which the water was proposed to be taken was very objectionable. The effoi 
of Mr. Easton seemed to be to make such a showing of work as would enabl 
him to find sale for his bonds and to entangle the city into making such ad 
vances as would compel it to complete the works and enable him to step 01 
with large gains. While it is usualh' \^ery detrimental to the best interest 
of a cit\' to remain until it has reached a population of 70,000 without a 
abundant suppl>' of wholesome water, yet, to use a homely phrase, it was th 
result more of "luck than good management" that the city did not have in 
flicted upon it a system of water works, supplying water objectionable in qualit 
and inadequate in quantity and pressure, and at prices for public use, whic 
would at this date have proved more burdensome than is now the taxation rt 
suiting from the construction of the very satisfactory and efTective system in us( 

Many of the citizens of Rochester had by this time become convinced th£ 
a supply of water would not be obtained by a private company, such as woul 
be pure in quality, abundant in quantity and in other important respects satis 
factory to the city. Application was therefore made to the legislature for th 
passage of an act allowing the city to construct a system of water works at il 



582 



IIlSldKV OK 11 IK CkIV ok RoClIKSTKR. 



own L-xpcnsc. The result of this aiiplication was the ])assa.L;e of chapter 387, 
laws of 1S7J. entitled "an act to siippl)- the city of Rochester with pure and 
wholesome water." i\\' this act the ina\'or was tlirected to appoint ti\e per- 
sons to Constitute a "board of water conmiissionei's," who we're to eniplo)- 
ins^ineers and other pei'sons to assist them in tletenniniiiL; upon a plan for the 
said watei- works .uid tn make estimates of the cost thereof These ])lans and 
estimates were to be siiljmitted to the mayor, and, if approved b)- him, the 
commissioners were to [)r(.>ceed with the work of constriicti()n, and were author- 
ised to borrow, from time to time, on the credit of the cit_\', an amount not 
ex'cccdint; the amount of tht;ir estimate, to |)ay for said work. Mayor A. Car- 
ter Wilder appointed as such commissioners the fillowin;^ citizens: Roswell 
I lart, l^dward M. Smith, William IT Bowman, (.'h.irles C. Morse and (iilm.in 
11. Perkins. Mr. Il.irt w.is eK'cted permanent jjresident of the commission and 
retained his position until ( )ctober, I 876, when it e.\i)ired b\^ statute limitation. 
Mr. Smith was ek'cted tem])orary treasurer and Mr. Rxiwman tempor;u'\' sec- 
retar\'. At a latei' [)t-riod |ohn Williams, citv treasurer, became the treasurer 
of the commission and Colonel Christopher T, Amsden its secretary. Messrs. 
Perkins and Morse were rt'ap[)ointed at the expiration of their te-rms and re- 
mainetl members of the boartl until s.iid board ceasetl to exist, as abo\'e stated. 
Mr. .Smith soon resi<^ned .md Pliu)' .M. liromle)' was .ippointed in his ])lace. 
Mr. l^romlcy died October 4th, 1874. and John Howei' was appointed for the 
balance of liis term, which expired y\[)ril 29th, 1876. Maurice H. Merriman 
was appointcil as the successor of Mr. Bower and scrvx-d until October of the 
same year. Mr. Bowman's term expii'eil .April 29th, 1875, ami he was suc- 
ceeded by James C. Cochrane. 

Soon after the orj^anisation of the bo.ird, at a meetini^ held May 7th, 1872, 
J. Xelson Tubbs was a|)[)ointed chief engineer and Isa.ic !•'. Ouinb)- consulting 
engineer for the commission. Surveys and examinations were soon com- 
menced, to deternn'ne the best and most feasible somce of su[)])ly for the city. 
.A LirLje proportion of the citizens h.itl alread)- settled in their own minds, ;is 
the rt'sult iif the pre\ icjus examinations and public discussions resulting.; from the 
opei'ations ol the watei' works comi)any, that the water shouxl be taken from 
one of tw(i sources, either Lake Ontario or Hemlock lake, with a large prepon- 
tlerance of intellige-nt o])inion in fa\()r of the latter. There was another, al- 
though not nunu-rous class, consisting of a few wealth)' .uid therefore influential 
real estate owners, who deprecated the large taxation which would result from 
the adoption of either of these sources of suppl)', and wlio themselves felt the 
need r)f a water sujijily simph' for fire purposes, who aih'ised and insisted that 
the water should be taken from the (ienesee rix'er at or in the \'icinity of the 
rapids dam. This class, for a considerable periotl, ver\' much embarrassed the 
o])(.'rations of the commissioners, by consolidating local op[)osition, by attempts 
at adverse legislation and expressions both public and private, questioning the 



p 



14 



The RiiriiEsi'KR Water Works. 51^ 

constitutional soundness of the laws under which the water commissioners actc 
and therefore of the financial value of the water works bonds. 

Various legal proceedings against the board of commissioners were froi 
time to time commenced, including one at a later period in the Supreme cou 
of the United States, which were intended to embarrass and if possible prevei 
the progress of the work. Notwithstanding all obstacles, the commissione 
had so far progressed with their examinations that on the 15th of Novembe 
1872, the}' presented a report to the mayor, containing a detailed statements 
their plan, as required by law. Said report contained also an elaborate repo 
from the chief engineer in relation to the general subject of water works coi 
struction and also a special discussion of the necessary requirements for a suj 
pl\- of water to the cit)' of Rochester. S. A. Lattimore, professor of chemisti 
in the Uni\ersity of Rochester, also added a very interesting paper on tl 
chemistry of water, and the relative merits of different waters, for the supply < 
Rochester. 

The plan proposed by the commissioners may be summarised as follow 
To furnish from Hemlock lake a supply of 4,500,000 gallons of water per da 
through an iron conduit, or one of iron for the greater part of the distance ar 
the balance of brick, with a storage reservoir in the town of Rush and a di 
tributing reservoir on the Mt. Hope range of hills near the city, also, to furnis 
a supply of water from the Genesee river by direct pressure on the Holly dire 
pressure plan, for the furnishing of light pc.iwer and for suppression of fires 
th.e compactly built business portions of the city, the water to be distribute 
through forty miles of cast iron pipes in the streets of the city. The estimate 
cost ofthe combined sj-stem was $2,184,000. 

The mayor promptly approved of the plan proposed by the water commi 
sioners, and on the official receipt of such approval they immediately directi 
the chief engineer to prepare plans, specifications and notices for a public lettir 
()( the whole work. Soon thereafter Emil Kurchling, who had just complete 
an engineering course of study in the Polytechnic school at Carlsruhe, in Ge 
many, was appointed principal assistant engineer, a position which he has r 
tained to this date, giving evidence during the whole period of service of mo 
excellent training and a remarkable aptitude for his profession and great abili 
in the practical working-out ofthe ever- varying problems of water works coi 
struction and management. On the 1 2th day of April, 1873, proposals we 
received for the construction of the works on the plan proposed, and the coi 
tract was awarded to James McDonald, of W^illsborough Falls, Essex count 
A contract for the construction and setting in place of the pumping machine: 
in connection with the Holly system had been previously executed — F"ebrua: 
27th, 1873 — with the Holly Manufacturing company of Lockport, N. Y. Ge 
H. Thompson & Co. were selected to erect the pump house and the machine; 
foundations by the day's work, under the direction of the engineer departme 



li 



584 IIisi'(ik\' OF TiiK Crrv of Rociifstkr. 



and cif A. J. Warner, the arcliitcct <if the building. A plot of huul for the (hs- 
tributinL; reserxdir was purchased i>f Messrs. I*".ll\\'anger ami I>arr}- ,iik1 the es- 
t.ite of l),i\id Stanle)-. on the Ml. 1 Io])e range of hills ^•ast of South a\enue, 
and (Uie of ahmit thii't_\- .icres in the town of Rush, from the firms of j^eiijamin 
I'itus and (ieorge !•'. Martin, for the storage reserx'oii'. Work was commenceil 
on the tirst of these rt-ser\-oirs aliont Jul)' 1st, and on the- second about Juiu: 1st, 
1 S~3. Special di'awings for new and imjjrined st\les of hubs and s])ecials were 
l)repared, ami the work of casting the same was commenced b)' Jesse W. Starr & 
Sons, at Camden, N. J.; R. 1). Wood & Co., at I'lorence ami Millsville, N. J.; 
McNeal & Son, at i^urlington, N. J., and the Warren foundry at I'hillipsburgh, 
N. J. A small .iinount was also cast ,it Uricksbnrgh, \. J. 

The woik' of laying the mains in the streets was commenced earl)' in the 
summer of 1S73, and continued up to ,d)out jann.iry 1st, 1X74. In cases where 
Ix.ith lldlly .md llemlock mains were laid in the same street they were laid in 
the same trench, the llemlock on a bench sufficiently above the 1 lolly to allow 
the liranches from either to pass o\'er or under as the case might be. I'^x'- 
ipient comiections were made between these two systems of pij)es, b)' the 
use of bi'anches, cur\-i-s and gates, so that the two sj'Stems might at will l)e 
thrown into one. 'l"he 1 lolly system was so far completed that on and after 
JiUUKU}' 1st, l<S74, it w.is brought into use for the extinguishment of fires, all 
the pipes laid in each s\-stem being kept filled with water under pressure fr(.)m 
the I loll)- i)ipes. 

( )n the I 8th of b'ebruary, 1874, an official test was made of the lloll)- ma- 
chiner)- with the following results: The lu'tlrants used for throwing fire streams 
were located on Ivast and West Main streets, between the I'-rie canal and North 
street. The first test consisted in throwing fourteen fire streams at once, alter- 
natel}' by the i)umps operated by water power and by steam, the change from 
one to the other set of machim;r)' not being obser\-able b_\' those watching the 
streams. The height of these streams, determined b\' instrumental observa- 
tions, \aried from 151 to 152 feet. 1 )nring this test the ]5ressure at the [)nm])s 
was maintained at 120 pounds pei' square inch. The second test of fire streams 
consisted in tlirowing thirt}- streams, at once. In making this test, the steam 
rotar\' pumps were used in addition to the two water sets. The height of the 
streams was abnul the same as in the previous test and the pressure main- 
tained at the pumps was 135 jiounds \)cv sipi.u'e inch. Water was discharged 
at the rate of 8,220 gallons per minute. The third test consisted in throwing 
a two-inch stream in fi'oiit of the court-houst-. Althimgh at no time fully ver- 
tic.d, \'et, when it most nearly approached that condition, the observations 
showed an elevation of 210.34 feet. The pressure maintained at the pum])s 
was 165 jjounds per square inch and the discharge was at the rate of 1,215 gal- 
lons per minuti'. The fourth test was a three-inch vertical stream, thrown 
from a point near the corner of State and West Main streets, during which a 



The Rochester Water Works. 5 

pressure of 175 pounds per square inch was maintained at tlie pumps. T 
discharge was at the rate of 2,778 gallons per minute and the elevation reach 
by the stream was 285.98 feet. 

Another test consisted in throwing a four-inch vertical stream to an ele\ 
tion of 294.4 feet. The rate of discharge was 4,938 gallons per minute and t 
pressure at the pumps was 175 and at the stand pipe 165 pounds per squa 
inch. A second test of the four- inch stream consisted in throwing the sai 
horizontally a distance of 465 feet, only the solid jets of water being measun 
The final test consisted in throwing a five-inch vertical stream to an elevati 
of 256.8 feet, discharging at the rate of 6,463 gallons per minute. As tl 
stream was intended to show volume and not height the pressure at the pum 
was only raised to 140 pounds. No accident of any kind occurred. during t 
progress of the test. It is believed that this was the most remarkable exhil 
tion of large streams ever made in any country, and as such it attracted wid 
spread attention from hydraulic engineers, compelling the introduction 
larger factors in the hydraulic formulas used to determine the results to be o 
tained from large streams, with liberal-sized pumping mains. 

On the 1st of January, 1875, the water commissioners reported that th 
were at that date pumping water from the 1 l(ill\- works into 50.76 miles of pip^ 
connected with 478 hydrants, and that e\ery fire district, except one, w 
then embraced within the protection of the water pipes. They also report 
that fires had been extingui.shed by streams of great power, from hydrai 
1,700 feet distant, although the machinery was then pumping into over fii 
miles of pipes, where it was only designed originally to supply from eight 
ten miles. During the years 1873 and 1874 the commissioners had dett 
mined to increase the capacity of the conduit from Hemlock lake, above that 
first contemplated. With this \iew a wrought-iron thirty-six inch conduit u 
provided for a distance of about ten miles from the lake northward, where tl 
grade was light, and for the balance of the distance a cast-iron conduit twent 
four inches in diameter, which would give a supply from the lake double 
quantit}- to that contemplated in their original plan. The wisdonr of this chan 
is not now questioned, although at that time it was sharply criticised. The offic 
functions of the board of water commissioners ceased on the 1st day of Oct 
ber, 1876. The following extracts from their final report to the common cou 
cil indicate the extent and condition of the work at that time: — 

"The time has arrived when by provision of law the term of our oltice exjjires. ']' 
work entrusted to our charge is done, and we trust and fully believe commends itself 
the approval and pride of our fellow-citizens. That we should have been criticised 
times with severity and censured with bitterness, was naturally to be expected, as our 1 
sponsibility was grave indeed. The magnitude of the work was without precedent 
our city affairs, the required expenditure enormous, the plans of construction original ai 
the pecuniary condition of the country straitened and depressing. Opinions were ( 
vided as to whether the city was in need of water works at all; whether, if needed, th 



SS6 History of the City of Rochester. 

sliould not l)u clieajily constructeil and only for tlie wants of the ])rest.'nt generation, 
whctlicr the future wants of our ra]ii(lly increasing city should not likewise be regarded, 
and also as to the sources of sujiplv. 

•■Our earliest estimates were based upon :i supply of 4,500,000 gallons of water daily 
from Hemlock lake. l!ut upon maturer consideration it was deemed wiser to increase 
the su|)ply to an amount sutticienl to meet the ])robal)le re(|nirements of the po])u!ations 
of the future as in fact upon them was to fall the l)urthen of the payment of the cost. 
While the ( osl was therefore increased about fifty per cent., the su])])ly was doubled and 
the capacity of the reservoirs largely increased. Over eighteen miles more of distribu- 
tion pipes haNC been laid in the streets and one hundred and twenty-one more hydrants 
have been i)nt in plaie than were contemplated. In firct, if we deduct the c:ost of the 
a<lditional eighteen miles of distribution ]ii|ies laid, together with h\(lrants, and valves 
connected therewith, amoimting to abfiut $145,000, the la\ing of service pi])es to the 
curb not antici]jateil at the start, amounting to over $60,000. the value of pi|jes, gates, 
hvdrants, etc., turned over to the e.\ecutive board, costing over $52,000, together with 
many other items of lesser amounts, it will be found that we have actually completed the 
work which was |)ro])osed on the enlarged plan for something less than $3,000,000. 

"On tlie first da\- of |une. 1873, ground was first broken for tlie work and on the 
J3d of lanuarv. tiSyC). after a period of less than two years anil eight months, the waters 
of Hemlock lake were coursing through the pi|)es in the streets of Rochester and into 
the lnjuses of its citizens. 'I'weiity-eight and a half miles of conduit, with all the sto])- 
gates. air \alves and blow-otTs re(|uired, and « ith a cajiacity of 9,000,000 gallons daily, 
had been laid o\er hills and doun through valleys I'rom Hemlock lake. Two great res- 
ervoirs with united capacil)' of 120,000,000 gallons of water had been constructed and 
three gate-hou.ses built : fitty-eight miles of ilistribution pipes had been laid in the streets 
of the city, with five hundred and twenty-one hydrants and seven hundred and forty-five 
stop-gates ])laced in connection with them. A large pump house had been constructed, 
in which were ]iowerful ])umps worked by a large steam engine and two water engines, 
with a united pumping ca])acity of 7,000,000 gallons of water daily." 

The rci)ort closes v\ith \-ery strong expressions of obligations to the chief 
cnt^inccr, aiul confidence in liis professional skill and executive abilities. Let 
us now consider the characteristics of tiie Rocliester water works as constructed, 
and also of the sotirces of the w.iter suppl}'. L'nder the various acts of the leg- 
islature the city of Rochester is authorised to take water for the supply of the 
city from lleinlock and t'anadice lakes. 

I Unilock lake lies in the coimty of Livingston, about twenty-eight miles a 
little to the east of soutli of the city of Rochester. The foot of the lake lies 
wholly in the town of Li\onia. It is six and seven-tenths miles in length and 
an average of si.x-tenths of a mile in width, with a water surface of 1,828 acres. 
its c!e\ation is three hundred and eighty-eight feet above tlie I'.rie canal aque- 
duct in Rochester, .about nine hundred feet above the tide, and it has a maximum 
depth of one hundred feet. The lake is sittiatccl in a retired rural district, in a 
deep, narrow \alley, above the lime formation and in the Marcellus shale. Its 
siiores are mostly bokl bluffs, which cannot be tilled. The beach is also a shale 
and the water is mostly supplied from springs, which prevents it, even near the 
shores, from becoming to any extent niudd)- in times of greatest flood. The 



The Rochester Water Works. 



58/ 



drainage area is 42.39 square miles. The character of the soil on this area ren- 
ders it in fact a great natural filter bed for the purification of the water. 

Canadice lake lies in a narrow valley east of and adjacent to the Hemlock 
valley and is wholl)- in the county of Ontario. The two are similar in natural 
characteristics and the quality of their waters. The latter lake is three and 
one-tenth miles in length, about one- third of a mile in width and has an area 
of water surface of 648 acres. Its ele\ation is about five hundred feet above 
the Erie canal aqueduct. The outlet from this lake passes through a rich but 
narrow valley, for a distance of about one and a half miles from the lake, and 
from thence through a ver\- narrow and rocky gorge, into the \alle}' of the 
Hemlock outlet. Many years ago the outlet of Canadice lake discharged its 
waters directly into Hemlock lake. Now and latterly it has discharged intc 
Hemlock outlet by two channels, one about twelve hundred feet, and one eight- 
een hundred feet from the foot of Hemlock lake, the latter being at the head 
of the Slab City mill pond. 

The water works conduit commences in Hemlock lake one thousand feet 
from shore and sixteen hundred feet from the foot of the lake at the outlet. It 
passes thence through the alluvial deposit forming the valle\', to Hemlock lake 
village, and through the rock\- ridge which crosses the \-alle\^ at that point, and 
which no doubt once formed the northern boundary of the lake, and thence 
follows the valley of the outlet, crossing under the bed thereof thirteen times, 
until Frost Hollow or the village of Richmond Mills is reached, near which 
point the outlet makes a great detour to the east, during which it receives the 
waters of Honeoye lake, and is thenceforward, until it discharges its waters in- 
to the Genesee river at Rush Junction on the Erie railway, designated as Hon- 
eoye creek. 

At Richmond Mills the conduit leaves the \'alley of the outlet and passes 
up and on to an elevated plateau to the west. It passes for about four and a 
half miles across this table-land, which is very broken, and intersected with 
numerous ra\ines of great depth, locally called "gulls," which have been worn 
and washed out of the cla\- soil b\' numerous watercourses having their source 
among the hills to the west and their termination in Honeo\-e creek to the east. 
The conduit then passes along the east side of the three Lima ponds and still 
over a very rough table land, to the old state road leading from Canandaigua 
westward through Lima, and crossing said road about two and a half miles east 
of the village of Lima. Thence it crosses the fields, to the road leading to 
North Bloomfield, thence along the road to the farm of Amasa Martin, and 
thence again across the fields to the Honeoye creek, which it crosses just west 
of the highway bridge which spans that stream on the road leading from Hon- 
eoye Falls to North Bloomfield. From this road it passes still across the fields 
to the village of Honeoye Falls, crossing one of the main streets of said vil- 
lage near the residence of Dr. Miner, thence northerly through a broad valley 



588 History of tiik Cirv of Rociifsifr. 



t<i tlic hiL;ii ridi^c kiinun as l)a\is liill, tliciicc nvw llic cicst tlicrcnf and down 
aL;ain into tlu' \alK_\- of Ildncdyc creek (in tlic east side, thence rising; aL;ain 
nptm the table land tn the eastu.ifd o\'t-i" a broken and rolliiiL; conntry in a 
direct couise to Rush reservoir, a distance of about t\\ ent_\- miles iVoni 1 1 em lock 
lake. h'nim this ieser\nii- the conduit ])asses across the I'lelds fov a distance of 
about one and a half miles, to a point near the location (it the old water works 
coni]).in_\'s stn|-aL;e ri_-sei'\(iir, and h'om thence follows tln' hi_i;hway leadini; from 
la'm.i to Rochester, to the distributint; or Mount 1 lope reser\'oir. 

The lakt' end of the conduit is 1 ,000 feet from shore in thirty leet depth of 
water. 'Ihe pipe, which is of wrought iron, thirty-six inches in <lianuti.-r, ends 
in a taperiuL; nioulh-piece about sixty inches in di.nneter ;U the outer rut]. 
'["his mouth-piece is built into the walls of .1 timber-ciib and ]irojects into an 
inclosed iluunber oi' reservoii', formed by l)uililin!4 a rectanyul.u' box with 
double walls of timbei', around the outsiile, with spaces between the timber 
walls for the reception of stone fillinL;. ()\'er the top of the crib, stri[)s of oak 
arc' spiked, two inches apart, to prevent the entrance of any lartje object. The 
crib thus formed is about twelve feet loni; b\- twelve feet wide and ten feet lii;4h, 
and this is sunk to the bottom of the lake. The pipe thence passes to the shore.' 
and throuL;h the south found, ition wall <if the t;Mte- house, dischari^ing tlie water 
into a reser\oii' uniler the same. ,\crc)ss this reser\'oir is first inserted a screen 
bulkhead, with arranL;ements for double .screens, so that either set can be re- 
moved and cleaned or repaired .it pleasure. In front of this is inserted the 
<jatc bulkhead, b)- which the llou of water is re_L;uIate(l or shut off from enter- 
ing; the thirt\--six-incli ])ipe which ai^ain commences at the inside face of the 
noilh fiumdation wall of the L;ate-house, and thence passes on without brt'ak 
to the l\ush reser\oir. .\ brick house with frame addition is built over these 
bulkheads and is occupied by the Ljate- keeper and his familw The house is 
built on a plat of Land on the laki.' shore owneti b_\- llie city, about six hundri'd 
feet south ot the hii^hway. The pipe is located at such i^n'ade tli.it the siu-face 
of the Like may be dr.iwn (lown ei_L;ht feet if desired. 

.\t the toot oi (.'.uiadice lake the cit)' owns .about tweh'c .acres of Land, 
coverini; the outlet h'om the s.ime .is far down as its junction with the hi<4'hu'a}\ 
Across the liead of tlu' outlet, on the lake shore, is c(.)nstructed a timber bulk- 
head with abutments .md piers of cement masonr_\-, in which are twelve gates 
for tlu; purpose of passint; w.iter fVom the lake. This construction, tot^ether 
with the deepeiiini;- cjf the outlet, allows the tli-awini;' down the surface of the 
lake eiL;ht ieet. It will be seen b)- simple comput.ilious that these constructions 
at the two lakes would enable the cit>' to tlraw upon them as reservoirs at the 
rate of 17,000,000 g.illons per d.iy for a _\-e.ir, ])ro\ idin;; it had a coiuluil ol' 
sulTicient capacit)-, e\-cn thoui^h no water shoukl be recei\-e(l into them from 
any source, except a sufficient amount to bakince evaporation. The minimum 
flow from tliese lakes is xerj- small, but the maxinuim flow is enormous in cjuan- 



The RociiKSTKk Wa'ikr Works. 



tity, thus rendering them peciiHarly fitted for use as immense reservoirs for th 

storage of flood waters, for use during the chy season, for water works suiipl 

and for power for mills. 

Chariutcristici i>f thi- coiidiiH. From termination of pipe in crib in HemKiek 
lake to inside face of south wall of well-house on shore of lake is 1,000 
linear feet of 3-16 inch wrought-iron pipe 36 inches in diameter 1,000.0 

From inside face of north wall of gate-house on shore of Hemlock lake to 
commencement of 24-inch wrought-iron pipe is 3-16 inch wrouglit-iron 
pipe 36 inches in diameter _ 50,776.0 

From end of 36-inch wrought-iron pipe to commencement of the 24-inch 

cast-iron pipe is 3-16 inch wrought-iron pipe 24 inches in diameter 1,913.6 

From end of 24-inch by 3-16 inch wrought-iron pipe to commencement of 

24-inch by 1-4 inch wrought-iron pipe is cast-iron 24 inches in diameter, 30,549.7 

From entl of 24-incli cast-iron to where cast-iron 24-inch pipe again com- 
mences is 1-4 inch wrought-iron pipe 24 inches in diameter 13.809.3 

From end of 1-4 inch wrought-iron pipe to outsiile face of south wall of gate- 
house at Rush reservoir is cast-iron pipe 24 inches in diameter 4,212.2 

From outside face of south wall of gate-house of Rush reservoir to inlet well 

in bottom of reservoir is cast-iron pipe 24 inches in diameter 1,010.0 

'I'otal from inlet well in Rush reservoir to end at crib in lake 102,271.0 

The conduit between Rush and Mount Hope reservoir is of cast-iron 24 

inches in diameter. The distance from foce to face of gate-houses of 

the reservoirs is 46,064.0 

Total conduit from face of gate-house at Mount Hope reservoir to end of 

pipe in lake, including the inlet in the bottom of Rush reservoir 148.335.0 

Making a total of 28.09 miles. 

Rush reservoir is located in the town of Rush, on the town line road bt 
tween that town and Henrietta, and about 1,000 feet west of the highway fror 
Rochester to East Rush. The lot on which it is built contains about thirt 
acres. The depth of this reserx'oir is twenty- three and a quarter feet from bot 
torn to top bank and it is designed to hold eighteen feet depth of water. Th 
outside and inside slopes are two feet horizontal to one foot vertical, with 
horizontal bench of five feet midway of the inside slope. Below tiie insid 
horizontal bench spoken of, the bank is faced with loose stone two feet thicl 
and above the bench with a slope wall of field stone eighteen inches thicl 
The area of water surface when the water is eighteen feet deep, is 13.70 
acres, and the capacity of the reservoir at that depth is 70,033,589 galloni 
The elevation of the bottom of said reservoir is 223.84 feet above the Eri 
canal aqueduct. On the outside of this reservoir is laid a by-pass pipe wit 
gates, by which the Rush reservoir may be shut out of connection, and the flo) 
of water continued past it directly into Mount Hope reservoir, or into the cit 
distribution if desired, with the consequent pressure due to the head of Hem 
lock lake. 

Mount Hope distributing reservoir is located on the Mt. Hope range o 



590 



HisioKV OF THE City ok Rochester. 



hills on the cast side of tlic (icncscc river, a few htindred feet east of tlie jiinc- 
tiuii ofS'iiith and Rrser\ciir a\cnues, about one and tlii'ee- fourths miles from 
the cit_\- hill. It is constrncte-il on a lot owiu-d b_\' the cit\' and eontainini; about 
eiL;hteen acres. The l),uiks are C(-nstructed after the same plan and with the 
same slopes as the Rush reservoir, herelofire described, and with a ^ate-housc 
outside tlu- banks, containing; a nest of sevt;n larLje L;ates which control the 
whole circulation of water, .ind so arrant^rftl that tlu' reservoir can be quickly 
shut out of connection, antl tlie pressure due to the ele\-ation of Rush reservoir 
l.)laced upon all the Hemlock pipes in the cit\' in a few moments. This is done 
at e\er\- al.uiii of fire, a ijon<i; being ])laced in the gate-house to give the notice 
fir that ])ur])ose. The height of the banks of tiiis reservoir is twent_\- feet above 
the bottom. It is intended to hold sixteen feet depth of w.iter. When the 
water is at this depth the area of watei' surface is 5.517 acrt-s, the bottom area 
being j.!^."^" acres, antl tlie resei'voir contains 24,278,101 gallons. The eleva- 
tion of the bottom of the reser\-oii- abo\e the top of the ICrie canal aqueduct is 
109.4 ^'-''-'^- I'roin tlu- bank of tiiis reservoir a magnificent view of the sur- 
rounding counti'v is oljtained, extending southward antl eastward fir a distance 
of more than twent}' miles, .ind to the northward is s|jread the broad surface 
of Lake ( )ntario, dotted here and there with the steam and sailing vessels which 
navigate its waters. 

In the center of Mt. 1 lope reser\oir is constructed a most beautiful foimtain, 
in the form of a frustum of a cone and compt)sed of hard burned brick and cut 
stone. The water is conducted to it beneath the bottom of the reservoir, 
through a cast-iron i>ipe of t\\ ent}'-four inches internal diameter, which is turned 
upward through the masonry to a point a few feet above tlie surface of the 
water in the reservoir, whi're it spreads out into a dome-sha|)ed top, w ith a cen- 
tral opening six and one-eigiuh inches in diameter, with two concentric circles 
of o])enings of \arious diameters around it, nuniljt-ring twenty-one in all. These 
ojienings are so arranged that the)' ma)' be adjusted to various-si/.ed jets, thus 
rentlering it possible to change the gener.il aspect ot the fountain into man)- 
forms of s)'mmetry and beauty. During the summer seasoii all of the water su])- 
plied to the cit)' is thrown high into the air, in jets from this fountain, perform- 
ing the function of thoroughly aerating the water as well as constituting a most 
beautiful and conspicuous object, visible to a distance ■ f twelve to fifteen miles 
in different directions. It is said that nowhere else in the workl can be wit- 
nessed tlie continuous operation of a fountain where the water in such vast vol- 
ume is thrown to such elevations. The height of the jets is due to the elevation 
of the sui'face of the Rush reservoir. A single jet tlirough the central opening 
has been thrown one luuuh'ed and six feet in height. When tlie whole twenty 
one jets are in operation, discharging at tiie rate of about 5,000,000 gallons per 
da)', the elevation attained by the water is from si.xty to seventy feet. During 
the very cold weather of winter this fountain is not used, as the masonry is lia- 



The RocHES'iKK Watkk Works. 59 

ble to be injured by the formation of immense masses of ice. During that pe 
riod the reservoir is fed through a t\vcnt_\'-four inch pipe, which discharges ii 
the bottom near the east end. 

In laying the distribution pipes in connection with the Hemlock system, : 
suppl}' main for the west side of the river was carried under the bed of the rive 
nearl}- opposite the Vacuum Oil works, and it became necessary also to con 
nect the east and west sides with a pipe main at or in the vicinity of Mail 
street. The extrados of the stone arches of the bridge were so near the surfaci 
of the roadway that there was no room to lay the pipes over them. The mos 
obvious method therefore, and the favorite one with many people, was to ex 
cavate a tunnel under the bed of the two races and the river, in which to la; 
the water main. In turn this tunnel would be required to be drained by an 
other leading to a lower elevation. This would have involved an enormous ex 
pense and also great delay in completion. The engineer, therefore, boldl; 
adopted the plan of cutting awa}' sections of the stone arches and replacing th 
same with cast-iron ribs, carried up so as to form a complete double box, ii 
which four wrought-iron mains are [tacked in fine charcoal and convej' th 
water of both systems across the ri\'er. The whole expense of this construe 
tion was about $17,000. This construction is said to have been the first of it 
.kind in this country- and met with much local distrust at the time, but meet 
with full concurrence in its propriety now. 

The lot on which the pump house is located is known as the south part o 
lot number 5 of the Griffith tract on Brown's race. It has a frontage of fifty fee 
on the race and extends back to the Genesee river. There are five water right 
connected with the property, which entitles it to use about one-sixteenth of th 
water supplied by the race. In preparing for the foundations of the walls an 
machinery, the earth and the upper and partly decomposed strata of rock wer 
remo\'ed, until a la\-er of sound rock was reached, upon which the foundation 
were built. The side walls of the building up to the level of the street are fror 
four to five feet thick at the bottom, battering up to two and a half feet at th 
top. The arrangement of the several blocks of masonry inclosed by the sid 
walls, on which rest the boilers, pumps and engines, are too complicated to b 
understood without the aid of a diagram. The superstructure of the engin 
house is of brick, with walls twenty-one inches thick, rising to a height of aboi 
fifty feet and entirely fire proof The roof girders are very strong and capabl 
of supporting the' weight of material which might fall upon it by the topplin 
over of adjoining structures. Heavy manufactured iron beams are inserted ovi 
each piece of machinery to enable them to be readily hoisted in and out 
place. Above the roof, towers a graceful octagonal chimney to a height 
about one hundred feet above the street. In the middle of the facade of th 
building is a cut stone tablet, bearing the inscription, " Rochester water works, 
and above the cornice is a small pediment on which is the date " 1873. 



59- IIisToKV OF •niE Criv ok Rocmkstkk. 

Tlic macliiiiLT)' consists nf three distinct parts. The first is a sc-t nf four 
combined stt-ani ])i>t<>ii i.-n'_;ines, the cylinders iniin^^ si.\tei.'n inclies in (hanieter 
and twenty-Seven inches stroke, with \>irial)Ie expansion i;ear so arr,in_L;ed as to 
either coiuk-iise- the used steam or else to run l)y hiL;h pressui'e and exli.uist 
into the chimiie)'. 'i"o tlu'se tour entwines four double-actint; ])unips ten inches 
in diametir and twenty inches stroke' are attaclu-d, so that the piston rod of 
cacii steam cylinder also becomes the [)iston rod of the correspondint^ pump 
CN'linder, altiiouL;li these rods arc in two pieces, whicii may be coupled or un- 
coupled at [ileasure b}' means of keys or wcds^cs. The ci'ank rods of the steam 
eULjine are connected in a similar manner to the crank [)ins, so that any of these 
eilLjines, with its correspondin;^ i>ump, m,iy readil)' be det.iched and isolated 
from the remainder of the st't. The foui' eiii^ines and their jjumps are enj^a^ied 
on the two sides of a subst.mti.il and L;r.'icelul arched frame of cast iron, sup- 
porting on its top the cnmk shaft, which bears the l.u'L^e (ly wheel, .i L;ear wheel 
and the eccentrics for the opcr.ition of the slide \;il\es. The two cranks at tli< 
end of this sh.ift .ue at riL;ht ani;les to e.ich other, and as two eiiLjines are 
cou]:)led to one crank [jin. one ]>iston of this ]).iir will be at the middle ami the 
other at the bei^inniuL; or end of its str(.)ke, and hence it follows that in one rev- 
olution of the b.alancc wheel there \\\\\ be ei_L;ht successi\c discharges of four 
tlouble-acting pumps, which serxes tile pur])ose of imparting as nearly as prac- 
ticable a ste.id}- pressure .and uniform flow of water in the pipes and mains of 
tile cit\'. The second ]iart of the m.ichinery consists of .i rot.ir)- steam engine 
l)lacetl in front of the above-describetl steam set, operating two rot.ir)- pumps. 
The third p.u't is the w.iter set, whicli consists of eight d(.)uble-.icting puniji^ 
arrangeil in two sets, e.'icli having four cylinders nine inches in diameter ;md 
tw entv-four inches stroke, mounted on heavv cast-iron arched frames similar to 
tlu' ste.im set. The power use.-d to oper.ite these two water sets is deri\x-d from 
two turbine water wheels, working under a lie.ul of about ninet\' feet. I'ln 
steam for the steam engines is furnished bv three boilers located in the front 
portion of the building, ;m\' c)ne of whicli ma)' lie used separately or all of them 
togetiier. 'l'he\- are five feet in diameter, sixteen feet long, and furnished with 
fift\'-cight heating tubes three and a half inches in diameter. Tlic water to feed 
them is supplied from a donkey engine and pump in the engine room. Tin 
four comi)int:(l steam engines will develop a power equal to that of three hun- 
dred horses, .and the rot.ary engine a power of one hundred and fifty liorses ; 
their pumping cap.icity is guaranteed to be not less than 3,000,000 gallons in 
twenty-four hours, while that of the two pumping sets is rated at 4,000,000 
gallons. 

Water is supplieil to the two turbines tlirc)ugh a huge wrought-iron tube 
four and one half feet in <.liami;ter aiul formed of plates one fourth of an inch 
thick, tile bottom of which rests ujjon a solid piece of masonry .'it the surface 
level of the ri\er. The wlieels are located at either side of this iron flume, and 



The Rochester Water Works. 5 



are supplied through two smaller tubes branching out into the water-tight ca 
inclosing the turbines. The wheel pit is an immense excavation down throu 
the solid rock, of an elliptical form, with a larger diameter of about sixteen f 
and a lesser diameter of about ten feet. This excavation is carried down 
about one foot below the level of medium low water in the Genesee river, tl 
utilising all the head furnished by the ujjper fall of the same in the city. 
secure a supply of water to the pumps, when Brown's race is drawn off for 
pairs, a twenty-four inch wrought-iron supply pipe is extended from the C 
roll and Fitzhugh race south of Main street, and two water rights were p 
chased thereon. This will not only furnish water for the pumps, but will 
case of necessity operate one turbine. This supply pipe is also connected w 
the Hemlock main in Main street, so that in case the water is drawn from b 
of these races at the same time, the Holly pumps may receive a supply fr 
the Hemlock system. 

During the year 1877 a first-class telegraph line was constructed from Ro 

ester to Hemlock lake, to be operated as a private line, to facilitate the m 

agement of the water works. It was built under the personal supervision 

Henry L. Fish, then chairman of the executive board, which board took cha 

of the \\atcr works after the term of office of the board of water commission 

had expired in October of the preceding year. The line required the use 

809 white cedar poles twent\--five feet long. The highwaj- was followed 

whole distance and was a little over thirty miles long. The cost as reported 

Mr. Fish was $3,139.32. Stations are established at the fire department bu 

ing on Front street, at the water works oflfice in the city hall, at Mt. Hope 

ervoir, at Rush reservoir, at Honeoye Falls, at Richmond Mills and at the j 

house at Hemlock lake. At first the Morse instrument was used, but 

short time replaced by the Bell telephone and transmitter, which have wor 

admirabh-, enabling the chief engineer to give the most minute directions at 

times for the care and management of the pipe conduit. At the time oi 

construction it was regarded with considerable curiosity, as being the k 

est telephone line then in constant use for commercial or other purposes 

The wrought iron conduit was regarded as an innovation from the recei 

methods of water works construction, at least in the eastern part of the Un 

States. Although several miles of this conduit had alread}- been laid by 

Spring Valley water company of San Francisco, and another line to su] 

Virginia City from Marlette lake, with a pressure upon it in one part of 

canyon through which it was laid, of seven hundred and fifty pounds to 

square inch, yet hydraulic engineers at the East looked upon it with suspi 

and had never dared to use it in water works construction. As the intro( 

■"f '"'^ tion of this pipe to the extent to which it was finally used in constructing 

Rochester works would save about $750,000, the chief engineer after carefu 

vestic^ation recommended its use, and time has proved the wisdom of the f 



594 History of the Citv of Rocmks-i'er. 



Tlic pi]ies were niailc of boiler-plate iron, rix'etetl and caulked in len<;ths of 
aljoiit U\ent_\--eiL;ht feet, in the same manner as for steam boilei's. The)- were 
tiieii heated, and i)luni;ed in ,i Ijath comjxised of a mi\tui-e of nativ'e asplial- 
tum and ck'odniised coal tar, heated to a tem[)erature of al.iout 300 dei,n"ees 
I'"ahrenlieit. After remaininL; therein from t\\ent\' to thirt>' minutes the)- were 
remm-ed and .illowed to di-i[), ;ind tluMi tr.ins[)orled 1)_\- rail and road waL;oiis to 
tile points where the_\- were to be laid. Three of these lengths were then ri\'- 
cted toi^ether and the resultiui^ lenL;th of about ei;^ht_\--four feet lowered into 
the trench b\- the aid of two dei'ricks, and the bell ami s])i<;(it ends connected 
\\ ith hot lead joints to pro\-idc for contraction ,md expansion. 'I'lie bells were 
of cast iron and were ri\eted to tile wi'ouL^ht-iron pi])es, as were also the 
spigots, where the jjressure was heaviest. As previously stateil, there was laid 
of this pipe (>(>,. \')i) line.ir feet, a portion of it beint; under a constant head of 
about 54C) feet. 

Tile followin;^ t.ible will sliow the cost to April 1st, 1SS4: 

I'rocecils of water works bonds issued for const ructiiij,' - $3,182,000 

Rei:ovcreil In ( oiurartor. including interest, in a suit against the city _ 50,000 

I'aid for two additioiuil water rights on llrown's race 7-.S°° 

I'ro[)crI\- purchased at lienilock lake and \illage- 26,000 

House- and barn ,11 Rusli reservoir (about) . i,Soo 

.Xdditioii to Ikjusc and ne\s barn at 1 leniloek lake (about) , 1,000 

Raised 1)\- ta\ in 1.S76 fir pipe extensions in city _ 75.ooo 

" 1S77 '• " '• •' " -- 30,000 

'■ 1.S78 '• " '• '• " .. 50,000 

" ' 1S79 •' " " " " 3S'0°o 

'' '• ' " 1880 " " " " " - 3S-000 

" ' 18S1 •• " ■' " " _ 37>749 

• '• 1S82 •• " " " " - - 50,000 

' 1883 •• " " " " --- 75,000 

'iotal - - - - - - - - $3,656,049 

The [)ipes kiid in the cit_\- streets are cast iron, of sizes varying from four in- 
ches to twent_\--four inches in diameter. .None of the fire h)-drants have less than 
two discharges, and at important pcjints they have three. The total length of 
pipe mains laid in the city is 142.69 miles. The number of fire liydrants set is 
1,220. The number of gates set is 1,426. The number of services to con- 
sumers is about 15,000. The average ilail\- use of water from the Hemlock- 
lake suppl)- is about 4,500,000 gallons. The average daily use of water from 
the IIoU)- s_\-steni is about 1,500,000; making a total of 6,000,000 gallons. 

.Since the construction of the water works s\-stem the attention of the cit- 
izens of Rochester and surrouiuiing towns lias been strongly attracted to the 
beautiful natural scenery- about Hemlock lake and the purity of the atmos- 
phere along the surrounding hills. y\s a consequence, it has become a poj)- 
ular resort for our citizens during the hot summer weather, and more than one 



The Rochester Water Works. 595 

hundred cottages have been erected along the shores of the lake, many of 
them \'ery tast}' in design and convenient in arrangement. There are also 
several hotels or summer boarding-houses for the accommodation of transient 
visitors. Owing to the careful surveillance exercised b)- the cottages and the 
water works authorities in regard to the disposal of organic wastes, no appre- 
ciable pollution of the lake from this cause has yet occurred. 

During the waterworks construction a considerable number of suits of some 
imjiortancc were instituted and sharp!)- contested, but the more important liti- 
gations have occurred since the board of water commissioners finished their 
work. The first suit of any imjiortance arose out of the dissatisfaction of George 
D. Lord, the attorney or assignee of the contractor for the work, with the final 
account rendered by the chief engineer and adopted by the water commission- 
ers. He therefore commenced a suit against the city for the recovery of the 
sum of $600,000. After several trials, continuing through a series of years, the 
case was settled by the city paying to him $50,000. 

The ne.Kt suit of importance was brought against the cit_\- b}- an association 
of o\-er thirt}- millers, interested in the water power along the outlet of Hemlock 
lake and Huneo\'c creek. The_\- claimed that, as riparian owners, the}- were 
entitled to the use of all the water natLn-all_\- discharged from Hemlock and 
Canadice lakes. The cit_\- claimed that Hemlock lake was navigable water, and 
that the w-ater as \\-ell as the land underneath \\-as the propert}* of the state of 
New York, and that the grant b\' the state for a public use, such as the water 
supply of the cit\- of Rochester, was entirel)- within its pro\-incc and jurisdic- 
tion. The millers asked for a permanent injunction to restrain the city of 
Rochester from diverting any of the waters of either lake to its use, and for 
such other relief as the court might grant. The case was first tried before the 
late justice David Rumsey, who held in effect that in the settlement of the ques- 
tion of the respective rights of the state of New York and the commonwealth 
of Massachusetts to the tract of land including the said lakes, the fee of the 
land was ceded to Massachusetts and the " sovereignty " and government to the 
state of New York, that Hemlock lake was navigable water and that the "sov- 
ereignty " carried \\-ith it the ownership of the water as well as the land under 
w-ater in said lake and therefore that the state of New York had a perfect right 
to grant the water as it did to the city of Rochester for public use, and that 
the riparian owners on the outlet below were entitled only to the water which 
might reach them after the water granted by the state for public use had been 
abstracted. The plaintiffs appealed to the general term, w-hich aflSrmed the 
decision of the court below. The case then went to the court of Appeals, which 
ordered a new trial and held that any actual damage resulting to the mill own- 
ers, in consequence of the diversion of the water by the city, must be paid by 
the defendant. To avoid frequent and vexatious suits for the recovery of pre- 
tended or actual damage, the city has determined to commence proceedings for 



S'j6 IllSToRV OV THE ClTV OF ROCHESTER. 

tlic Cdiuk-mnatidii nf the ri^ht to usl- Tor all time such an anioiint of water as 
can be ccuuexeil by the present Cdnduit fi'Dni the lakt-s — to wit, y, 000,000 
gallons iK-v (la)-. The papers in the case are bein;^ ])repare<l at the |)resent 
w ritiiiL^. 

I'rolessor A. R. I .eeds, of the Stevens Instituteof Technolo-)' at I loboken, 
i\. J., made an aiial)sis in i.SSj of the waters snindied to the princi])al Ameri- 
can cities by their water works. lie rated Hemlock hike water as number 2, 
in i)urit\-, with Hrookl\-n headini; the list as numbei' 1. The following is his 
analysis, the results bein^; t;i\cn in Ljrains per i,^allon : i\nal)-sis of a sample of 
Hemlock lake water received on Juh' 2 5d, 1<SS2, b\' A. R. Leeds from J. W'l- 
sou Tubbs of Rochi'stei', chief eni^ineer of W.iter works. 

1 — free aunnnnia - o.ooo<S7 

2 — .Mhuniinoid aiiniionia 0.013 

3 — U\\ yen reiiuired _ 0.46 

4 — Nitrites . _ none 

5 — Nitrates. . _ 0-367 

6 — Chlorine _ o.i 13 

7 — I'Dtal haniness .3.20 

8 — Permanent liarihiess . 

9 — 'l'eni[K)rary iiardncss 

,0 — 'I'dtal solids 5.83 

I I — .Mineial mailer 2.33 

12 — ( )ri;anic and \()latile matter .... ... .3.J0 

TIh- follnuin!^ is a reference to all the laws relatinij to the Rochester water 

works: 

(1ia|.t(-r I 7 c; lausnf 1835 — I n(<)r|)(irates the fu'st Rochester water works company. 

( hapter 356 laws of 1852 — " " second " " " " 

Chapter 275 laws of 1853 — .\meilils chap. 356 laws of 1852. 

Chapter 78 laus ut 1856 — 

Ch.ipter 430 laus of 18O0 — .\uliiorises sale of stock of (I. \'. R. R. and aid to die water 
works company. 

Chapter 140 laws of 1863 — .Amends charter of compan)-. 

Chapter 155 laws of 1867 — .Authorises city to aid in construction. 

Chapter 232 laws of 1S68 — Repeals chapter 430 laws of i860. 

Cha])ter 207 laws of i868 — Ratifies proceedings of water works (■om]jany. 

Chapter 255 laws of 1S69 — .Authority to increase the issue of water works honds. 

C'hapter 387 laws of 1S72 — .\ii act to supply city watli water. 

Chapter 771 laws of 1872 — .\n act to amend the several acts relating to city. 

(hapter 75.) laws (li 1873 — Restricting and delining powers of water commissioners. 

< 'hapter 649 laus of 1874 — .Authorising the issue of $3,000,000 of city honds. 

Chapter ;^^ laws of 1S75 — In relation to taking ])roperty atlversely. 

Chapter 39 laws ot' 1875 — '■ '• '■ " 

Cliaiiter 563 laws of 1875 — In relation to care and custody of water works. 

Chapter 593 laws of 1875 — In relation to issuing bonds to pay interest. 

Chapter 561 laws ol 1875 — To investigate proceedings of water commissioners. 

Chapter 37 lausut 1876 — Creating executive board and giving it charge of water 
works. 



THK RdCHKSIKR W'aTKK \V- 



59/ 



Chapter 213 laws of 1877 — Allowing exchange of registered bonds, 

Chapter 464 laws of 1877 — To acquire lands adverselv. 

Chapter igo laws of 1879 — Water works and fire board cimstituted. 

Chapter 537 laws of 1879 — Confers additional powers on water works ami fire boanl. 

Chapter 29 laws of 1881 — To acquire lands adversel) . 

Chapter 120 laws of 1882 — Three-cent frontage tax instituted. 

The writer of the foregoing history, having designed and supervised flu 
construction of the present system of water works for Rochester, has also hat 
the gratification of retaining his official connection with the work as chief en- 
gineer up to this date, enabling him to counsel and advise as to the methods of 
nianagment, to perfect the rules, regulations and rates, and to settle the genera 
policy of the cit\' in reference to its water works. This intimate connectioi 
with the design, construction and development of our water works system to ; 
certain extent precludes him from exercising to a full extent the rights and priv 
ileges usually assumed as part of the functions of a historian. He has, therefore 
endeavored to confine himself to a bare statement of facts and figures, withou 
stating conclusions which might in any way seem to be prompted by a desin 
to manufacture a present or posthumous professional reputation for himself. Hi 
however feels that he should have signally failed in the performance of his trus 
should he omit to say of the gentlemen who at various times constituted the boarc 
of water commissioners, and who in spite of all sorts of opposition projected anc 
conducted to a successful issue a work of so great magnitude and one fron 
which has resulted a career of substantial prosperity for the city of Rocheste 
not previously dreamed of by the most enthusiastic citizen, that they are enti 
tied to the confidence and gratitude of e\'cr_\' person who enjoys the residt ol 
their completed eftbrts — a supply of pure and wholesome water. Many per 
sons occui))-ing subordinate stations in the conduct of the great work serve( 
faithfidly and well, anil, while the limits of this article will not admit of ai 
enumeration of their names and services, both are preserved in the archives of 
the water department, and their connection with the great work will ever bi 
remembered b\- them with pride and gratification. The citizens of Rocheste 
are also to be commended for the pride they have in their water works, the car 
with which they foster them and the cheerfulness with which all consent to tax 
ation, that the blessing of a full and copious supply of pure water may be mad 
easily accessible to every citizen. 



5y8 History ok thk City of RociiiiSTF.R. 



CHAPri'lR l.III. 

K0(I1I-:M KK .MA\ll-A(n UMS. 1 

DiMT.il.nl Nairn,' nflu-i I ,i. lu.i i ir. — K;irlv I'M,|.hrtu-s Fullillc.l, Willi m.iiil- Ya. ialinii — lln Wa- 
ter I'uwn aiMl Floiiiiiii; Mill, of Minor ( '. .nsi.U-ralioii in llu' Fi-i .,f Klltcr|)rise^ — Clothiiii^, Slioo^. 
Iron Work. MadiiiR-ry. Wo.hI Work. Flour. Hi-er an.l a Wi.k- Range of Mi^celknu•ous Articles in 
tin- 1-1,1. 

Till", Stranger who arri\-cs in Rochester at meridian of a June day in 1884, 
or wlio passes throiiij;h tlie city upon the elevated track of the Xew \'ork 
Central & Hudson Ki\er railua\-, cannot but s.ty it must be a place of numer- 
otis industries. .\s his train crosses llu- river within a few feet of the tipi)t-r 
("icnesee falls, if he easts his e\-es northward, he will see ttpon the west bank 
the long line of stone structures which mark the progress of the first industry 
gixing the place a name now falling into disuse — the Mour city. Upon the 
east bank, in bold relief, the vatilted aiul towering <tructurts bespeak the bev- 
erage with which the dust}' miller of the opj)osite bank can clear his throat if 
not contriit with pure Hemlock water. Next on he sees the river spanned from 
high bank to high bank b\- a bridge one htmdred feet from the water. The 
bridge, which is of iron, rests upon stone abutments and remains a monument 
to the founder of tlie h'.ast Rochester bridge and iron wt)rks — Thomas Leigh- 
ton. The east and west sentinels are the Bartholomew brewing compain-, and 
the Rochester brewing comp.iny, while, just below, the stream winds around 
the gaping wounds of a dead enterprise — Kelse>''s flats — the excavated sluice 
ways of which the inexorable hand of time has converted to natural gullies. 
The [)lateau just Ijeneath the east <ibutments is occti[)icd by the East side gas 
works, while in the immediate foregrotind tijion the east brink of the falls 
stand the time and mist worn walls of tin- old mill erected b)' Palmer Cleveland 
in 1S18, and upon ilu- west brink towers the imposing brick edifice of the Steam 
(iaugeand Lantern company, whose increasing business is to be accommodated 
by the one hundred b_v filly feet atiditional structtire just erected. The old 
saw-mill has given up the ghost with the foolhard}- jumper who made its loca- 
tion fimous. The declaration of Sam Patch that '"somethings can be done as 
well as others" is demonstrated in the immediate vicinity in a multitude of 
w.ivs b_v the ap])li.inces and machinery notitnh' not dreamed of in the days of 
Patch, l)Ut employed in the ni.uuif icture of goods, the use of which were not 
known to the late lamented Samuel or his compeers. To the left are the Roch- 
ester cotton factor)', the Rochester car wheel works, R. Whalen's tobacco works, 
W'm. (ileason's machine works, the Kidd building with A. J. Johnson & Son's 
shoe factor}-. Within a strip bounded by the river wall on the east, State street 
on the west, the Central railroad on the south and Furnace street on the north, 
are clustered industries which give employment to over three thousand persons. 

1 This chapter was prepared by Mr. Henry C. Daniels. 



RoCHKSTER MaXUF.U'TUKES. 



599 



Looking to the south from the same locality the sohd blocks of Mill street 
strike the eye upon the right, and upon the left the equally solid structures of 
North Water street, where are concentrated nine-tenths of the shoe manufac- 
turing houses. The Stewart building, with its tenantry of mixed labors, and 
the Rochester gas-light company are the east and west approaches of Andrews 
street bridge. At noon or at the close of labor this bridge is thronged with 
thousands who pour from the various shops and factories. A similar daily 
scene is enacted at Central avenue — an improvement secured by the elevation 
of the New York Central track adjoining — at \'incent place and at Court street. 
The increase of the manufacturing interests of Rochester also calls for an addi- 
tional crossing between Vincent place and the high falls. It has been much 
talked of and will be a fact before this publication becomes old. An inquiring 
\isitor to Rochester will ask: "What are the principal industries?" The gen- 
eral answer gives clothing first place, then shoes, then flour, then iron and the 
metals, then wood and its accompaniments of furniture, frames, etc., then possi- 
bl)' beer and a host of miscellaneous industries. The aggregate of the lattei 
have contributed more to the growth and prosperit}' of the city than an\- large 
special industry. It is indicative of the solid nature of a large number of these 
miscellaneous enterprises that they originated in small ways and were gradu- 
ally nursed into proportions exceeding the growth of the cit}- in extent. Foi 
instance, the Archer chair works, commencing with the making of one chaii 
at a time strictly by hand ; the Farley & Hofman show-case works, Stevens 
& Son, box makers; the Vacuum oil company, the Cunningham carriage works 
the J. C. Lighthouse collar works, the A. V. Smith harness company, J. G 
Cramer, paper bag manufactory, Bausch & Lomb, optical works, and others 
which can be more properly classified with special, rather than miscellaneous 
industries. It is nowise strange that saw-mills and flouring- mills should breal 
the stillness of a new country or lend accompaniment to the music of the cat- 
aract of Falls town ; nor that with the completion of the Frie canal, when the 
Genesee country was "out west," the famous cereal should become a standarc 
article of the market — when nature furnished the power that was tireless, cease- 
less and inexpensive. Neither is it strange with the opening of the waterway 
to tidewater that the building of canal boats should come in demand and thai 
along the banks of the Erie the sound of the caulker should be heard in tht 
land. Though canal boats are still in demand their necessity so far as Roch- 
ester is concerned has passed. The railroad brings raw material to its doors 
and carries products from its mills, shops and factories with the quickenec 
speed compliant with the requirement of a later day. The building of cana 
boats has died out gradually, and within the past five years scarcely as man\ 
boats have been constructed. 



6oo History of tiik Citv of Rochestkr. 



TlIK MI1,FI\(; AM> (■0.\TIN(;F:N'r INTKRKSTS. 

It is ail okl storv tliat Roclicstcr first ac(|iiircil repute witli tin: outside 
woiUl tliri>UL;li her llcniiiiiL; mills, and that Ioiil; before her f.mie as the I''lour 
cil\- w'.is heralde<l, a number of mills were erected, commenciuL; with the In- 
dian Allan mill on the west bank of the Genesee in 1798, on or about on the 
site of the mill now occupied b>' Chacc & Co., on Aqueduct street. Nearer 
the hi^di falls, in 1807, Charles llanford built a small mill. In 1814, Elisha 
and ller\-e)- Ml\- and Joseph Beach built a larye mill where I',. R. Andrews's 
lari;e ])rintini; establishment now stands. It was burned in 1837. In 1817 
two mills were built — one b)- Win. Atkinson on the upper (east side-) r.ice and 
the other 1)\' 1'.. Stront;, II. Norton and I'".. S. Heach on the lower race. In 
1818 r.ilnuM- Clevekunl erected the mill at the east l)rink of tlu- hi<;h f.ills, which 
passed into difterent hantls successi\-ely and rapidly imlil abandoiU'd to furni- 
ture, turnin;4-shops, etc. In 1821 Thomas 11. Kcjchester and IIar\e\- M(.)nt- 
L;()niery put u]) a mill north of the Heehi\e, and 1 K'r\-e_\- I'',ly erected the 'vlCly 
mills" at the t:ast end of the .u|uetluct. A small mill built by I^lias Shelmire 
in i8:!6 was demolished to make room loi- the new aqueduct in 1829, and in 
the same \'ear the bi^ mill (capacity sixteen run of stone) was erected on the site 
of the Ik-ehive building,' b)- E. S. Beach, Thomas Kempshall and I larvey Ken- 
ned}-. These j)arties took thirty-two of the scvcnty-six water riyhts to the 
upper r. ice- way, projected in 1817 by Nathaniel Rochester, Charles Carroll antl 
Willi, im I''it/huL;li In 1818 I'dish.i Johnson Ijuilt the ui)[5er race-wav on the 
east side and Alattheu Brown constructed Brown's race about the same time. 
'Thus it will bv seen that lari;e transactions and larye enterprises, for those da\'s, ■ 
were tln' order from i8i8to i8j8. In I 8 j6 Matthew Brown built the mill run 
b}- W'arham Whitney.' In i8j8 a fIoui-ing-mill was built by V. Habcock at 
the lower falls. This briuLjs us to a ])oint where the successive construction of 
remaining mills are mentioned later on in the notes upon each of the separate 
mills of the present da}-. 

'The first canal boat loaded with Hour left 1 lilTs basin, on the east side of the 
(ienesee, for Little T'alls, on the Mohawk, on October 29th, 1822. 'The first 
boat-k>ad of flour that crossed the old acjueduct from the western siile was 
shipped from the warehouse of Daniel I*. Parker, who also received the first 
consij^nment cjf merchandise from the east over the same work. 'The first cargo 
of wheat from Ohio to Rc.ichester was lirought in 1831 b\- the old Hudson 
and T^rie line, on consignment to Hervey Ely. On the opening of navigation 



' W'arliain Wliiliic-y is |)rol)al)Iy t" l>c- credited with the construction of the first grain elevator in 
America. In this year he constructed a strap anil bucket elevator for carrying wheat into the bins of 
a warehouse erected on the site of F.. li. Parsons iS: Co. 's malt-house opjiosite the present Whitney 
elevator on Brown street, at the canal. A good boat-load of wheat then was 300 bushels, drawn by 
one horse, the horse being utilised as power to elevate the wheat. The property bouudeil by State 
and Urown streets in front of the Whitney niill was used as a mill-yard. Mr. Whitney also built a dis- 
tillery north of and adjoining the mill. 



Rochester Manufactures. 6o 

in the spring of 1823 there were shipped during the first ten days ten thousam 
barrels of flour from Rochester eastward. In 1826 the output of the severs 
mills in Rochester was 150,160 barrels. In 1853 there were twenty-two mill 
in the city, with one hundred run of stone and a capacity for grinding 20,00 
bushels per day. Since that day the entire business has changed with the pro 
cesses of making flour. In the old days Rochester made her reputation for bes 
flour from white Genesee wheat, which was transported on floats down the Gen 
esee ri\er, was hauled in wagons or later on was boated down the Genesee Val 
ley canal. Among the extinct mills of the prime milling days of Rochester ar 
the Cit)- mill, Phcenix mill, Shawmut mill, Xew York mill. Granite mill and Clin 
ton mill. These are all converted into other manufacturing establishment> 
with the exception of the New York, which was burned and its ruined walls or 
nament the site to-day. The City mill, on Aqueduct street, was erected in 183 
by Erasmus D. Smith and passed into the hands of General E. S. Beach, fror 
whom it was purchased in 1854 by Louis Chapin. Mr. Chapin came to Roch 
ester in 1831 and prior to his purchase of the City mill was connected wit 
Beach & Kempshall in their mill enterprises here, at Akron, Ohio, and at For 
Byron. He conducted the City mill until 1866, when the building passed int 
the hands of George N. Gallagher, who converted it into a turning-shop. Jus 
prior to this transfer it was conducted for a year or so as a mill by A. & A. Bur 
bank. Charles J. Hill commenced the milling business in 1831 in the ston 
mill which then and for many years thereafter stood on South Water, nearest ti 
Main street. He afterward took the adjoining mill and for a time in compan; 
with David S. Bates (one of the engineers who were engaged in surveying th 
route of the Erie canal) continued the business under the name of Hill & Bates 
About 1835 he purchased a mill at the lower falls and continued the busines 
there in his own name until 1840. In 1847 he resumed the manufacture of flou 
in the mill on South Water street now nearest to Main street, where he contin 
ued until February 22d, 1876, when he finally retired from business, havini 
been associated the last twenty-si.v years of that period with his son Charles E 
Hill, under the name and firm of C. J. Hill & Son. In 1827 Everard Peck con 
ducted a paper-mill in a portion of the abo\'e-mentioned structure. 

The Clinton building was built in 1837, as a flouring mill, by James K. Li\' 
ingston, and sold to Jesse Hoyt, of New York city, who rented the same ti 
John Bradfield and J. O. Hall. John Bradfield purchased the same in 1847 fo 
$18,000. The original building \\as added to on the east end to increase th 
dimensions. The east wall of the new part had its foundation on a level witl 
the river bed and is four feet thick, decreasing in thickness to the top, which i 
eighteen inches thick and 150 feet high. In the new part were located thre 
iron overshot wheels, twenty-one feet six inches in diameter, and eight fee 
buckets so arranged that the water passed from one wheel to the other in sue 
cession, the water being used three times before leaving the building. Thi 



602 IllSlOkV (IF THE CiTY OF RoCIIKSTER. 



feature in wattT pDWcr was considered quite an innoNatinn ,ind advance in those 
d.i\s. 'I'lu' mill at that time was considi'red the mmK 1 mill of the slate and was 
planned 1)_\ Joseph (Jualtroip^h, who was at that lime ( I .S52) fcii'eman for Mr. 
Hradfield, tc intin\iinL; in thai eapaeitx' until I<S6(;, when the mill passed from 
John Hradlield to Joseph I'utnam. tlu'ii to W'm. A, lirown of New \"ork city, 
then to Jiihn Smith, and fmall)' to 11. 1.. ^K: L. f. I'ratt, who are the owners 
.It the present time. It w.is burned out and remained idle for some linn' until 
it w.is occu[)ieil as a m.iehine shop tlurin>^ 1S7-' and 1S73 by Mai'vin ( )tis and 
since .\])ril, i 874, has been occui)ied b_\- J. S. ( li.diam iv Co., as a machine sho|) 
tor the manufacture of wood-workinL; machinery. John Kane, IIk- junior p.iit- 
ner of (Ir.ih.im \ (.'o., who now conduct a lar^e and successful business, points 
with pridi- to tin- (act when a boy he was a baia'el nailer in the same building;. 

The I'honi.v mill, tlu' site of the (li'st mill built on the lowc'r race, has been 
converted into machine wcirks by V. !'. Michel, who purchased the ])ropcrt\'. 
The Shawniut mills, conducted by Moses H. .Seward, J.imes M. W'hitne)', after- 
ward Whitney iv Pond, is now occu])ied Ijy the \'an de Carr sp'icc works. The 
(iranile null was built b_\- 11. H. Williams in 1835, owned and manai^'ed by (ien. 
Headland II. H. Willi. mis until I .'^49. .Subse(pu'iit owners were William Rich- 
.u'dson, ("ieorL;e J, Whitney, k.ly Brothers and J.irxis I,(.)rd iS: Son. It is now 
con\'ertetl into .i machine stoi'aL;c sho[), and was until receiill)' usi.'d in the pro- 
duction of powei' f)r I'leelric li^htinL;. The Ke\'ere mill was built b_\- lulmund 
l.yon ani-1 William Churchill in I.S^c;, ,ind in I .S40 w.is pui'chased b\' Joseph 
h'ield. kroiu I 850 to 1856 ,1 Huston tirm were p.irtners with (). L. Ani;e\'ine, 
who comnieiiceil as clerk lor Mr. k'ield in 1840. In 1858 the mill was sold to 
the I). K. H.uton tool comp.ui}'. The .litna mill was established in tin: Curtis 
block, corner of Main and \\"ater streets, in 1 841;, ,md continued to 1856, Hen- 
jamiii Hickok, Thomas \'oun^ .and II. N. I leriick, William l'rinL;le, llo\-t (S: 
Ciould and (). L. An;j;evine bcint; successive owners. The Ontario mill, North 
Water street, was conducti-il from 1876 to 1880 by C. Wilson, then Ijy Wil- 
son i<; .Ashlon. The I'",;ii4k; mill, R.icc' street, coiulucted from I 88 I to 18841.)}- 
Richardson iK: Ni\en, ceased to exist .AjM-il 1st, 1884, the room being taken b\- 
the extension of \i. K .Andrews's printintij business. The Central mill, J. R. 
I'ciitecost iv Co. ])roprietors, on Main strei't {Democrat & Clironicle -hwWi^wv^, 
was burned with that buildin;^ in 1874 and rebuilt. Operations ceased in 1882. 

The de\elo[)ment of wheat-growing in the West and the increased trans- 
liortatioii ficilities offset the reduced acreage in Western New York. With the 
f.iilures of the local crop, iiotabl)' in 1853 and 1855, it becanic imperative to 
look west for the gr.iin. Michigan commenced to proiluce a fine grade of 
w hite w he.it, aiul no inconsiderable amount of C.uiatla w hite w heat was imported. 
Can.il- bi.iats were enkargt'd, ele\ators were erected and the shipments ofwhe.it 
from the West became enormous. .A severe bliglit upon the millers' profits 
was the inforced handling and sale of the flour by New \'ork commission mer- 



Rochester Maxl'factures. 603 

chants, while, the bulk of the product being shipped by canal, the returns upon 
the same were speculative and uncertain; rentlercd more so by the opportunity 
afforded the commission merchant to report sales or " no sales" according to the 
fluctuations of the market. The sa\'ings and earnings of a lifetime were often 
swept away in a season and the business came to be looked upon as unsafe and 
undesirable. Following this state of things, with the improvement of rail ship- 
ment (which it was expected would give Rochester millers a better control of the 
marketing of their own flour), came the most unjust discrimination in freight 
rates. There were whole seasons when flour could be shipped from St. Louis to 
tidewater for one-fourth the cost per car of the cost t'rom Rochester. St. Louis at 
this stage had become the flour city of the country, with Minneapolis crowding 
rapidly to the front. This discouraging state of affairs brought the interest to a 
low ebb for several )'ears. Then came the roller process of making flour, which 
changed the whole machiner\' of flour-making. The white winter wheat, consid- 
ered so necessary for the production ot first ciuality flour, became secondary to 
the spring wheat of the West by the gradual roll process. Burr millstones were 
put aside and the rolls substituted. This developed Minneapolis as the first 
flour city of the world, Rochester dropping to third in rank. All this time the 
freight discrimination against Rochester continued. Rut farsightcd men who 
were still "grinders at the mill" foresaw the possibility of freight equalisation 
by legislation and made a combined move in that direction, which succeeded 
in the second year of the effort. Charles S. Baker, the city's representative at 
Albany, is deserving of credit for his valuable assistance. The detail of this 
move and its results is a histors- of itself Meanwhile the new process was 
seized upon and adopted and in the t\vent\- mills of the present day nearly all are 
roller mills, as will be seen by the annexed table, showing ownership, process, 
and capacity in barrels per day. 

NAMi:. DWM.KSIHI'. 

Whitney Mill, Farley, Ferguson \: Wilson, 

Frankfort Mills, Boardman, Sherman & Co., 
Flour City Mills (A), Moselv cS: Motlev. 

- " " (B), 

Irving Mills, Slone & Campbell, 

People's Mill, George Merz, 

Washington Mill, J. A. Hinds, 

Jefferson Mill, J. C. Davis & Son, 

Arcade Mills, Chase & Co., 

E.xcelsior Mill, Elwood & Armstrong, 

Union Mills, Jarries Cornell, 

Empire Mill, Gerling Brothers, 

Hill Mill, Joseph H. Pool, 

Crescent Mills, W. S, McMillan & Co,, 

Model Mills, George Wilson, 

Ely Mill, James Wilson & Co,, " ac 

Total daily capacity 2,9c 



I'ROC-KSS, 


l;HI,S. I'KU IMK.M. 


Roller, 


25° 


" 


200 




250 


•' 


250 


Stone, 


100 




100 


Roller, 


225 


" 


225 


" 


200 


Stone, 


100 


" 


100 


Roller, 


200 


" 


15° 




17s 


" 


17s 



6o4 History ok the City of Rochester. 

The capacity ab<>\c L;i\cii is not extreme and is equivalent to the present 
output. Tliere is no better niachincr)' in the world than that of the Rochester 
mills and with the e<|ualisation of freiijht rates and no disaih'antages in the 
market the Rochester product now stands A number i and all the mills in the 
cit}' are beini; run to full capacit)', with but sliLjht chance for discontinuance 
from an_\' cause. Herewith L;i\en is a condensed sketch of the separate mills 
of the present d.i_\-. 

W'hitne)- null, Hrown's race, built b_\- Matthew Hrown in 1X26 and run b)- 
W'arh.im Whitney, in 1S41 b_\- (leor^e J, W'hitne)-, 1S50 b\- John Williams, 
1S54 b>- Willi. ims & Whitncv, 1S5:; by (i J. Whitney, 1S5.S by James Gallery 
and lohn Williams, 1.^39 b)- John Williams ; 1870 by Joseph H. Fool, and in 
1874 it was [)urch,ised by the present proprietors, Joseph l-'arle_\', jr., Ale.v. l''er- 
tj;uson and l)a\id C. Wilson. It was ori^inall)- a four-stone mill, antl in 1882 
the present owners cluuiLjed it to ,i roller mill of the lar^(.-st capacit)-, puttiuL; in 
$22,000 worth of machinery. 

l'"rankfort mill, Hrown's race — rebuilt in i860 b_\' Ruhis W. Main, oriLfi- 
nally Main & Chapman, afterwaril Smith S: Chester, now i5oardman, Sherman 
iv Co., (ieortje Motley antl others also o])erated the mill f >r a time. 

I'lour Cit)' mills ,\ and 15, Hrown's race — two \-ery lar^e later-da\' mills, 
one of brick and one of stone, both erected since 1875, H mill on the site of the 
Boston mill (<iwiied 1j_\- James Conolly antl burned in 1867). Geort^e Motlc)- 
and Araunah Mosely were the founders of the business, Jirali H. Mosel)' suc- 
ceedinij his father. Charles I^. Angle and ]■".. A. Webster are members of the 
present firm of Mosel\- & Motley. These mills ai'c fitted up with the most im- 
pro\'ed roller appliances for both winter and sprin<^ wheat, and the products have 
a larije local as well as outside trade with unsurpassed reputation as to ([ualitj'. 

Irvin<; null, 15rown'srace — founiled in 1840, successive owners J. C. Stone, 
E. W. Carr & Co., James Campbell, and now controlled by a son of the latter and 
a son of one of the still earlier owners under the firm name of Stone & Camp- 
bell. It is ile\<>ted to ])roducts for the local trade, including rye and graham 
flour. Teoiile's mill. Brown's race — constructed in 1857 by E. Hradfield, after- 
ward run b)- (jeorge Moulson and in 1872 purchased b}' (ieorgc V. Merz. 
Washington mill. Brown's race — erected by Hiram Smith in 1835, ]5resent 
owner J. A. Hinds. Jefferson mill. Brown's race — also erected in 1835 by 
Hiram .Smith, and conducted by him foi' many \-ears. Jennings, Davis & Co., 
were ])roprietors in 1876, and J. G. D.ivis & .S')n are present proprietors. .Ar- 
cade mills, .\(|ueduct street, near site of the first Allan mill ;uid okl Red mill 
built by Nathaniel Rochester in I 82 I ; present mill built in iS/Ob)- Chase, Eord 
& Smith; afterward Chase X: Smith; Chase, Bri.stol & X'iele; now Chase & 
Bro. Ivxcelsior mill. Race street — originated 1876, Elwood & Armstrong 
proprietors, e.xclusi\-el)' custom. 

Union mills. North Water street — James Cornell, proprietor, established 



Rdciikstkr Manufactures. 605 

1876, exclusively custom. Empire mill, North Water Street — constructed in 
1840 by P. W. Jennings as a tannery and warehouse for sale of hides and wool 
by Erickson & Jennings. M. B. Oviatt converted it into a flouring mill, taking 
S. L. Oviatt into partnership. In 1865 it passed into the hands of Ellis & Ha- 
seltine and in 1872 was bought by Jacob and Valentine Gerling, who now con- 
duct it. Since its purchase by Gerling Bros., it has been converted into a roller 
mill, with capacity greatly enlarged. It is devoted to merchant milling and alsc 
to the retail trade. 

Hill mill. South Water street (see preceding reference to C. J. Hill) — taken 
possession of by Joseph H. Pool in October, 1878. Mr. Pool conducted the 
Granite mill from '62 to '68, the Jefferson mill from '68 to '71, and the Whitney 
mill from '71 to '75, and built the "B" mill purchased b_\' J. B- Mosel\'. Cres- 
cent mill — built in 1835 b\- Jacob Graves and Thomas Plmerson. In 1846 it 
was sold to Gideon W. Burbank, who in 1870 transferred it to George W. Car- 
penter and Chauncey Young and they in 187 1 sold to W. S. McMillan & Co., 
the present owners. Model mills. South Water street — built in 1 849 by Joseph 
Hall, passed into the hands of James Wilson and Stebbins, Wilson & Ross, 
Smith & Elwood, Wilson & Pond, the present owner George Wilson, taking 
possession in 1878. Ely mills — rebuilt in 1844 and conducted by Bostwick 
& Kennedy, passing into the hands of Aaron Erickson, who sold to the present 
owners, James Wilson & Co., George Wilson being the junior partner. The 
mill was burned and rebuilt in 1872. A small mill on Lake avenue known as 
the Hygienic mills, drawing power by cable from the lower falls, until recently 
has been conducted by Kelh" & Bennett, and now b\- Mr. Bennett. A new 
mill is in process of building in the same locality for Mr. Kelly. 

The business contingent upon milling flourished apace, cooperages, stave 
mills, milhvrighting, boat-building, etc. Among the earliest coopers were 
I<-phraim Moore, John Densmore, Mark Daniels, S. W'. D. Moore, the Put- 
nam brothers, John Wall, John Daniels, John McKelvey and brothers, W. F, 
Sterritt, W. B. Geddes, Frank Skuse and others. Among the earliest boat- 
builders may be mentioned James Doolittle and Seth C. Jones. General A. 
W. Riley in 1834, '35 and '36 had a boat-yard at the east end of Court street 
bridge. Colonel John Histed also had a boat-yard and saw-mill in close prox- 
imity, and the state in taking the ground for the new aqueduct bought Col- 
onel Histed out. In the same section Jeremiah Hildreth and Wm. W. Howell 
conducted the business. As early as the spring of '27 Seth C. Jones built boats 
at the yard now bounded by the Erie canal and Allen and Warehouse streets. 
Hildreth, Howell and Ambrose Cram all learned their trades with S. C. Jones, 
Ezra Jones was associated with S. C. in these enterprises and, the latter retir- 
ing in 1848, Ambrose Cram was taken in as partner. In 1857 Henry B, 
Knapp took the place of Ezra Jones, and this partnership continued until 1867. 
From '62 to '67 this firm had two yards — the Jones yard and that now par- 



6o6 History of tiif, C'itv ok Rochesikr. 



tially occupied by the ]\Iiniici])al ijas works at tlic junction of Canal street 
antl West avenue. Charles Ma;j;iu- liuilt bo, its on the site of the ]iresent 
Wliitney elevator in an earl_\- ila\-. jml 1'. Milliner and W. I?arron Williams 
established a _\ard at Oak street in iS4<S, and continued to 1.S51, Mr. Wil- 
liams retiring;'. Robert Harrett succeeded Mr. Milliner some ten vx-ars later. 
An event of considerable nmment in 1.S50 was the construction of a steamboat 
for California coast service at the Milliner _\'ard. This boat was made in sec- 
tions; was about 22 feet beam; nf li^i^lu draft and was shipped to California in 
sections, where it continued in service a lon^ time. Zina H. Benjamin was a 
boat-builder of some note at Canal street from '4S to '60. The Oothout malt- 
house is the site of the early Howell boat-yard. Lucius Dubois, William W. 
Smith and Geors^e Silence were followers of Hnwell, who was the brother of 
Richard Howell, a boat-buikler of later da_\s. ( X'ficer John Dana of the Roch- 
ester police force, who learned his trade of the ekler Howell, was engaged in 
boat-building during the brisk da\s of the business. Ex-maj-or Henry L. 
Fish, an industrious forwarder for man\' \ears ranging from i<S40 to i860, 
sa)'s that tliough not a boat- builder he built one hundred boats and wore them 
out. Walter Harhydt was a successful boat-builder in i<S47— 58 in a j'ard near 
Hill street. In 18^7 I.ars I.aison had .1 tlry (.lock .and l)nat-\'.ii'tl on C.iledonia 
avenue, where West Main street crosses the ICrie cinal. The last of the buikl- 
ers and the only ones of <m)- particular extent were l'hili])J. Mev'er, 1849— 1882, 
and his brother C. C. Meyer, 1860-188J. 'Idiev followed the rise and fall of 
the industr)- and were among the latest to put boats on the lu'ie canal. A sol- 
itary scow for transporting brick re[)resents the interest to-dav, for, as has 
been before stated, the facilities for shipment by rail has ruined this industry. 
The erection of mills called for services of the millwright. Prior to 
1830 Robert M. Dalzell was depended upon f)r the several mills then con- 
structed. He was the first to supplant the old-fashioned wooden gearing with 
iron. l'"ollowing Dalzell came John ICggleston, Marcus Jewel! and John Lutes, 
the ])resent worthy overseer of the ])oor. Lutes came to Rochester in May, 
l,S35, h.aving just completed service on the first railroad in America from Al- 
ban_\- to Schenectad)-, ,1 wooden tram road. He worked for Dalzell many 
\-ears and in 1850 commenced for himself, continuing about twent\- \'ears. Jo- 
seph Cowies, Mill street, is the principal millwright of the present day and has 
followed the business twent)'-fi\e v'ears or more. 

THE (■l,OTIII\(; I.VTERKST, 1820-I884. 

In 1820, when Canandaigua was a place of much more importance than 
Rochesterville, Jehiel Barnard enjoyed two distinctions — one of being the first 
man to enter matrimony and the other of being the only knight of the shears 
in the place. Soon after Patrick Kearney hung out a sign from a wooden 
building on State street, located about where the Flour City bank now stands. 



RociiKSTEK Mamkactlkks. 6o; 

This sign read : " Good clothing for sale cheap here." In 1 822 Ciiarles Thomp 
son, the first New York cutter, came into the field and found employment witl 
iMr. Kearney. This was sixty- two years ago, and Charley still sits cross-legget 
in the Smith block and plies the needle and shears. At the time Kearne) 
flourished there were three houses on the west side of State street from Bufiah 
street to Ann street — now West Main and Allen streets. Charles Ta\-lor ii 
1825 ventured to open a tailor-shop on the site of the Reynolds arcade. Afte 
that, came Stoddard, Jennings, Smith & Horin (who carried on a large busines 
for the then fast-growing place), George Byington, to be succeeded b\- an afte 
generation ; Joseph Kavanaugh, W. T. Preston, George A. Wilkin, Georgi 
Shelton and then the Front street and bridge crowd, including Greentree, Wile 
the Coxes, Meyer, Michaels, Caufmann and others. Meyer Greentree was thi 
founder of the wholesale manufacture of clothing about 1850. He was closeb 
followed by the Seligmans, Wiles, Altmans, Stettheimer, Wollf & Bachman ant 
the score of manufacturers continuing to the present day. Rochester is thi 
fourth city in rank for bulk of business, following New York, Philadelphia anc 
Chicago, while for quality and make of goods it stands decidedly first. The in 
vestment is over $3,000,000, with nearly three times that amount in building? 
The annual sales are $9,000,000, and $1,500,000 is paid for labor, feeding 15, 
000 mouths. Whole streets, notably in the fifth, sixth, eleventh and thirteentl 
wards, are devoted to work on clothing, and there is a s\-stem of sub- employ 
ment where from fifteen to forty persons (including in many cases all except th^ 
the extremely \'oung members of a family) are grouped in a single house, work- 
ing with machines and by hand. There is also a thorough system of inspectioi 
of work, together with sufficient local rivalry to produce the best goods to b 
found in the market anywhere. This is evidenced in the fact that Rocheste 
clothing sells very largely in the great clothing centers. There are a dozei 
houses with sales of half a million dollars or more annually, and the busines 
formerly centralised in Mill street but within the past three years has divided 
a good portion moving to North St. Paul street, where are magnificent build 
ings devoted to the interest. It is a great interest and brings a considerable am 
increasing revenue to the city. 

Simon Hays & Sons, Mill street, manufacturers of men's, youths' and boys 
clothing (in the trade there is a distinction between youths and boys), presen 
firm organised in December, 1883. Between 300 and 400 hands are employee 

Strouss, Moore & Beirs (Elias Strouss, Louis W. Moore, Sigmund Beir ant 
Isaac J. Beir); partnership was formed in 1876, doing business on Mill streel 
In 1882 the present large and commodious building on North St. Paul streel 
built by F"rank Little, was taken. Five floors are occupied, the first for cas 
goods and cutters, the second, third and fourth for ready-made goods and th 
fifth for manufacturing. The specialty is boys', youths' and children's clothing 
Employment is given to 500 or 600 hands and the annual sales are $500,000 



fioS llisioRv (IF iiiK Cnv OF R()chf:ster. 

Garson, Meyer & Co., oris^iinntiiig in 1862 with M. Garson. In 1870 Mo- 
ses Garsoii, Tlu-uljald Me_\cr and Morris Mej'er orLi.misi'd tlie present firni, 
whicll moN'ed in 1881 ti> the |)re-sent huildinL;- on North St. i'aul street, oeeu- 
])_\'in,L; fi\'e floors and ^ixint; eniploynient to iietween 400 and 500 iiands in the 
manufacture of _\'oullis' ciotiiinL;. 

Weber, Sheii, Kosenhainn & C"o. (jose])li Weber, l-"r.uik j. Sheii, Isaac Ro- 
senbauni, Jolm A. S[)iess) ; location on Andi'ews street, orijanised in 1881 ; spe- 
cialty, boys' and chiith'cn's ciothinij ; ijive eniplo)'nient to 250 liands. Henry 
Scluvartz & Co., Mill street, organised in 1865 as Schwartz Bros. & Co. ; a spe- 
ciality of line clothing from imported fabrics is made by this house; employ- 
ment 173. Hays & Thalheimer, Mill street, originating with M, & S. Hays; 
specialty, a better class of nun's and boys' clothing; employment 300. 

Michaels, Koch & Co., .Muniford and front streets; originating with Henry 
Michaels in 1863. This house is one of the largest, occupjang a magnificent 
building, {•'ull lint's of nu;n's and l)oys' clothing are manufacturetl and the house 
does not m.irket in Xe'w \'ork eit_\' ; em])loynient 600 to 700. 

Cauffman, 1 )inkles])iel & Co., North St. I'.uil, oi-iginating in 1880, formerly 
Cauffinan, Strouss & Co. ; sijecialties, fine lines of men's, j-ouths' and bo)-s' 
goods ; employment is given all the s'ear rouiul to 600 to 800 persons. This is 
exceptional, as most houses ha\e three to four months' cessation between sea- 
sons. Market for goods extends as far west ami south as CoK^rado and Texas. 

L. Adler, Bros. & Co., North St. Paul street, Lamberton block, have just 
taken the store recently occupied by Gallagher, Johnson & Co. The latter firm 
went out of business this spring, and L. Adler & Co. occupy the whole of this 
immense double building; si^ecialty, youths', boys' and children's fine clothing ; 
wholesale merchant tailors and importers of woolens and tailors' trimmings; 
goods manufactured on the ])remises as well as outside; em])loyment 800 to 
900. I.eiser & Weinberg, Mill street; specialt\\ youths', boys' and childrens' 
wear; em[)loyment 200. A former member of this firm is I'". S. I.eseritz, 
actuar\- of tlie clothiers' association of Rochester, of which Simon Stern is 
president and J. Michaels is secretary and treasurer. Rosenberg, Wolff & 
Blum, Mumford and Mill streets; organised in 1864 under name of Kolb, 
Rosenberg S: Co. ; S])ecialty, men's fine goods only; employment 350. 

Wile, Brickner & Wile, originating from Grecntree & Wile, the first retailers 
to engage in wliolesale manufacture, about 1850; Mill and Mumford streets; 
specialty, men's clothing of medium and better grade ; employment 800 to 900. 

Kolb, McMahon & Best; Mill street, specialty, men's wear. The senior 
member of this firm, Michael Kolb, was one of the early retailers, and among 
the pioneers in wholesale manufacture ; employment about 400. 

Stein, Bloch & Co., North St. Paul street; specialty, boys' and children's 
wear ; employment 700 to 800. This house and that of Levi, Adler & Co. 
are divisions of the former extensive house of Stein, Adler & Co., then the larg- 



■Itf r 



Rochester Manufactures. 609 

est house in its line in the country. Levy, Schwartz & Co., North St. Paul 
street, specialty, men's wear; employment 500. L. Garson & Co., North St. 
Paul street ; employment not stated. 

Joseph VV. Rosenthal & Co. was the first house to locate on North St. Paul 
street in the Archer building, corner of Mortimer street, carrying on a very ex- 
tensive business in boys' and children's wear ; cmpIo)'ment varying from 600 to 
1,000. The partnership now is J. W. Rosenthal and Max Mock. This com- 
pletes the list of manufacturing clothiers, with the exception of J. A. Briten- 
stool, who manufactures pants and vests exclusively, on Mill street. Besides 
the interest in the manufactures in Rochester, many of the firms own, control or 
have large interests in extensive clothing stores in different parts of the country, 
notably the Cleveland clothing house, Cleveland, Ohio ; Excelsior, Cleveland ; 
Excelsior, Baltimore, Maryland ; Rochester clothing house, Albany ; Excelsior, 
Saginaw, Michigan ; Model, Indianapolis, Indiana ; Garson's, Denver, Colo- 
rado. 

Rochester clothing is shipped to every state and tcrritorj', and to every city 
of jjrominence in the United States. 

phe shoe manukacturixc interest. 

The four greatest shoe manufacturing cities in the United States are Lynn, 
New York, Philadelphia and Rochester. Ranking fourth, Rochester has about 
$2,500,000 capital employed in this industry, which gives employment to about 
5,000 persons ; sales, $6,500,000 annually. While not so large a business is 
done as in some eastern cities — for instance, Lynn, Mass., with its 200 manu- 
facturing firms — still, Rochester is pushing to the front among the prominent 
cities where the wholesale manufacture of boots and shoes affords employment 
to an army of workers of both se.xes. Perhaps we can glorify somewhat on 
the fact that, though not the first in quantity, our goodly city acknowledges 
no superior in the quality of the article produced. Western dealers hold the 
work of our prominent manufacturers in such high esteem that they display 
conspicuously the placard, " Rochester-made shoes sold here," as though they 
would indicate to their customers that this is an inducement which cannot be 
gainsaid. No more agreeable hour could be expended than that occupied 
in an interview with one of the old-time shoenien of our city, who are still dev- 
otees of the last, and who can give points upon the various advances made in 
this important branch of the industrial arts, step by step, as it were, from the 
primitive stoga of cow-hide to the elegant boot of to-day ; the one hammered 
out by all hand labor, the other finished throughout by machinery ; the one 
occupying two good days to make, and the other turned out at the rate of 
1,500 pairs /^r rt'/r/w. There are those in our midst who have been through 
all the phases lying between these two extremes, and who are still engaged in 
the trade ; men who have lived long and useful lives in this community, and 



6io History of the City of Rochester. 

wild are entitled to the escutcheon which Ljives the producer the only rank- 
known in this countr)- of civil equalit}'. The first shoemaker in Rochester was 
Ahnei- Wakt'lee, 1S12. and soon after came Jesse Conj^don and W'm. 1. Han- 
lord, lesse W. I kUch, \\ht> wcirked at the bench in Rochester villaL;e in I S :; I , 
is still in hiisiiiess as a larL;e manufacturer of the most I'ect-nt invention in shoes, 
viz., ,in all -machine-sewed child's shoe, j^ix'int; nexihilit)- to the sole and pro- 
tection to the toe. lie has been prominent!}' connected with a L;reat number 
of imi)ro\eil methods ,uid im])i-o\ed m.ichines. At a countv fair hekl in this 
cit\- (in 1853, we think) the Sini;er sewing-machine was exhibited with rt'L^ard 
to its ada]UabiIit\- for shoe stitching;, and, failini^' to work satisfactorily, it was 
t.iken to Mr. 1 latcli's sho]), where it ix-ceivetl alteration at his hands which k-d 
to the L;eni-ral and uni\-ersal intro(huTi<in of sewinij-machines in connection witii 
the wholesale manuficture of leather work. k'roni this period the use of ma- 
chines reccMNetl <in impetus of wondei-ful extent. ' Our worth)- townsman has, 
in various other wa}'s, contributed to the jjcrfection of \aluable improvements in 
tlu' ait, has made and lost a L;i'eat deal of money, has given emploj'menl to 
thousands of hands, and with the same tireless energy is still carrying out prac- 
tical projects, with e\c'r)' promise of ultimate success. Besides, he has li\-ed 
to see his oiil\- three sons all prosperously engaged, directly and indirectly, in 
tile shoe tiade. .Surely, when he lays aside the busv cares of this life, his 
reflections must be of a ])leasing and satisfactor)' nature. John Cowles, in 
earl)' )-cars connected witli Mr. I latch, established a reputation as cutter, some 
time before the Mexican war called from this jiatriotic cit)- its tjuota of volun- 
teers. Henr\- and l.\-maii Churchill were earl)- I'etailers and among the first 
to t-ngage in the wholesale m.inuficture. 1 )eacon Uren Sage, deceased, was 
one of the first shoemen in Rochester, (ieii. Jacob (iould, deceased, was a 
])artner with S.umiel P. (iould, and afterward with Get)rge (iould, long before 
the t'stabli^^hmeiit of the |-"armers' & Mechanics' bank, of which the general 
was president. The late John Ailing was in the shoe trade an the east side 
of the ri\er a great man)- )-ears ago. lie was at one time a large dealer, but 
re\'erscs dro\e him back to the bench and lapstoiie, and he dietl in the harness. 
S. Y. & L. W. Ailing ke[)t a shoe store forty-five )-ears ago, where Post's drug 
store is now located. The late James Vick, of prominence in the floral world, 
was a vender of boots and shoes many years ago. Iv II. (irover and William 
Roades were among the pioneers in the craft. k'.x- Mayor Bradstreet and his 
brother, X. F. Bradstreet, were in the Iratle more than a cpiarter of a century 
ago. William X. .Sage has been foi' man)- )-ears identified with the interest 
in all its branches. ICbene/.er T. Oatle)-, who filled the position of cit)- assessor 
so long and acceptabi)-, went into office after )-ears of experience in the shoe 
trade, on the site of the I'dwood Memorial block. The late Rand.dl Andrews, 
father of Ivza R. Andre\\s, li\-ed to a good old age to " make and repair" for 



1 Sec anne.Vfd sketch of the introduction and progress of shoe manufacturing machinery. 



r 



RocnESTKR Maxufactures. 6ii 

many in the vicinity of Frankfort who have been long since gathered to their 
fathers. His name brings up emotions of veneration and respect. 

Aside from the fifty wholesale firms, there are upward of fifty retailers who 
employ help. There are 150 makers, each having shops, and employing more 
or less help. Besides, there are a diversity of trades adjunctive to the shoe 
trade. There are the tanners, the leather workers, the machine makers, the die- 
cutters, the last-makers, etc. There are also private shops and "teams" who 
make for one shop or another, that would not be counted in. In 1865 the an- 
nual product was 18,000 cases; in 1871 it was 80,000 cases, and now the pro- 
duct is over $6,000,000 worth. Three prominent firms aggregate a business 
of over $1,000,000 annually. The oldest wholesale manufacturing house is that 
of Pancost, Sage & Morse, dating its foundation back as far is 1826, although 
the wholesale manufacture was not commenced until 1852. This house sold 
out in January, 1884, to the Huiscamp Bros., large manufacturers, of Keokuk, 
Iowa. This house contracts for the penitentiary labor of about 150 hands. 

Hatch Flexible shoe compan)-, river front, Andrews street, J. W. Hatch 
being the head of the compan\-, has a specialty of children's flexible shoes, with 
the protection toe, made under a Hatch ]5atent. They are bought and sold all 
over the countr}- and are made under ros'alt}', b_\- large manufacturers particu- 
larly in the East. Associated with the senior is Charles B. Hatch ; direct em- 
ployment is given to one hundred hands. 

The Hatch patent crimper company, ri\er fiont, is conducted by A. J. & 
J. L. Hatch, and manufactures, under its own letters patent, what is known as 
the Hatch Rochester counter — a crimped waterproof stiffening. They are sold 
to manufacturers and the trade in them increases annually. About one hun- 
dred hands are employed. 

Patrick Co.x has been one of the principal wholesale manufacturers, on North 
Water street. The business is now invested in the "P. Cox shoe manufactur- 
ing company," P. Cox president, and F. Holland secretar)\ PLmploys four 
hundred and fifty hands in the specialty of ladies', misses' and children's ma- 
chine-sewed shoes. Nearly $200,000 are disbursed annually for labor. 

A. J. Johnson & Co. (J. I. Robins) founded by A. J. Johnson in i860; 
Kidd building. Center street, where 350 hands are employed. The specialty 
is ladies' machine-sewed shoes; output 1,500 pairs daily and capacity 2,000 
pairs. The principal market is west and south. 

Reed & Weaver, South St. Paul street. The specialties of the house are 
ladies' and misses' McKay sewed, Goodyear welt and turned shoes, all fine 
work; employment 250 to 300 hands; principal market south and west. 

Wright & Peters, North Water street ; specialty, ladies' fine shoes ; em- 
ployment 250 hands; market general. 

D. Armstrong & Co., North Water street ; specialty, ladies' fine shoes; em- 
ployment 100; market general. 



6i: 



IIisr<)k\- OF Till-: Crrv of Rocin-:sTEK. 



Williams & Hoyt, Xorth Water street, (>ri<4iiiate(l in iSj^; specialties, boys', 
\(iii tils', misses' anil eliildren's machine sewed and ( im idyear welts, alsii a line of 
childri'n's turned slun-s; employment ^OO to 350 hands all the \'ear round, with 
an output i>t I.JOOto 1,500 ])airs d,iil_\'. Willi. uiis iv lloyt ha\'e an eastei'u 
s.ilesroom .md stock depoi in New N'ork. whei-e the ti'aile of that cit\-, UrookK'n 
aiul all the surrounding; cities and towns is supplied. 

H\rni_s, DuL^anK- Iludson, Nurth Water street, specialtx'. boys', \-ouths', 
men's and children's e.\clusi\ely line shoes; employment 100 hands; out]Jut 
400 to 500 ])airs each day; market general with branch store in New N'ork. 

Brooks & Reynolds; ort^anised in iSjj; specialt\', women's and misses' 
shoes; emplo}-ment 140 to 150 inmates of the Western New ^'ork reformator)- 
(House of RefuL;e) an<l thirty to fort)- outside; output ^oo p.iirs d.iily. 

i'homas Holtou, Andrews street, corner Water, ori;4inatin,L; in \X~2 with I'lu-- 
l,ui & Holtou ; speci.ilty, McKa)' sewed, hand-seweti welts antl hand-sewed 
tmais; em])loyment ^fjo to jOO ; capacit}' yoo pairs daily. 

Jeremiah I'helan, North Water street; specialty, e\clusi\el_\' fme hand-turned 
ladies' shoes; employment 1 40 to 150 haiuls ; output 250 ])airs tlailv. Market 
i^a'iier.il from Portland, Maine, to rortlaiul, CJreijon. 

Curtis ^: Wheeler, Mill street, orit^inatcd in 1S70 with George (lould. Son 
& Co.; s])eci,i!ty, men's and women's fine goods, Coodx-ear welts; emjiloyment 
250 to 300 hands; out])ut 600 pairs dail_\-. 

Cowles Hros. & Co. (V.. 11. and K. W. Cowles and Thomas Ashton), Mill 
street ; s])ecialt\', misses' and children's shoes ; employment 80 hantls. Helm 
& Young, C(.)rner Water & /Xndrews streets; specialty. ladies' and misses' m.i- 
chine-sewed shoes; emplo\'ment "O hands. 

Wheeler & Smith, Hrown's race ; s[ieci,ilty, l.ulit-s' machine sewed fine shoes, 
employment 40 hands; output I 20 pairs d.iily. 

|. H. l')\-rnes. Slate street; specialty, ladies', misses' ;uid children's haiul- 
turiuii .uid Mi:l\ay sewed shoes ; employment 200, capacity 90O pairs daiK'. 

1.. !■'.. D.ike is ,1 mantificturer for the trade in the Heehi\e building. 

A. C. l''.;istwood, corner Mill .and I'"actor_\- streets; specialt)", men's, boys' 
and Nouth's fine shoes; emplo\'nu-nt 60 h.tnds. 

Cioodger iH: Naj'lor, North Water street; specialty, lathes' hand-turned, 
hand welt and McKa)- sewed fine shoes; employment i2ohands; output 200 
])airs tlail)-. Mr. (ioodger commenced shoe manufacturing in 1858. 

(iriffin kV lloyt .are manufacturers of children's turned shoes on West Main 
street. 

1 lason & Ratelle .are manuficturers of men's fine boots and shoes, h.uul and 
m.achine-sewed ; corner Water and Andrews streets. 

I lough & h'ord. State street ; s])ecialties. Ladies', misses' and children's hand 
.uid m.achine-sewed shoes; emplo)'ment 200 hands. 

II. llow.ard & Co., River street ; specialt}', machine anti hand-sewed ladies' 
fine shoes ; employment 75 hands, capacitj' 200 pairs dail\-. 



RocHEsi-Kk Maxufactures. 613 

Hennessy Shoe company, South St. Paul street ; T. Ilennessy, president, 
W. M. Purcell, secretary ; specialty, ladies' and misses' hand and machine- 
sewed shoes; employment 75 hands, capacity 250 pairs per day. 

John Kelly, corner Water and Andrews streets, established i<S72; spe- 
cialties, ladies', misses' and children's McKay sewed, Goodyear welt and hand- 
turned fine shoes; employment 160 hands. Mr. Kelly is one of the earliest of 
the later-day manufacturers. 

Levis & Broxholm, North Water street, employ about tuent)--fi\-e opera- 
tives in turning out ladies' and misses' McKay sewed shoes. 

Eugene McEntee employs about the same number in the same line as 
above, on River street. 

Robinson & Cole, corner Court and South St. Paul streets ; specialties, 
misses' and children's, boys and youths' machine-sewed and standard (screw) 
fastened shoes ; employment forty to sixty-five hands ; capacity 200 to 300 
pairs per day ; market general. 

Ross, Levis & Pfeiffer, South St. Paul street ; si^ecialties, ladies', men's 
and children's fine shoes, hand-welt, hand-turned and McKay sewed ; em- 
ployment 60 hands. L. P. Ross, of this firm, has for years conducted a 
large jobbing trade on State street. His sales closely ajipro.ximate a million 
dollars annually. 

D. H. Westbur)- & Co. and Boor & Co. are likewise wholesale manufactur- 
ers of average capacity. 

The Rochester Shoe company-, John Vogt president, manufacture misses' 
and children's fine shoes on River street ; capital stock $20,000. 

C. R. Richards, web slipper and insole manufacturer. North Water street ; 
business established in 1 874 ; this is the largest web slipper factory in the 
United States; capacity 5,000 cases or 500,000 pairs per annum. Mr. Dick- 
inson, a former partner, is also engaged in the manufacture of a superior grade 
of men's, women's, misses', children's, boys' and j'ouths' cork and imitation 
cork insoles; capacity 100,000 dozen a year. The trade is exclusively whole- 
sale with the principal jobbers of boots, shoes and findings throughout the 
entire countr)-. There is also a trade with Canada, England, P"rance and Ire- 
land. Employment is given to fift\- operators. Mr. Richards, who is a na- 
tive of Rochester, has been in the business upward of fifteen years. 

The Rochester Slipper company (Henry Utz and William Dunn) gives 
employment to about 100 operatives in the manufacture of slippers. 

James H. Phelan, corner of Furnace and State streets, manufactures 
hand and machine-sewed shoes; emploj'ment thirty to fifty men; he has 
for a number of years also conducted a retail business in Mumford street. 

Hooker, Gardner & Co., river front ; established in 1877; specialty, men's 
hand and machine-sewed fine shoes ; emplo)-ment fort>- to fift}- men ; out- 
put 125 pairs daily. 



6i4 History of the City of Rociies-i'fr. 



Williams & Merrill established in 1822 the tanner)- on North Water street, 
which in 1X55 passed into the hands of S. \'. & L. H. Ailing, the former of 
ulinm has been an active business man in Rochester sixt\'-three years. The 
tirm conduct a large tanner)- at Campbell, Steuben count)-, \\-here are tanned 
annuall)- 1 5,000 hiiles. 

J K llunt, Xnrth Water street, established in 1870, has built uj) an 
immense Ijusiness in tlu- nianuficture of paper boxes, princi[)all)- shoe boxes, 
having almost a monopol)' of this work for the shoe factories of Rochester. 

Colonel S. S. Edd)-, N<irth Water street, conducts quite an extensive busi- 
ness in the manufacture of morocco, established by him in 1869. 

The earl)- tanners of Rochester were Jacob Graves, R. Trenaman, P. W. 
Jennings, L. cK; H. Churchill. S. \'. & L. H. .\lling and Austin Cross. Oliver M. 
Cross & Sons and W. II. Cross are successors to the elder Cross, l-"ront street, 
in leather belting, the scraps from which are largel)- used in the manufacture of 
leather boaril and shoe heels. The shoe manufacturing of Rochester does not 
now call for local tanneries, and all the manufacturers import their stock from 
tlu- ])rintip,il manufacturing centers. The only extensive tanner)- now in RcjcIi- 
ester is tluit of J. l". Lighthouse, extensive manufacturer of L'nited States mail 
bags, and horse collars. Mr. Lighthouse's business is of sufficient extent and 
importance to receive extended mention. 

The original hist-maker of Rochester was Horace Wing, who establishetl in 
the Curtis block on Last Main street antl the river in 1822. In 1832 W. W. 
Shepard learned the trade of Wing, and folknved the business continuously until 
the present da)- and now carries on a shop t)n North Water street, nestled aiiKjng 
the shoe houses. Mr. Shepard has seen rdl of the few^ changes in the process 
of last-makmg in the fifty-two )-ears he has followed it. He has the modern 
autoniatic last tm-ner and special ai)pliances tliat his own experience has sug- 
gested. 

John Dufneris also one of the old last-makers of Rochester, though not 
dating back quite so far as Mr. Shepard. He now carries on an extensive busi- 
ness on South St. I'aul street, under the tirm name of John Dufner & Son. 
riiouKis and Charles l^odil)- are last-makers in the Stewart building. The shoe 
factorits also call tor the work of the die-cutter and the case-maker, who will 
be mentioned under other headings. 

I he following is a condensed sketch of the introtluction and progress of 
shoi-making machiner)-, for which we arc indebted to John W. Hanker: — 

•'The tirst pegging machine was used in 1859 al the penitentiary, by L. & H. 
Churchill, contractors for women's shoes. The first .McKa\- sewing-machine was started 
in 1863 by Pancost, Sage 1.S: Morse. It was used for sewing women's shoes, and was 
chained and locked when the operator was not using it. J. VV. Hatch and the Churchill's 
soon adopted it in improved form. It has since been greatly improved. The old peg- 
ging machine gave w-ay to the New Era spring-pegger and to the New Era cam-pegger. 
'I'hen came the .McKay heeler used by J. \V. Hatch in 1866. .\n im[)rovement upon 



r 



Rochester Manufactures. 6i 

this was adopted by J. T. Stewart and afterward by Johnson, Jaquith & Reed. At ths 
time it would .shave but 300 pairs ])er day, but with the Power shaving attachment 
now does 700 pairs per day. Then came the rotary heel-trimmer used by J. W. Hatch i 
1869. It is now called the King trimmer. Next came the soap-stone heel burnishei 
the Tabley hot kit burnisher, on which subsequent improvements were made, enabling 
to do 300 pairs daily : adopted by all shoe men. The next machine of importance wa 
the Union edge-setter, for burnishing the edges of soles. It was first used by A. J. Johr 
son & Co., in 1871 ; capacity 250 pairs daily and used on fine or coarse work. Thi 
was replaced in 1881 by the " puzzle" edge trimmer, which is in use in all the factoriei 
The McKay sewing-machine is improved so it will sew 600 pairs per day and is in us 
in all sewed shoe factories for sewing soles on the uppers. A "channeler" goes with 
and is essential to its use. The cable screw wire nailing machine was adopted by Johnso 
& Co. in 1874. The latest valuable machines are the Goodyear welt, first introduced b 
Cowles, Curtis & Co., in 1879, and now in general use. It produces an exact imitatio 
of the best hand-sewed shoe. Hundreds of men are employed on the above-mentione 
machines and have become experts, who know nothing of other parts of shoe manufac 
tures. There are, besides, the machinery of the fitting-room, the ordinary sewing-mt 
chines, revolving sole-cutters, button-hole machines, etc." 

IRON AND OTHER METALS — MACHINERY. 

It is quite likely that the interest connected with the uses of iron in Roch 
ester manufactures outweighs in importance that of an\- of the special industrie 
heretofore mentioned. There has been a gradual and uniform growth whic 
has more than kept pace v\-ith the population, and there are no local causes fc 
variation. Manufactures in this branch took on something of a boom in 188 
by the removal of the freight discrimination which so materially affected th 
milling interests. The same water power that drives the mills is useful for th 
shops, factories and foundries that are sprinkled along the upper and lower race 
ways, and in the stretch along Brown's race the power is cabled for no inconsidei 
able distance. The iron interest is valuable to Rochester in more senses than om 
and in one particular sense that, with the excellent facilities for obtaining iro 
and coal, the value is created from the raw material — /. c, $100 worth of iro 
might be used for making a machine many times that amount in value. Th 
idea does not obtain with flour, with clothing or with shoes. The actual pros 
perity of Rochester, then, is more efifectiveh- enhanced by the iron and its al 
tcndant industries, because there is less of an outgo for the raw material an 
more of an income for the product. The early knights of Vulcan in Rocheste 
were Lewis Selye, Martin Briggs, C. H. Bicknell, D. R. Barton and Aaro 
Erickson, all of whom are now deceased. Mr. Selye, when he first came t 
Rochester in 1 824, had a shop where the Danocrat & Chronicle office now stand 
The principal ironwork of that day was the making of mill irons and scythe 
In 1832 Mr. Selye began the manufacture of fire engines at the Selye building 
now occupied by the Judson pin works and Kelly lamp works. He was sue 
ceeded by Israel Angell, who commenced working for Mr. Selye in i83( 



6l6 HlSlORV <iK TIIK C.'nV (IK RdCHKSTKK. 



Afterward AiiLjell formed a partnershii) with Lewis Ken}-oii until i(S5o. After- 
uaril the firm became Aii_L;ell iK: Sun. 

Martin HriL,'L;"s opened a i)u^iness of iron raihn<;s at an earl_\- da\', lai-;iiiy on 
the manufacture of safes, and building up a very extensive business, which is 
still carried on by his son, llamlel S. l^rii^i^s. Kemjjshall & Hush established 
a fnmdr)' and furnace on the site' oi the jiresent ixochester car- wheel works, 
next north of the Jones cotton mill, Seth C. iv \'./.v:\ Jones established a foundry 
a sli>j;ht remo\e to the north on Hrow n's race. Alcott & Watts had a furnace 
on I'^xchanye street in the buildiuL; called "the circus" — because it was built 
for a permanent circus — which still stands and wliich was subsequently used 
man)' j-ears ago as a foundry by J. M. French & Co. The first stove-founders 
in Rochester who made a business f)f shipping their wares were Henry Bush 
and l?ro , on \\\-st Main street, site of 1-iabcock's coal-)-ard, and \'. R. Rowe, 
the f)under of the (.'hene_\' furnace on St. Paul street. The furnace of Kemp- 
shall & lUish passed into the hands of \Vm. Kidd in 1S36. Mr. Kidd w.is an 
enterprising }'oimg meixhanl in Rochester. lie established the machine-shop 
now occupied by W'm, (jleason, and with (.', II, (hajiin, his son-in-law, con- 
tinued the Kidd fnmdr\' and steam engine comp.m)'. Ihe name was atter- 
warii changed to " Kidtl iron works." In 1X71 W'm. (ileason became a stock- 
holder and su[)erinten(lent of the works ,md in '74 he purchased the business of 
the machine-shop. lie employs from sixt)' to se\ent\' hands and his specialty 
is the manufacture of machinists' tools. I lis work is largel)' sougiit for in large 
manufacturing centers and he is constantl)- changing and improving his patterns 
and de\ices. I le owns a number of ])atents on improved machinery and his 
work is of the most substantial nature. I lis theory is and has been that iron 
machiner\- can not be made too strong or hea\'_\', and within the past five )'ears 
machinery has come to be fifty per cent. hea\ier for the same class of work. 
Mr. (Ileason was an aetixe partici[)ant in the effort to remove freight discrimi- 
nation. 

The most extensive establishment in Rochestei' devoteil exclusively to the 
building of horizontal stationarv engines and boilers is that of Woodbury, 
Hocjth i\: Pryor, whose extensive shops, located on Mill street, consist of 
a number of substanti.il buildings erecteil by the firm and perfectlv" adapted to 
their business. The most impoitant of these are the machine-shoi), a thi'ee- 
story stone structure, the stone boiler- sho]), v\ith a brick annex, the fomulr)-, 
the pattern shop and the blacksmith shop. The ])roducts of the works are hor- 
izontal stationary steam engines and boilers which enjoy a high national repu- 
tation. These are made in a number of sizes, in a thoroughly workmanlike 
manner, of the best materials and with strict regard to true mechanical prin- 
ciples. These works have protiuced o\-er 200,000 horse power of horizontal 
stationary engines and boilers, which have been shipped to all parts of the United 
States, and in every instance have justified all claims made for them by the 



Rochester Manufactures. 6i 

manufacturers. Tliis house was founded in 1851 by D. A. Woodbury, and 
lias grown to be one of the largest concerns of the kind in the Empire stat' 
The individual members are D. A. Woodbur\-, Jas. E. Booth and Henry h 
Pryor; this was the first establishment in the world devoted exclusiveh' to tf 
making of such work a thoroughly s\-stematic manufacturing business. It als 
led in the introduction of the horizontal c_\'lindrical boiler with tubular retui 
flues, a type of boiler that has been growing in popularity ever since they wei 
introduced. These parties advocated from the commencement a short strol- 
engine with high rotative speed, features which ha\'e also had a continuoi 
growth in the estimation and practice of engineers. 

The Rochester iron manufacturing company was incorporated January is 
1868, capital stock $200,000. The company has an extensive blast furnace ; 
Charlotte. Subsequently Henry C. Roberts, an extensive coal miner, shippi 
and dealer of Rochester, obtained possession of the furnace and it has been sui 
cessfulh' conducted since, a new stock compan\-, capital $100,000, having bee 
formed. The ores come from Canada and Wayne county, and the output 
20,000 tons annual!)-. 

The Co-Operative Eoundry. — No little public interest has been evinced 
this institution, and its progress from incipiencx* through subsequent }-ears, ii 
volving, up to the date of the compilation of this work, nearly two decade 
has probably attracted as much attention as that of any other single enterpri: 
in the city. What occasioned this concern requires no sophistry to explain 1 
the most casual observer. The system of cooperation has been, in the mine 
of many, the plan which might finally tend to harmonise the apparently coi 
flicting interests of capital and labor, and therefore the success or failure of th 
institution was thought by not a few to predicate either a great increase in tl 
number of similar enterprises, or their abandonment altogether. The resul 
however, has not tended to encourage the organisation of many concerns on 
similar basis, possibly because, although the Co-Operative Eoundr\- compar 
has met with unprecedented success, many other cooperative societies in othi 
sections of the country failed entirely to obtain this hoped-for result. The C( 
Operatives organised and were incorporated in the summer of 1867 with a paic 
in capital of $50,000 and purchased the John M. French foundry on H 
street, which was more familiarly known as the old Novelty Works propert 
where they have since conducted the manufacture of stoves. Henry Cribbc 
— now one of the largest manufacturers of foundry products in Chicago, II 
inois, was president, and John O'Donaghue secretary. Nicholas Brayer was ar 
has since been the superintendent, although succeeding Mr. Cribben in the pre 
idency in 1873. The office of secretary and treasurer has, since 1869, been filk 
by the present incumbent, E. W. Peck. The employees of the company origina 
ly numbered fifty, all being stockholders. The number is now 200, althou^ 
onlv about the original number remain as stockholders, no discrimination beir 



6iS Ilisrokv OK thf. Criv ok Rochesi'er. 

made aij;ainst employment of tluisc not financiall)' interested. The capital 
has increased to $100,000, and a contini;ent fund has been accumulated in ad- 
dition thereto of some $70,000. The future of this organisation bids fair to be 
as favorable as the past, ami to be producti\'e of benefit to its members and of 
cretlit to the cit_\-. 

J. S. (iraham & Co., Mill street and l?ro\vn's race, are manufacturers of 
\vood-\\orkin_L;' machiner\- for use in planing anil moldini^ mills, sash, blind and 
door factories, furniture ami piano establishments, agricultural and cai' works, 
com])rising a completi.' line ol planing and matching, and surfacing machines, 
re-sawing machines and sawing machiiu-s of \arious kintls and sizes, variet\' 
molding machines, pciuer feed niolders, wood-turning lathes, tenoning, mortis- 
ing machines, I'tc. The lirm is composed of J. S. (iraham and John Kane, 
both practical engineers and m.ichinists of lifelong practical experience, and 
their machines are classed the best built in the United .States as regartls design 
and C(}nstructi()n in all the details and for rapid proiluction ()f the various kinds 
of work for which the machines are intendeil. The}- build the largest planing 
and matching machines in the countr\-, weighing si.x tons and o\'er. They also 
build the witlest planing machines in the world, used for the purpose of plan- 
ing sounding-boards (sixty inches wide) for jManos. These machines combine 
man\- patents, improvements and \aluable featm-es not to be found in those of 
an\' other manufactuier. The market for this machinery extends from Maine 
to Washington territory, and occasionally to foreign countries. The Mechan- 
ical Engineers' association of England complimented Graham & Co. on exhib- 
iting what they called "the best t}'pe of American wood-working machinery " 
at the centennial exhibition, and asked for ilrawings showing the principal 
features, which were afterward co|)ied in ICngland. I'lK'y were also compli- 
mentetl by the mechanical commission of Sweilen and Denmark in the same 
manner. The founder of this house left the work bench for the war, at the 
close of which In- resumed the business. John Kane is the iunior partner; 
about 50 men are employed. 

Kittle, Ileughes ^ Rowe is the lirm contlucting the Cheney furnace on 
South St. i'aul street, founded by \'. R. Rowe in 1839, afterward Cheney, 
Hunter & Rowe. l'"rank W. Kittle and 1*'. K. Heughes are the partners at the 
present writing ; emploj-ment is given to about 50 hands. Tiie business is 
that of general foundr)' and architectural castings, columns, etc. !•". K. Heughes 
was the contractor for 600 tons of castings for the Powers Hotel, the work of 
the lU'w iron viaduct on North Water street, etc. 

J. Kmor}' Jones is the successor of his father in the Jones foundr\- and has 
conducted the business for twelve \'ears. Attached to the foundry is a large 
machine-shop where contract work is done. He enjo)s tlie advantages derived 
from this combination and has a \'ery valuable jjlant. About 75 men are em- 
plo\-ed and the output is about ten tons daily. 



RocHESTKR Man ufactures. 



6\ 



N. H. Galusha has an extensive foundry in Court street, which was estal 
Hshed by Joseph Hall about i S40. It was afterward run by Kidd & Co., an 
in 1857 't came into the possession of Mr. Galusha; .specialty, stoves an 
ranges; employment 100 men. 

Connell & Dengler, corner of p-urnace and Mill street, organised in 1867 
specialt}-, ever_\-thing in the line of later-day wood-working machinery ; en 
ployment 35 men. 

The Rochester axle company have a large shop at the junction of Ea: 
Main street, Goodman street and the railroad, where carriage axles are the so 
article of manufacture. The goods are in local and foreign demand and fin 
ready sale. H. H. and J. W. Sperry and K. W. Williams are the partners 
employment 40 to 50 men. 

The Eureka steam-heating compan\' (H. E. Eight), located at the cornc 
of Piatt and State streets; use 200 by 100 feet of space in the manufacture c 
steam-heating apparatus, generators, radiators, etc.; employment 100 mer 
the product is shipped to all the principal cities in the countrs'. 

The Sill stove works — James Hrackett, president; Erederick Will, secrt 
tary — are located on Oak street near its intersection by the Charlotte railway 
This industry originated with Mr. Sill, about 1854, on West Main street. I 
1879 the present company was organised; specialty, stoves and ranges; en" 
ployment I 50 hands. The establishment is a very complete one in all respect 

F. P. Michel manufactures machinists' tools on Brown's race at the foot c 
Piatt street .(the site of the first mill erected on Brown's race in 1820), the pre; 
ent building being the old Phceni.x mill which was burned, and afterward re 
constructed by Mr. Michel. The business originated in 1864, and in 1868 I 
P. Michel became sole owner; employment 35 hands. 

The Rochester machine tool company (G. W. Davison, E. R. Br\ant, J. Bucl. 
ley and Elias Mapes) ; specialties, drills, cutters, planers, etc. ; location Brown 
race, foot of F"urnace street. E. S. Gra\'es & Son, Center square, occupy 
large building built on the site of Trinit}- church, corner of Frank and Cente 
streets, specially for the rapidly growing business of this house. The specialt 
is freight and passenger elevators, for which Graves & Son have a national rep 
utation. The business was established in 1863 by L. S. Graves. A good poi 
tion of the hydraulic elevators in use in business places in Rochester were bui 
by Graves & Son. Coupled with the business is also a department for th 
manufacture of shafting, pulleys and hangers; employment 35 hands. 

• The AUden & Lassig bridge and iron works were founded in East Roches 
ter, contiguous to the New York Central & Hudson River railroad, in 1872, b 
Thomas Leighton, of whom mention is made in the opening of this chapte: 
Mr. Eeighton came to Rochester as early as 1855 and was always engaged i 
bridge-building. For a term of years the firm was P\')wler & Eeighton ; subse 
quently Mr. Eeighton established the above works and remained in busine; 
40 



620 HiSTuRV OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 

until 1SS2. l^pon retiring, tlic works passed into the liands of tlic above firm. 
The linn nianiii.ictiire I'ailw.iv and liij^liway ijridi^fs, iron \-iaducts, trestk'S, plate' 
L;ii-ders, roofs, turn-tai)ies .md iron w.iler pipe. The iron liridge o\'er the Con- 
nectieut ri\er .it .Sprin_L;t'ieid w .is ni.ide at tliese works. Tiie)' iia\'e e.xeeiited 
niueli wcirls tor the (_'hieaL;o ^K: Nortliwestern raih'oad, and built many brid<.,a-s 
and \iaihu;ts foi' the new West Shore raih-o.id, from Xe-w \'ork to Buffalo. In 
.iddition to these, e.\tensi\e contracts have been executed for the l)el.i\\are & 
lludsoii C'.inal compaii)-, Roston & Maine, New \'ork' ("entr.il ,md man\- other 
railway comp.uiies. I'ortii 'Us c if the I'oof ,ind tlu' ii'on tower ot the houses of par- 
liament at ( )ttaw,i, L'an.ida, are from these works. I'he members of the firm are 
J. !•'. .\lden and .Morit/ Lassi^;. The former is ,1 resiiU-nt of this city, and the 
l.itter resides ,il ChicaL;o. Mr. Alden was U>v a nund:)er of )-ears the chief en- 
Ljineer in ch.u'Lje of the works, before the orL;anisation of the i)resent fnni. 
i'.mploN'ment 400 to 500 lianils. 

(io!4;L;iii 1.^' Knowles, Mast .Main street, junction of Stillson, established iHj/, 
are manuficturers of ornamental wurk for buildini^s, including; cornices, finials, 
weatlier \anes, crestings, \-entilators, window ami chimne\- caps, Ljutters and con- 
ductoi's, hi|) and ridge moldings, tin, iron, copper and slate roofing, etc. Also 
oil tanks, oil cans, milk cans, galvanised iron pails, ash barrels, etc. 

;\. M. Bristol, l^xchange street, is manufacturer of hot-air registers and 
ventilators; established in 1853 by Dr. l^ristol, father of the present owner, 
who succeetled to the business in 1S77. The <iut[)Lit is 20, GOO registers an- 
iniall}-. 

James flint fomuled the klint saw works in 1847, in the shop on State 
street, now brushed b\' the elevateti track of the Central, eniploxing from 12 to 
20 men since that time. His saws have an extended general and local rej^uta- 
tion, anil he is and h.is been the only manufacturer to an\' extent in Rochester. 

Ihe .Steam (iauge ami Lantern compan_\- of Rochester, New \'ork. is one of 
the most complete m.uiuf icturing institutions in the L'nitetl St.ites. It is sit- 
uated upon the historic brink of the high falls where stootl for \-ears the saw- 
mill crectetl by Setli C. Jones and afterward conducted b\- Thomas Parsons. 
The building has about 130,000 superficial feet of floor room and represents a 
hollow s(|uare, lacking one side. The specialt)' is lamjjs and lanti-rns (princi- 
pally tubular) for railwa)-, go\ernmental and general use. An annex 50 b\- 
100 feet, si.x stories, is now (June, 1884) being erected. The employment is 
300 hands, which is to be increased about I OO b)' the new feature just added, 
that ot the manufacture of a patented oil stove for domestic jjurposes. The 
system and thoroughness of this establishment are known only to those who 
visit it. The goods are sent ex'crywhere, and each January the stockholders 
di\ide a handsome surjilus. C. T. Ham, president, gives his undiv'idetl time in 
ilirecting the affairs, and 1''. I). \\\ L'larke is secretary and treasurer. There is 
o\'er $100,000 worth of machiner)- in the plant. 'The annual consumptiijn of 



R()CHESTi:i< Maxufacturks. 621 

tin and wire, alone, is enormous, 12,000 boxes of tin, and 24,000 bundles of 
wire. The refuse tin dumped over the bank has made an artificial embank- 
ment reaching from the river bed below the falls to the foot of the buildinL;. 
The power for running the machinery is obtained principall)' from Front street 
outlet sewer, there being two turbine wheels of 190 horse power each. This 
furnishes one of the strongest imaginable contrasts between the old time and 
the new; a large and extensive factory on the very brink of the falls and (len- 
esee river furnished with power by water from a lake 28 miles south of the city 
— the wastage from one of the most complete water systems of the world. 

The building of loconioti\-es and the e.vtensive repair shops inaugurated 
with the construction of the Niagara Falls branch of the Central railroad, in 
1849, were discontinued in 1877 by the removal of the shops to Syracuse ami 
Buffalo. Several hundred mechanics were employed in these shops. 

Mahlon Gregg & Son (J. N. Gregg) are manufacturers of cooper's tools on 
the flat foot of the falls; employment 15 to 20 hands. 

John Greenwood & Co. (S. Teal) are extensive manufacturers of barrel ma- 
chinery in the Greenwood building. Mill street; cmplo_\-ment 50 to 60 hands. 
Shorer & Taillie are founcirymen in North Water street; specialty, iron columns, 
lintels, cornices, etc. ; empl()yment 30 hands. 

One of the few men in the same business since 1834 is John Snow, of the 
Exchange street wire works. At that time he commenced in a small wa>-, 
making sieves, screens, etc. The business kept pace with the city and he now 
conducts a large concern in the identical building first occupied by Dean's thea- 
ter, afterward the armory of the Fift\'-fourth regiment N. Y. S. M., before the 
new arsenal was built. Mr. Snow purchased the building, and manufactures 
wire goods of all description. There are looms for weaving wire and other me- 
chanical appliances. The wire flooring for the Oothout and for the E. B. Par- 
sons malt house were made by Snow. 

Munn, Converse & Anstice are foundr\'men, corner of River and North 
Water street; business founded in 1S72 by 11. N. Hemingway, who retired in 
1882 and the firm took the above title. The specialty is small casting, nickel- 
plating anil japanning. About 1 00 men are employed, forty of whom are 
molders. 

The manufacture of files is no small item in the iron interest of Rochester. 
The principal makers are J. S. Irwin, Mill street, and Stott Bros., River street. 
Both of these establishments use the latest automatic machinery and give em- 
ployment to 30 or 40 hands each. James Haddleton is no inconsiderable man- 
ufacturer of wire goods, forms, designs, trellises, hanging baskets, railings etc. 
He is located on State street. 

J. H. & J. F. Gordon are patentees of improvements in grain binders, which 
patents are in use by the principal manufacturers of the country and from which 
they derive princely royalties. They have an experimental factory on South 
St. Paul street. 



History of the City of Roltikster. 



J. C. Heuf^lics & Co. are extensive die-cutters in Mill street and have re- 
ceiUK' absorbed the Rochester die-cuttiiiLj establishmetU that was located at the 
corner of Piatt and Mill streets; eniplo_\-ment 50 hands, 

Ch.irles S., jr., antl IC. \\'. Hall are ens^ai^ed in the manufacture of agricul- 
tural iniiileiiients in tile machine-shop on Sinith Water street erected many 
years ago b}- Joseph Ihill; employment 20 men. 

H. J. Howe & Co. manufacture the Howe scales in the Stewart building, 
Andrews street; emplo}-ment 25 hands. 

Junius Judsoii &: Son ;\rv manufacturers of governor \'alves in Brown's race, 
rear <if Mill street. The si)ecialt_\- of this establishment is go\ernor \-alves for 
steam engines, under patents taken out some )-ears ago b_\' Mr. Judson, who is 
one of the pioneer machine men of Rochester. 

Ujjon the two up[)er floors of the (Selye) Judson building, corner of Mill 
and l-'urnace street, admissible to no \isitors, strangers or reporters, are the Jud- 
son pin wiirks, where se\'enty to eight}' hands arc employed in the manufacture 
of pins. There are, we are informed, but eight other establishments of this kind 
in the entirt' cnuntr)- and the)- monopolise tlu' making of this essential article. 
The plant cont.iins somewhere in the rc'gion of $iuo,ooo worth of si)ecial ami 
intricate m,icliiner_\-. 'I'here are machines in which the heads are made at 
the same time the wire is cut the proper length, machines which put the points 
against emoiy wheels to sharpen them automatical!)-, hopper-like machines into 
which ])ins are fell to be forced a row at a time into continuous rows of indented 
])aper. The entire manuficturc is controlled by the national associatit)n of which 
this concern is part. Mr, Judscm manufactured trij) hammers here in 1837. 

L'pon the corner of Couit .nul Stone streets is the lock factory of Sargent 
& Cireenleaf, established in 1867. It is a long, three st<:)ried brick building, and 
the locks from this establishment cU'c used all o\er the world. The specialty is 
b,ud< and burglar-pioof locks, automatic and combination locks and chronom- 
eter time l(jcks, which are set only to opt-n at a given hour. These ret[uire 
peifecled and delicate machinery in the manuficturi-. 'The plant is a \-er)- val- 
uable one and the business adtls materiall)- to the m.muficturing reputation of 
Rochester. About 100 hands are employed. 'The [)roprietors are James Sar- 
gent, well known among inxentors, and II. S. Creenleaf the present member 
of Congress from tlu; thirtieth district. 

I he James Cunningham, Son & Co. carriage manufactory was founded in 
ICS3S. It is located upon Canal and Litchfield streets and the works combined 
co\er an immense tei'ritoiA'. Tlm])k)yment 550 men, and having branch repos- 
itories in New \ ork, St. Louis, San Francisco and other cities. Unlike many 
other establishments in a like business, this concern makes from the raw mate- 
rial almost every part that goes to make a perfect vehicle. There is an exten- 
sive forge for the iron work and rLUining gear, and in fact as many departments 
as there are parts of a carriage, even to grinding-rooms for beveling the plate 



Rochester Manufactures. 623 

glass, and nickel-plating rooms for the ornamental portions, an upholstering de- 
partment, etc., etc. The utmost system prevails and the coaches, carriages, 
hearses, etc., from this establishment are rarel)- equaled b}' the product of any 
similar factory. In July, 1882, articles of incorporation were filed, the company 
consisting of James Cunningham & Son and Rufus K. Dryer. 

The K. A. Hughson carriage works on East avenue, just be\'ond the city 
limits, is an extensive establishment occupying the buildings originally built for 
and used by the Glen & Hall agricultural works. About 250 men are em- 
ployed. 

Thomas G. Palmer is an e.xtensive manufacturer of iron railings on Front 
near Mumford street. For some time previous to the flood of 1865 Cox & 
Walker were manufacturers of safes in the Stewart building. The flood 
carried their establishment over the falls, including twelve or fifteen safes, val- 
ued at $9,000 to $10,000. James D. Cox, of this firm, drove the first hotel 
omnibus in Rochester and received the first passengers arriving in Rochester by 
railroad. 

A. H. Shipman is the originator of a peculiar manufacturing business which, 
from small beginnings in the Stewart building in 1876, has grown to propor- 
tions requiring a large building in Bismarck [)lace, 45X lOO feet. The specialty 
is amateur tools, scroll saws, lathes and miniature steam engines where light 
power is used. The industry was entirel)' original with Mr. Shipman, who by 
advertising and push is now sending his products to all parts of the United 
States. He employs from 40 to 50 hands. 

John Siddons is another Rochesterian who from small beginnings has 
worked up a very extensive business. He makes a specialty of iron roofing 
and galvanised iron architectural work, a great deal of which has of late years 
come in use for cornices, etc. All of the large buildings now put up have 
more or less of this work, of which Mr. Siddons, who is located on East Main 
street, still makes a specialty. The immense (copper) statue of Hermes which 
surmounts the smokestack of the Peerless tobacco works was fashioned at Sid- 
dons's shop, it being necessary to make an opening through the upper floors to 
do it. 

The Rochester car wheel works adjoin the Rochester cotton mill on Brown's 
race on the site of the Kidd foundry (mentioned elsewhere). The present en- 
terprise originated with the late Charles H. Chapin in 1877, and is now called 
the Rochester car wheel company ; W. K. Chapin and C. T. Chapin pres- 
ident and secretary, and E. J. Campbell foreman. Capacity 150 wheels per 
diem. 

One of the pioneers in the manufacture of wood-working machinery is 
C. R. Tompkins, Mill street, near Brown. He established the business in 
1855 'ind has constantly employed from 60 to 100 men. Frank H. Clemens, 
in the Greenwood building on Mill street, is also a manufacturer of wood- 
working machinery and employs about thirty men. 



624 HisTdKN' OK riiK Criv df Kdcukstkr. 

The Kell)' himp-works in the jiulson building, corner (if Mill and hurnace 
street, arises from the Snook iv Hill lani|)-\vorks, the ])resent officers beini; 
J.uiies 11. Kell_\-, pre'sident ; I'rank S. I'pton, treasurt-r, and J. Miller Kell)', 
secretai')-. Mr. KelK' became interesteil in these works many years ayo (about 
1 856) tlirouL;h business connection with ihomas Snook. When Mr. Snook re- 
tiri-tl a stock com[ian_\- was formed and before meriting into the present organ- 
isation tlnTe wei'e sexeral changes. Among the stockholders have been the 
late J. II. Martindale, the late (). M. IkMiedict, C. T. Ham, David Upton, R. 
S. Kc'nyoii, j. II Isbistei', I). T. Hunt and others. Mr. Kelly's e\"ecuti\'e abil- 
it\' and systematic w.iys ha\e had their eltect in taking a crude business and 
buikling it up to one of the best conducted and most important enterprises in 
the cit\'. The specialt)' is rail\\a\- headlights and lanterns, jiarticularl)- high 
grade conductors' lanterns. h'rom 50 to 60 skilleil artisans arc emplo)'ed and 
the product calls for the work of man_\' trailes, the sheet iron workers, the cop- 
persmith, the electro and nickel plater, tlu' wirt-worker, the wtxulworker, the 
|)ainter, the glass engraxer. etc., etc. The goods are shi])ped to e\er\- state 
in the Union, antl the business has been anil is now a ver\' prosperous one. 

Mack & Co., manufactiu'ers of edge tools, Mill, cornel' of I'urnace street; 
s[)eci,ilt)', edge tools; employment 150 hands; founded in i<S32 by I ). R. Bar- 
ton, and Conducted coiitiiuiousl)- through one ortwo fires and the flood of 1865 
until the demise of Mr. Hartoii. In 1874 Mack & Co., the present firm, suc- 
ceed(.'d to the liusiness, which occupies the large three ■sti)r_\' brick building 
conur of Mill and I'lirnace street and the Re\ere mills on Brown's r.ice. h'rom 
the outset to the i)rc'sent day these tools ha\e had a slandartl reputation all 
over the world. Aside from the general tr.ule in the states, including California 
and <)regon, shipments are matle to man}- foreign countries and command 
higher prices than ICnglish tools. 

J. S Irwin & Co., Mill street, are e.vtensive manufacturers of files, employ- 
ing about 3CT haiuls ; established in 1865. 

The Rocliester machine screw company was organised in 1 Sj 1 ; C. V. Bos- 
well, president; (ieorge C. Clark, superintendent ; Iliram W. Smith, secretary. 
The sj)ecialt\' is milled machine-set ami cap screws, taps and finished and case- 
hartlened hexagon nuts principalh' for machinists, engine-builders and agricul- 
tural implement makers, which are catalogued and sold in all parts (jf the coun- 
try. The work is niostl}' automatic and conse(juently accurate ; employment 
about 50 men. 

Trotter, (jeddes & Co. are extensive manufacturers of heating furnaces on 
Exchange street. The business was organised in 1872 under the name of 
Trotter, Stone & Co. ; employment is given to 20 men. 

l-". I'lrdle, Mill street, makes a specialty of perforated sheet metals for grain 
sieves, etc., etc. 



I 



Rochester Manufactures. 625 

lumber — woon and its products. 

Rochester originalK' sawed its way into existence contemporaneously witli 
tlic mills that ground out its first advertisement as an abiding-place for the 
settler. With the first allotment of the "hundred-acre-tract" was a saw-mill. 
Adjacent to the site of the first flouring- mill, in Aqueduct street, was also the 
first saw-mill, which subscquentl}' (in 1845) ^^'is taken b\' Jonathan Child and 
afterward for several years ccinducted by his son. The saw- mill is now the 
Disbrow box-factory, where for one patent medicine concern alone (besides a 
general box-making business) are turned out over 1,000 boxes daily, nailed b}- 
patent nailing machines and the title of the all- healing medicine printed with a 
press upon the wood, like unto the work of a job printing-press, the same 
press in its most perfected form being the work of Rochester mechanics — Con- 
nell & Dengler. The old saw-mill upon the brink of the high falls erected in 
1827 has disappeared and now nearly all of the large lumber dealers do their 
own sawing, planing and matching. Moses Dyer constructed a saw-mill at 
the big dam. Exchange street, in 1828, the firm afterward becoming D\-er & 
HoUister, the partner being the grandfather fif Granger and G. A. Hollister, 
who now conduct the lumber business upon the same site. Subsequentl}- 
Kmmett H. Hollister, William Churchill and Anion Bronson jointly and sep- 
arateh' conducted the lumber business in the same locality. Amon Bronson, 
jr., in 1882 disposed of the business (to which he had succeeded and which his 
father established in 1832) to the New York, Lake Erie & Western railway, 
the tracks of which were pushed further north, taking up the space occupieil 
b_\- the Bronson yard. Hollister Brothers monopolise the lumber business in 
that locality now. During 1865 M. M. Hollister and John D. Fay, who had 
established a lumber yard in Court street contiguous to the river, had their en- 
tire stock carried off in the flood, rendering no inventory necessary in winding 
up the business. J. D. Bell, after that, established a planing- mill upon the bank 
(if the river at Court street bridge, and in 1880 the firm became J. D. Bell & 
Son. Tlie\- conduct a snug and satisfactory business and the name in the com- 
munit\', with business men particularly, is the synonym of all that Quaker up- 
rightness implies. The ax and saw made timber scarce in this locality and for 
the past few years Michigan and Canada have contributed the major part of 
the pine lumber. Michigan furnishes the best pine and ash, Pennsylvania antl 
Southern New York furnishes pine and hemlock. The Erie, the B. N. Y. & P. 
and the Rochester & Pittsburg railway, especially, do a large freightage of 
lumber to Rochester. In the old days some lumber was rafted down the Gen- 
esee river. Walnut, butternut and white ash come from Missouri and Indiana, 
cherry comes principally from Pennsylvania and Indiana, and red cedar from 
Florida. One house, the Stein casket works, uses millions of feet annually of 
the latter wood for burial caskets. Within recent years a degree of extrava- 



626 Ilisrokv (tF the City of Rochester. 



gance in the cniistniclioii of ilwcllin^js lias been indulged in, and where the means 
warrantetl tiiere lia\H' been larj^e outlays for Aniei'iean ami foreij^n woods in 
conslructiiiL; the tloois, ceiliiiL^s, wainscotin^s and ornamental jiortions of dwell- 
in!4s anil business jilaees. The island formed b_\' the ri\er and feeder from the 
canal weij^hlock to Hamilton place became the location of saw-mills antl [ilan- 
inLi-mills at an e.uiy date. It remained for the C'rouches to deN-elop the business 
to its present lari^e extent, la}-in;4 out lar;4c capital in making new ground, so 
that their business covers several acres, outside of the yard in Griffith street. 
TluN- do a large wholesale and retail business, cni[)Ioy 70 to 80 hands and 
handle many million feet Of lumber annuallv, shipjiing many car-loads without 
re-hantlling. Timbers for shi[)-buikling arc sent to I'hiladclphia, Chester, I'emi., 
anil Haltimore. To (ieoi-ge W. & Charles T. Crouch belong the credit of open- 
ing up Crouch's island for lumber business. The)' established a saw mill on 
the island in 1866, constructed the basins for storing logs with a caiiacit)' of 
three million feet, afterward purchased the Hentlc)-, M\-er & Southwick saw- 
mill and now do four million feet of sawing annuall}-. (ieorge W., jr., I-'rank 
P. .mil Charles II,, sons of (i. W'. and C. T. Crouch, are connected with the 
business. KecentK' (1884) (ieorge W'., ji'., has est.iblished for himself at Mast 
Rochester. 

John !■". l,o\-ei-raft in 1849 established a saw and [jlaning-mill on the island, 
.mil S. j. l,o\ecr,ift, his son, conducted the same business in that locality until 
1881. Commencing in 1 S6S, the senior Lo\'ecraft followed the business in 
\-.irious localities. Two or more times, notably in 1858 and in 1871, his mills 
were swept aw a\- b)' hre. In 1855 R. II. l^dgerton established the lumber 
business on the ishmil in pro.ximit)- to the establishments above mentioned. 
Me died in 1 867 and his son, Iliram II. I^dgerton, continued the business up 
to 1883, when he sold to Chase & Otis, who previousl)- had conducted the 
lumber tr.ule on Coui't street ne.xt to the u])per race for several years. The 
present pl.int co\'ers over four acres, with sever.d hundred feet of dockage on 
the I'jie c.mal. Michig.in pine and hemlock are the siiecialties. Mr. Edger- 
ton, after disposing of the lumber lousiness, engaged in the coal trade and now 
conducts a large business in that line. 

l'".mor}- H. Chace, Warehouse street, is the successor of an extensive lum- 
ber business established man}' years ago on the site of the Rochester House 
ruins by Luther (iorilon , in I S84 he assumed actual control. There is ani|)le 
dockage on the canal and shed room with all the Litest con\'eniences for the 
economical iianilling of lumbei', , mil the pl.ining-mill on the premises is kept 
busily employed on wurk for the local trade. .Mr. Chace is a native of Wy- 
oming couiU)', and, though but fifteen j'cars a native of Rochester, has won 
position in public anil ])ri\ate life. 

Wm. H. Morse i^ Co. are quite extensive lumber dealers on West avenue, 
next to the Rochester i^ l'ittsbur</ railwa\- station. Hiijelow & Osborne have 



Rochester Manufactures. 627 

a lumber yard at the corner of Piatt and State streets. This ground was the 
first used in Rochester for the tent show or circus. 

H. H. Craig, formerly of the firm of Craig & Crouches, has an extensive 
yard, mill and dry kiln upon the New York Central railway, east of Goodman 
street. The plant embraced nearly fourteen acres with a storage capacity for 
25,000,000 feet of lumber. There are side tracks for loading and unloading 
and a planing-mill for dressing bills of lumber as desired. This is one of the 
latest and most extensive enterprises in the city; the emplo)-ment is about 100 
hands. In 1S36 Andrew Mc)-er, an honest (ierman boat-builder, was landed 
with his family of four boys and four girls on the duck at the Rochester House, 
and the ne.xt day commenced work at his trade. The four sons, Philip, Fred, 
C. C, and John A., became boat-builders and followed the business until 1882, 
first as employees and finally as employers, and many of their boats now carry 
freight on the canal. In 1884 C. C. Meyer & Son secured a tract at the east- 
ern widewater, where they have established a saw- mill, the plant being valued 
at $25,000, exclusive of the lumber in stock. 

As early as 1845 Charles J. Hayden advertised furniture on State street, 
where the Monroe County bank now stands. Upon the corner of State and 
P'urnace streets and extending to Mill street is a five-story brick structure con- 
ducted by C. J. Hayden & Co. (C. A. Hayden), having a frontage of seventy- 
five feet on State street and 190 feet in depth. The Mill street portion was 
first constructed as an up-town factory, after which the State street portion was 
purchased and the two buildings were joined. Over 2,000 lights of glass are 
required to furnish light for the Furnace and State street sides. The business 
takes in the widest range of wholesale and retail furniture and interior decora- 
tions, including the manufacture of the same. The establishment is most sys- 
tematically conducted and contains all the latest and most improved appliances. 
Aside from the local trade, which is not inconsiderable, there is a large outside 
demand which is supplied by car-loads. Connected with the business is an 
extensive factory at the lower falls. F"our hundred and fifty hands are employed, 
aside from the labor of a number of inmates of the N. Y. S. reformatory, who are 
employed in cane-seating chairs for Hayden & Co. 

The Hayden & Havens company was organised as successor of J. E. Hay- 
den & Co. In 1882 the new building, five floors, corner of Court and Ex- 
change streets, was occupied. This building was constructed expressly for the 
business, the specialty being exclusively fine furniture. Part of the ground 
taken for the structure was Child's basin, which was abandoned as a canal slip 
in 1880. Employment is given to about 150 hands, in the manufacture of ex- 
clusively fine furniture, and the trade extends to all of the leading cities in the 
United States. Interior fittings for hotels, saloons, etc., are also a feature. 
The officers are : J. Alex. Havens, president; G. W. Havens, treasurer, and 
J. W. Allen, secretary. J. E. Hayden, the founder, started in business on 



628 IIlS'l'ORV ()!■■ TIIK CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



Front street in I S49, afterward ninvini,' to State street and occup}'ing the block 
thai was taken up by Church street in iS.Sj. In 1S55 lie enlereil upon the 
wholesale m.iniifactuie, estahlishinL; a shop on Hill street. The present buiUl- 
iuL; is (juite a monument of the pro^jress ot manul.ictures in Rochester. 

I. II. l)e\\e_\- (established by l?\n-ley and l)ewey 1 S69) is a \\hok:sale and 
retail dealer and manuractnri.a' wf furniture, having;' a large store on State street 
e.xtendiiiL; through to Mill sti'e-et and a factory on llill street; em]>lo\-- 
ment lou hands, including s.ilesmen. Mr. 1 )ew'e_\- succeeded to the- b\isiness 
in 1877. 

Next north of the historic I'.ly mill on South \\'<iter street is a large stone 
building in w Inch is the factor)- of Mingcs i^ Shale, manufacturers of furniture. 
'Hiey ha\e a store on State street, extending to Main street, anil are in the first 
I'ank in their line. The f ictoi-y is of recent construction and has all of the latest 
and best wood-working machinery and ap])liances for the work. The firm was 
organised b\- Joseph Shant/, l'"red S. Minges and I'l'ed A. Shale; in I 882 the 
business [lassed into tin- hands of Minges li Shale. One of the specialties is 
interior fittings, and a l.u-gi- inimbt'r of the public places in Rochester show- 
elegant specimens of their work. Upwartl of 60,000 feet of floor room is 
re(|uiied for the store ,md 50,000 for the factory ; eniplo\-ment 40 hands. 

Copeland. llall iS; Co. are extensive manufacturers of certain lines of t'ur- 
niture, particul.irly extension tables, which arc supijlied to local dealers and to 
the trade in ;dl the st.ites. The factor)- w,is fountletl alxnit twent)' years ago 
b)- r. M. Hromle)- is: Co. The factor)- is on the south side of the I'>ie canal, 
at Ja)- street, and is a thrce-stor)- building, forty by 200 feet. H. C). Hall & 
Co., came into possession about 1873; afterward the firm changed to Co[)e- 
land, llall iS; Co. ( )ne hundred ami tw-ent)--five hands are empioj'ed. 

lulwar<.I ,uid William Hrooks are manufacturers of chamber furnitui'e, on 
West street neai' the khie canal, where the)' have a factor)- four stories in 
height; emplo)'mciU 75 hands. !•'. i\.itter for several )-ears has conilucteil an 
extensive furniture fictor)- on Ri\er street. 

!•". Ruckdeschel occupies two floors in the Parsons buikling, foot of Center 
street, in the manufacture of furniture for the trade. The business was founded 
in 1867, b)- Paul Michelson ; in 1880 Mr. Ruckdeschel came in possession of 
the c-ntire b\isiness ; thirt)- hands are employed. 

Perrin 15ros. are also i-nanuficturers of couch and chair frames in the Warren 
building. North Water street. 

Rochester's ])iont'er cabinet-maker w.is P'rederick Starr, who was born in 
Warren, Conn., in Ma)-, 1799. He learned his trade in Litchficd, Conn., about 
1817; afterward worked at it for a few months in 'Proy, N. Y., and then for 
about three )-ears in New N'ork cit)-. While enii)lo)-ed as a workman there he 
was ])rominent in helping to secure a law changing the legal hours of a day's 
work from fourteen Injurs to twelve hours. He remo\ed to Rochester from 



'f* 



RofHESTKK MaMKACTLRES. 629 

New York in the spring of 1822 and opened a shop for the manufacture of 
furniture on the corner of Main and Soutli Water street, where Haass's drug 
store now is located, at first employing one assistant. The tools and lumber 
that he needed, and for which he paid by the savings of his wages earned in 
New York, were hauled over the rough corduroy roads in high wagons drawn 
by eight pairs of oxen from Alban_\' to this then x'illage. In 1823 or earl\' in 
1824 he bought the property on the northeast corner of Liberty street and 
East Main street. At the time he bought this property its east end was built 
into the bank, while its west end rested on piles some twenty feet high — as 
then Main street just west of St. Paul street descended abruptly as a hill at that 
point. His building was partly destroyed by fire in 1844 and again in 1849. 
He then entirely rebuilt the edifice, which structure stands to-day, as then ; 
the store (built in 1849 and now occupied by Gibbons & Stone as a piano 
forte salesroom) was then considered by far the best store in town. Mr. Starr 
occupied this location first in 1824 and within a few years had secured for those 
days a very large trade, employing about fifty workmen. About 1844 he 
added to his furniture manufactory the manufacture of piano fortes, and about 
1849 or soon thereafter entirely discontinued the cabinet business, devoting 
himself entirely to the manufacture of piano R)rtes. He then interested him- 
self, again successfully, in the effort to make the legal hours of a da\''s work 
ten hours instead of twelve. After a successful series of years in the manufac- 
ture of piano fortes, about the year 1861 he began to discontinue the active 
manufacture thereof — in 1862 he sold his building to Owen Gafifney, and in 
1867 he discontinued his office, enjoying a quiet life thereafter until his de- 
cease, on November 29th, 1869. Thus he was closel)' identified with the busi- 
ness interests of Rochester from 1822 to 1869, having his office in one location 
for forty-three years. 

The pioneer wholesale box-maker in Rochester was J. B. Stevens, estab- 
lished in 1856 at the foot of Furnace street. The industrial interests of Roch- 
ester up to this time had grown to such an extent that many establishments, 
notably the seedsmen, required packing-boxes in large numbers. Formerly 
the ordinary carpenter had supplied hand- made boxes. Mr. Stevens utilised 
machinery and his business grew apace with the increasing business interests 
of the cit)'. In 1867 Alvarado Stevens was admitted as partner. More room 
became necessary, and the large building erected by Thomas Parsons at the foot 
of Center street next to the Rochester cotton factory was taken, new and im- 
proved machinery was constantly added, all calculated to reduce the cost of 
labor. There are dove- tailing machines which join 100 boxes in less time than 
a carpenter could join one ; there are nailing machines which do the work of 
eight men, and buffers which smooth a box by rotative machinery in the place 
of sand-papering by hand. There are also sawing and re-sawing machines 
which save considerable raw material, and the crowning triumph is found in 



630 lllSloKV ()!•■ THE CiTV OF KdCTI ESTER. 



the printiiii; ])rfss, which ])rints trade-marks or advcrtisins^ designs upon the 
boxes in the same maimer that iiandbilis arc printed upon a Gordon or I'nivcr- 
sai press. Tile)' do ,1 Imsiness of o\ei' $ioo,000 annually and C(.)nsume o\er 
2,000,000 feet of limiher _\-earl_\- ; cmi)lo_\-ment filt)' hands. 

An industiy in which Rochester vies with the piincipal cities of the L'nion is 
that of fi'ames and mnldings, the business amounting to about three-tourths of a 
million dollars annually. The leading manufactories are those of the I'.mpirc 
molding Wdrksaiid J. W. (iillis. The former was founded by Newell iV Turpin 
(and Thomas 11. Turpin is the originator of nearl\- all the salient features of the 
|)resent style of business in this line). The ICnipire works, now conducted by 
(ieorge 11. Newell, are l(.)caled on (iorham street, in a large stone liuilding 
owned b)' him. The works employ upwanl of 200 hands and there is in use 
all of the later-day machiner\- for turning out the work at a saving of time and 
cost. The picture frame of the ])resont da\- could not have been made in 
1S34, nor a few \-ears later, when Moses I)\-er was a "gilder and picture-frame 
maker" in "h, liters' row" on State street, or when Adam IClder made picture- 
frames in the l\e\nolcis arcade. Aside from machinery not then known, new 
methods and substances lia\e been disco\-ered, cheapening )-el beautifying the 
flames beyond comparison with those of an earlier da)'. 

James \V. Gillis established his business in a small wa}- in 1X73011 Allen 
street. In iS74he cibtaineil the national photogra[)hers' .issociation gold medal 
for best frames. His store was then located in the Walbritlge block, but in- 
creasing trade caused him to build the large and elegant block, corner of Troup 
and Exchange streets, expressly for the business, in 1879. He employs from 
100 to 140 men, and his specialty is artistic and elaborate picture-frames. The 
excellence of his goods ma\' be judged from the fact that his largest sales are 
ill the principal cities. New \'ork, ]?oston, I'hiladelphi.i, Cincinnati, Chicago, .St. 
Louis and other cities further west. There are se\eral minor establishments in 
the same line, but, as this is a liistoi_\' and not a director}', further ])articularisation 
is unnecessar)'. Wood flooring made in mosaic blocks and patterns is one of 
the lat(.M'-tla)' uses of wood. Ruiiyon & Co., in the Beehive, .\(|ueduct street, 
conduct ([uite an e.xteiisi\e business in this line, emplo\'ing 10 or I 5 men. These 
goods are very fine and ret|uire extensive and expensive machiner}'. 'There 
are several cigar- bo.x factories in the city, employing from five to fifteen hands 
each. 'The aggregate of the bo.xes made in a year is considerable. 

'There are seventeen cooper shops in the city, with an aggregate employ- 
ment of 200 to 225 hands. The principal output is flour barrels — 300,000 to 
350,000 annually. About 25,000 beer and ale barrels are made annually. 

C. J. Robinson & Co., Canal street, arc extensive makers of tight cooper- 
age. There are several firms in the city making sj^ecialties of wood brackets — 
notably. Hicks & Vance, C'orser & Ruiiyon and the Rochester bracket works. 
In 1850 John !•". Bush established a sla\ e mill 011 the lirie canal at L)'ell ave- 



Rochester Manufactures. 631 

nue. In 1858 it passed into possession of Brackett H. Clark, who occupies 
about four acres for mill sheds and yard. From 40 to 50 men are employed, 
and the output is about six million staves annually. Burt & Brace, organised 
April 1st, 1877, are extensive manufacturers of cane seat chairs, on South St. 
Paul street ; employment seventy-five hands. In April, 1884, Mr. Burt retired, 
and C. W. Brace now conducts the business. The Rochester wheel company, 
located on Elizabeth and Hill streets and Erie canal, established in 1856 by 
Hough, Corris & Co., manufactures wheels, spokes, felloes, etc., for carriage 
makers ; emplo\'ment about 50 hands. 

UREWTNC; AND .MALTING. 

There are sixteen breweries in Rochester and two extensive malt-houses, one 
of the larger breweries (Bartholonia)-) doing its own malting, producing, in 
1883, 250,000 bushels. 

The E. B. Parsons malting company owns the large stone building, corner 
of Brown and Warehouse, built upon the site of the original warehouse and ele- 
vator built by Warham Whitney in 1830, the first grain elevator erected in 
America. George J. Whitney, who had built the capacious elevator on the 
North side of Brown street, rebuilt the old warehouse for a malt-house and 
in 187 1 sold it to Colonel E B. Parsons, who subsequently added a large and 
modern malterie, equipping it with the latest and most improved machinery, 
and then organised a stock company, $100,000 paid in, E. B. Parsons president, 
John Kiley secretary. The output is about 300,000 bushels, Canada barley 
being used, as it is considered superior to home-grown barley for the purpose 
of brewing. Colonel Parsons has just completed a malt-house, capacity 500,- 
000 bushels, at Sodus bay, where the harbor is excellent, and the most direct 
communication is had with the Bay of Quinte barley district, Ontario. The 
market is principally in the Plast. 

Samuel N. Oothout, for many years a brewer in South Water street, con- 
ducts a malt-house at the junction of the Erie canal and Mt Hope avenue. The 
bulk of the malt is used by the Rochester brewing company. 

In 1819 the existence of a very pure spring of water near the river bank 
was made the excuse for founding a brewery by parties whose names are out 
of history. About twenty >'ears later Samuel Warren came in possession of 
the property and continued the brewing of ale, developing the City springs 
until his son E. K. Warren went into the business. It is now conducted by 
E. K. Warren & Son, and the product, which has become quite large, has a 
widespread reputation. The spring still flows and furnishes strikingly pure water 
for the purpose. The property has augmented in value by the recent changes 
of grade on North St. Paul street, on which it fronts, extending to North Water 
street. The railroad changes about there have all contributed to make the old 
City Springs brewery quite a valuable plant. 



6^3 lIlSToRV OK rilK Cl'I'V OF RoCIl KSTKR. 



Ab(.)iit iS^Oor 1S3J jdliii ami (lahiicl I.diii^nuiir coinnicnccd brcwint; on 
Xortli Water street, cIoIiil; their uun work aiul selling the iinxhict, which was 
iiiily a (ew l)ari-els a >'eai-. In 1858 tile bre\\er_\- was ilesti-i)_\-e(l by tire' and re- 
built ill the siieceedinL; _\-ear, on a iiuich lars^er scale-. In 1864 it was sold to 
Charles (ioidon ,iiid in 1865 he was joined b)- H. II. He-\ ier. In AnL;ust, I 86y, 
II, H. llathaua)- came into the business .md the fiiaii .uldeil larL;i-l\" to their 
ca]iacity b_\' ei'ectin^; a lart^e building; on the cMst side of the street, tunnelini;' 
untlei- Water street, connectiuLj the two cellars. Two _\-ears later a lart;c stable 
was built to accommodate tliirt_\'-two horses, the tirst stable in Rochester where 
liorscs were stabled on the ^second floor. In 1872 Mr. He\'ier died, since when the 
business has been conducted by Hathaway & Gordon, who frequently do as 
much in a single da)^ as was done in the first }'car of the brewery's business, 
fift_\'-tliree \-ears ago. 

In the opening of this cha])ter the l.)reweries with their rock-walled \'aults 
that ornamented the river l)anks at Vincent ])l.ice and below were alluded to. 
Tlie first low-fermented, or lager, beer was sold in Rochester December 7th, 
1852, b}- Henry Hartlioloma)' and I'liilip Will, who founded the present Har- 
tholoma)' brewer)- in that \-e.ir. Tile capacit}' was j,ooo barrels annuall)-. The 
limestone rock forming the abru])t bank of the river allordetl Ime oi)i)ortuiiity 
for cellars, which are fift\- feet deep and capacious, and the business increased 
ra])idlv' until 1874, when a stock compaiu' w'as organised, capital stock $250,- 
000. The outjjul for 1883 was I 50,000 barrels (four (juarter-kegs). The reg- 
ular force of empIo\-ees numbers 130, but there is constant work for coopers, 
builders, dri\-ers, etc., etc., which swells the amount ])aid for labor very mate- 
rially. The ice consumeil annually is 30,000 tons. l-"orty draught horses are 
needed and the company take considerable pride in keeping superior animals 
of noticeable size and beauty. The officers are : H. Bartholomay, president; V. 
Cook, \-ice-president ; (ieorge Arnoldt, secretary, and W. J. Niederpriim, treas- 
urer. Mr. Hartholonia)-, the ])resident of the company, came from a family of 
brewers, and before coming to ;\nierica was the manager of the brewery at 
Heidelberg, besides being connected with otlier famous breweries of the Old 
world. 

The Rochester brewing company covers eight acres on the west bank of the 
ri\-er at Cliff street. Tiie com[iany was established in 1874, and has an output 
of about 75,000 barrels annuall)-. The officers are: K. K. Hart, president; 
John Keiser, \ice-president ; Wm. N. Oothout, secretary and treasurer; em- 
ployment 75 hands. The structures arc of brick. 

The Miller brewing company, on Lake avenue, of which Fred Miller is pres- 
ident and Solomon Wile is secretary, originated in 1856, with l^'red Miller. The 
company, organised in 1881, employs 35 men, with an output of about 35,000 
barrels. Hoth ale and lager are brewed here. The present structure was put 
up in 1873. Attached to the plant, which covers five acres, is an ice pond on 



Rochester MANaiFAcxuRES. 633 

the flats below, which connects with the Genesee river b}' stop-gates, enabUng 
the company to secure its ice on the premises. An elevator takes it to the 
building. 

The Genesee brewing compan\''s brewery — M. Kondolf president, Chas. 
Heusner secretary, Charles Rau, treasurer — on the east bank of the river, at 
Bismarck place, is the latest extensive structure erected ; capacity 60,000 barrels. 

One of the earl)' brewers of Rochester was Jacob Baetzel, who had a small 
brewery on North Clinton street. His sons, J. George Baetzel & Bro., have 
now an extensive brewer\- further north on the street; capacit)' about 20,000 
barrels. 

The Lion brewery, corner of Hudson and Channing streets, is conducted 
by Meyer, Loebs & Co., and was established in 1856; capacity 20,000 barrels. 

We are indebted to John A. Davis of the internal revenue office for the an- 
nexed accurate statement of production of ale and beer in the past ten years : 
1874 — 80,730 barrels; 1875 — 101,408 barrels; 1876 — 107,356 barrels; 
1877 — 124,314 barrels; 1878 — 141,749 barrels; 1879 — 183,190 barrels; 
1880 — 209,623 barrels; 1881 — 221,606 barrels; 1882 — 259,827 barrels; 
1883 — 285,045 barrels. 

TOBACCO. 

Among the early tobacconists of Rochester were W. Barron Williams, 
Abram Van Slyck, Richard Ketchum, Walter Griffith, John Disbrow, James 
H. Kelly, Henry Suggett and R. D. Kellogg. Of these but two are living, 
and but one (Kellogg) remains in the business to-day. Mr. Kellogg (1845) 
conducts the manufacturing and wholesale and retail business on State street, 
at the head of Andrews street, where he still manufactures and sells the "Beer- 
less" chewing, the right to the trademark being secured at the end of six years' 
protracted and expensive litigation with other parties claiming the same. 

One of the principal tobacco works in the United States is that of Wm. S. 
Kimball & Co., Court street, upon the strip of land bounded b)' the upper 
racewa}', the aqueduct, the river and Court street, covering two and a half 
acres. The works were constructed especially for the business b)- this firm, 
and the expense of preparing the bare foundation is said to have been upward 
of $25,000 before a brick was laid. About 1,000 operatives are employed and 
the trade extends all over the world. The frontage on Court street is 224 feet, 
with two wings running back a little over 200 feet on the raceway and river 
sides, respectively, with a court in the center. A chimney, 182 feet in height 
— surmounted by Mercury, the god of commerce as well as of other things, 
the figure being twenty- one feet in height — is a most striking object and can 
be seen from any elevated part of the city. Tliis figure is in the highest degree 
a work of art and was designed by J. Guernsej' Mitchell, a young Rochesterian, 
, and made in sheet copper bv John Siddons, of this city. This house was 

i 






634 History of the City of Rochester. 



founded ill I CS46 by Henry Siij^<^ett and became Sugj^ett & Kimball in 1863. 
In i<S67 Janus C Hart became a partner, Mr. .SuLji;t-tt retiring;, and the firm 
became W'm. .S. Kimball & Co. Numerous prize medals, home and foreign, 
attest the e.\ellence of the goods made and the house not only leads in the 
matter of (|uantit_\'. but also in taste and originalit}' of the packages. One of 
tile recent features is the piinting of ornamental designs on tin before it is 
formed into boxes. y\ leatling s|)ecialt)' is the m.uiuficture of cigarettes, 
averaging nearly a million a da_\'. 

At the junction of the h'.rie canal and IC.xchange street, upon the site of the 
old Rochester llousi-, is the five-story building of S. V. Hess & Co., costrncted 
especial!)' for tlie business. Mr. lless succeeded, in 1867, to the business 
established in 1.S38 by John Disbrow. In 1877 the firm became S. I-". Hess 6c 
Co. (S. V. McDowell). The number of operatives is 300 and the specialties 
are fine-cut chewing tobacco and cigars. Of the latter 5,000,000 are manu- 
factured annually. This is the onl_\- house in the state, outside of \e\v \n\k 
cit}', nianuf icturiiig plug tobacco. The goods are sold universall}', even in 
London, and al.)out 4,000 dealers are on the firm's books. 

Richard W'halen is one of the few in the business now who commenced 
upward of fort)' years ago, as a bo)' in the eni[)lo\-cif \V. Rarron Williams. 
He was also in the \'aii .Sl)-ck or Disbrow factories when they were located on 
Brown's race. Afterward R. iv T. W'halen established quite a local jobbing 
business in the Ha)-den building, corner of State and I"\irnace streets, which in 
1883 was left in the hands of T. W'halen, who still conducts it, while R. Whalen 
& Co. (J. L. M- R. r. W'halen) established an exclusive manufacturing and job- 
bing buisiiess in the Kidd building. Brown's race, with an office on Mill street. 
This house was not long in establishing a \-er)- large local and surrounding 
trade. The goods h.i\e the advantage of being niaile untler the personal in- 
spection of a \eteran tobacconist, which is a guarantee of their excellence. 
The t-mpln)-uieiit is about 50 hands. 

The Allison Brothers company are cigarette manuf icturers on North Water 
street, using machines (the invention of A. W'. Allison) which make 150 cigar- 
ettes ]>er minute. The business originated with the Allison brothers in 1882. 
In 1883 a conipan)- was formed, with F. De W. Clark, president; A. \V. Al- 
lison, vice-president; V. I'. Allen, treasurer, and J. A. Allison, secretary. From 
30 to 40 operatives are employed, representing about 200 operatives, where 
machines are not used. 

There are from 80 to 90 cigar-makers antl tobacconists in the cit)-, emplo)-- 
ing from 3 to 30 hands. 

Mr. Davis furnishes the annexed tables for 1873 and 1883, showing the 
number of pountls of tobacco manufictured, antl number of cigars and cigar- 
ettes made in the )ears named. It is an interesting exhibit of the growth of 
tlie industr)- and of government receipts for the same. There were no cigar- 



Rochester Manufactures. 635 

ettes manufactured in 1873. The double figures in 1883 show amounts at the 
old tax and the reduction : — 

■873. 

Tobacco — 1,039,55311 lbs. at 20c .__ $207,910.75 

Cigars — 7,730,050 " at $5.00 per M _ ..38,650.25 

Total tor 1873, $246,561.00 

1883. 

Tobacco — 467,898^ lbs. at i6c $ 74,863.70 

" 1,467,3161 " at 8c... 117,385.29 

1,935-2 Ut - - $192,248.99 

Cigars — 5,041,725 at $6.00 per M ,$30,250.35 

" 12,240,750 at $3.00 per M 36,722.25 

1 7,282,475 $66,972.60 

Cigarettes — 41,189,050 at $1.75 per M. $72,080.85 

" 95,808,500 at 50c. per M. 47,904.25 

136,997-550 $119,985.10 

Total for 1883, $379,206.69 

miscellaneous manufactures. 

Some Pcru/iar Industries. — It has been stated that the aggregated mis- 
cellaneous industries of Rochester outweigh, in importance and amount of 
business done, any of the special features for which the city is famous. There 
are also many peculiar industries, not to be found in cities even larger than 
Rochester. Among them may be enumerated the following productions : Pins, 
gelatine dry plates, optical instruments, gold foil, mail bags, dental chairs, safes 
and safe locks, steam-cooked food, wood-carpeting, thermometers, artificial stone, 
artificial limbs, etc., etc. A leading industry is that of the Archer manufacturing 
company, commenced in 1857 by R. W. and J. W. Archer, who purchased 
the patent of Justin Ask's dental chairs. In 1864 George W. Archer suc- 
ceeded to partnership with R. W., the firm name continuing R. W. Archer & 
Bro., until the death of Robert in 1873. Up to 1881 the business was con- 
ducted by George W., when John W. was readmitted. In 1884 it was incor- 
porated a company, G. W. Archer, president ; John W. Archer, vice-presi- 
dent ; Henr}' C. Wiiite, secretary and treasurer. Commencing on State street, 
the brothers being the only workmen, the business has grown to $130,000 an- 
nually, with 100 employees, aside from employment given in foundry work, etc. 
The specialty is dental and barbers' chairs, and besides all the cities and prin- 
cipal towns in the United States the goods are shipped regularly to England, 
Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Austria, Australia, New South Wales, 
West Indies and South America. The works are located on North Water 



6^6 HisioKV (iK riiF. City of Rociiestkr. 



street, in buildint,^ owned by \\'. Archer, who is the builder and owner of three 
of tile wholesale clothing; buiUliiii^s on North St. Paul street. 

Another e.xaniple of rapid business pro<^ress is the career of J. C. LIljIU- 
house. He commenceil the nianufactuie of horse-collars on Exchange street, 
and a few years acjo boii<^ht and added to the buildiiiL; on State street now 
occui)it(l \>y him, and also the tannery of the Lite llriu'\' I.anipert on I'ly- 
nioulh a\enne ; ca]i,icit\- 65,000 sitles of leathei- ainuially and employment foi't\- 
hands. In the winter of l8cSo-.Si he recei\'ed the contract for manufacturing^ 
all the leathei' mail bags used by the L^lited States post-office de]>artment. 
This building is ^05 feet in length, one-half five, and the rem.iining half four, 
stories in height; the business calls for the labor of 125 hands asicJe f|-om those 
at the tannery, producing $500,000 worth of goods annuall)-. The t.mnei-_\- 
and outbuildings cover two acres of ground, and are ecjuipped with all the 
modern machinery. Ihe capital invested is upward of $180,000. The man- 
ufacturing specialties are horse-collars, flag collars, and"Mautl S. halters" 
which are jobbed to all parts of .America. 

In November, 1851, David Kendall and (jeorge Taylor, under the firm of 
Kendall & Taj'lor, commencetl the manufacture of thermometers ami barom- 
eters in a small way in the old No\ell_\' Works building, corner of Ilill ami 
I'ord streets, in this city. Mr. Kendall came from New Lebanon, N. \'. ; Mr. 
Taylor from New Hampshire. Kendall had been engaged in the same busi- 
ness at New Lebanon with his fatiier, who was the first maker of these goods 
in this countr)'. The old firm lasted but about one year. George Ta\-lor 
succeeded in the business. Since 1871 Ta\-lor Bros., ((ieorge and Frank 
Taylor) have conductetl the business in <i buikling on Hill street, constructed 
expressly for the purpose. 

L. C. Tower commenced the manufacture about 1861, antl has since con- 
tinued on E.xchange street. Several otiiers have at different times manufac- 
turetl them in a small way and for a short time, but to no great extent. This 
industry has increased largely, particularl)- within the past ten j'ears. More 
thermometers are maile now in a single da\' than were formerly turned out in 
.1 month. riiev are sent almost evcr)'where and are exported tjuite largel}". 
I'here are four other manufacturers of these goods in this countr\', and proba- 
bly more in number and \'alue are made in this city than in all the other facto- 
ries in the United States. The work was formerly done by hand ; now most of 
it, particularl}' tht; most ex.ict and delicate parts, is done b\- machinery made 
specially for the work. The reputation of Rochester thermometers and barom- 
eters is of a high order, second to none made elsewhere. Mr. Tower not only 
manufactures thermometers to (|uite a large extent but docs an extensive job- 
bing business in confectionery. He is a practical thermometer-maker and has 
established works in other cities. One of his specialties is a chemical weather 
prognosticator, accompanied by a thermometer. 



Rochester Manufactures. e^-] 

James Field succeeded to the peculiar business of E. C. Williams (founded 
in 1843) in 1858. He is now located on Exchange street, where four floors 
and the help of thirt)- men are required in the manufacture of awnings, tents, 
sails, flags, wagon covers, banners, etc. Mr. Field is practically alone in the 
business, and seems to be a necessity in Rochester, in which he located in 1831. 
The trade is not only local but his goods go to other cities. 

The Eastman Dry Plate company (George Eastman and H. A. Strong) was 
established in 1880. A brick building, in Vought street, near State, with 
boiler-house adjacent, is used for the manufacture of gelatine dry plates for pho- 
tographers. These plates facilitate the taking of pictures and have opened up 
great possibilities for amateur and field photography. This house is pioneer in 
this enterprise in the United States and does an enormous business, said to be 
$300,000 annually. Much secresy is used in the detail of the business. Thirty 
or forty hands are employed. Since the Eastman Dry Plate company was es- 
tablished Reed & Inglis and Dumble.& Co. have entered the same business. 

The first plows in Rochester were made by a man named Jackson. He 
was succeeded by Pardon D. Wright, and in 1836 Robert Pcrrine commenced 
employment under Mr. Wright. In 1855 Perrinc, with Samuel Stewart, com- 
menced the manufacture of wagons and fire apparatus which eventually became 
a famous business and gave employment to a large number of men. The hose 
carts used by the ci,ty were manufactured b}' Perrine & Stewart, also the hook 
and ladder trucks. Various cities and towns in the country became customers 
for their productions, which have always been unexcelled. In 1884 the busi- 
ness passed into the hands of Zimmer & Schwab, who now conduct it, at the 
corner of Front and Mumford street (rear). 

Another peculiar business is that of J. C. Schaefifer, Mill and Piatt streets, 
who makes hydrostatic presses and lifts, and glass molds, being the only manu- 
facturer of glass molds nearer than New York or Pittsburg. 

Another peculiar industry in Rochester is the fruit- canning as carried on by 
Curtice Bros., who have an extensive factory on Livingston street, built ex- 
pressly for the business. The)' pack and can fruit and in the fruit season em- 
ploy several hundred hands, manufacturing their own cans and ship the goods 
to all points. 

The Vacuum Oil compan\' was projected in 1865 by H. B. Everest. The 
actuary is C. M. Everest. Lubricating and illuminating oils are made and a 
business of $650,000 annually is done. The works occupy eight acres of 
ground on Mansion street, adjoining the Erie and B., N. Y. & P. railway tracks. 
Five acres of buildings, tracks, etc., are required, besides warehouses, con- 
nected by underground pipes with the works. The produce has a large local and 
general sale, including the foreign countries. The company is incorporated, 
capital stock nominal, being a clo.se corporation. It has down-town branch 
offices and warehouses in New York, Boston, Baltimore, Montreal, Quebec, 
and Liverpool, England. 



638 History of the City ok Rochester. 



Francis L. Hughes is the successor of Jacobs & Hutches. Aside from an 
immense johbinL; tradt- in toys, Mr. lIuLjhes makes a special!)' of manufactur- 
ing baby cariaages, in uliich he does $100,000 business annu.dl}', emi)lo\-ing 
tliirty liands. 

(iibbons li .Stone', i)y a singuhir coincidence, occnp\' as a music store tlie 
original store of b'rc'derick .Starr, the lirst piano-maker in Rociiester. Tliis 
liouse makes a piano which has much more than a good local reputation and 
sale. Ihe business originated witli Dwight (iibbons in 1S61, and his sons, 1). 
C. and A. J., and L\'man 1,. .Stone formed the present copartnershi]) in 1864. 
The)' ha\e a factor)' in llill street, eniplo)'ing about 30 hands. 

'llie Hausch iN; Lomb o[)tical instrument compan)', J.J. Hausch president, 
II. l.omb st-cretar)', was organisetl in i860 for the manufacture of spectacles, 
e)'e-glasses, lenses, microsco])es, telesco])es and other opticil instruments. The 
factor)' at X'incent bridge. North St. Paul street, was constructtxl espc'ciall)' foi' 
the business and is e(|uipj)etl with some \'er\' fine machinery. A depot is 
maintaiiu-d in New \'ork cit)', to which the manufictured goods are sent for 
the ti'.ide. Aljout 200 men are emplo)'etl. 

Albrecht \'ogt is a manufacturer of trimmings in a building on North .St. 
Paul street built b)' him express!)' for the busintss, which was cstablisheil in 
1874. The s]Kcialt)' is e.\clusi\'ely fme silk trimmings, fringes, tassels, cord- 
ings, chenille, etc. 1 le has cx])cnsivc machinery, looms, etc., and employs 
about 50 skilled operatives. There are few sucli establishments in this country 
— in fact all of them coultl be counted on the fingers' ends — and his gootls 
arc sent to all the fashion centers in America. 

James l.ane)' & Co. are extensive manufacturers of tin and pedtllers' ware, 
in a fue-stor)' IniiUHng running through from I'dm to Lancaster streets. They 
are heav)' ])urchasers and shippers of rags and jimk .ind large jobbers in pa[)er. 
I-rom thiit)' to fort)' peddlers obtain their sup]>lies aiul sell their truck to 
Lane)' & t"o. l'',ni])lo)'ment oxer 100 hands. I,e\i llcy, who has a building 
on State street, ojiposite I"~actor)' street, does about a quarter of a million dol- 
lars worth annuall)' in rags and peddlers' goods, emploj'ing about 50 hands. 

James 11. Wickes, car superintendent of tile Merchants' Dispatch compan\^ 
came to Rochester nearl)- three years ago, for the purpose of liaving the office 
more centrall)- located and establishing shops for light repair of cars and for 
their refrigerators under his patent. A shop 250 feet long has recently been 
erected here for the j^ainting of the cars. The success of the refrigerator cars, 
and the f.ict of their being adopted by the Merchants' Dispatch as the best of 
the kind in the country, suggested the idea of using the .same principle for 
houses aiui other similar purj^oses, so that a e(.ini])an)' was formetl last )'ear 
with that idea, the officers being as follows: President, Judge William Rum- 
sey ; vice-president, James W. Whitney; treasurer, H. H. Craig; secretary, 
E. M. Upton; executive committee — J. II. Wickes, Ira L. Otis, H. H. Craig. 



Rochester Manueactures. e^c, 

The company has already met with great success, their refrigerators being buih 
into many private houses, hotels and markets. 

Thomas Swift & Sons (H. R. and T. R.) are manufacturers of gold leaf, on 
Exchange street, where several skilled workmen are employed in reducing 
chemically pure gold leaf, for gilders' uses. The gold is melted into ingots, 
rolled and cut into thin pieces about an inch square, when the beating com- 
mences, first upon the gold then upon skins enfolding the sheets. These are 
beaten until they become transparent, when they are cut into squares and 
booked. A pound of gold, value $250, yields about 29,000 leaves. 

The Standard Sewer-pipe company was organised in January, 1883, with a 
capital of $75,000, which, later in the year, was increased to $I00,000. The 
officers are : President, Mathias Kondolf; vice-president and superintendent, 
R. VV. Lyle ; secretary, F. N. Kondolf; treasurer, Isaac Wile. The office is 
on Caledonia avenue, adjoining the canal, and the works are on Rowe street, 
intersected by the New York Central railroad and the Erie canal ; they cost 
about $50,000, cover some ten acres and have half a mile of Central track in 
the )-ards ; the capacity is $275,000, with orders for all the pipe that can be 
made ; about 60 hands are employed. The pipe is made of clay — of which 
the company owns a large bed — thoroughly vitrified and salt-glazed. 

The Rochester Sewer-pipe company (formerly Otis & Gorsline) has exten- 
sive works on Oak street, with still larger capacity than the Standard ; but the 
inability to obtain further information makes it impossible to say any more. 

Woodbury, Morse & Co. for twelve years have been engaged in the manu- 
facture of colors and zincs in Race street, rear of their store on East Main street. 
The market is local and extends to Western and Central New York and Penn- 
sylvania, together with some western trade. The business was founded in 1843 
by M. F. Reynolds. About thirty years ago the Weddle Bros, were paint man- 
ufacturers in Rochester. 

For a number of years Rochester show-cases have had a reputation as stand- 
ard as Rochester flour, Rochester flowers, Rochester shoes or Rochester cloth- 
ing. The Stein show-case was known throughout the country, and, compared 
with other makes, was possessed of recognised superiority. Farley & Hofman 
(Joseph Farley, sr., & John Hofman), who now manufacture these cases, make 
a specialty of every known variety of show-cases and concomitant store fixtures. 
Machinery plays an important part in the production of the goods. The arms 
which form the rounded frames of show cases are made from straight-grained 
wood, which, when passed through a molding machine, are placed in a tank 
into which is let very hot moist steam. When thoroughly steamed, and while 
as pliable as wire, they are fastened to wood forms and passed to the dry kilns 
below and thoroughly dried. Even re-steaming will not make the wood resume 
its original shape unless the ends are released from the patent joint which unites 
the parts. This joint has a fixed screw which passes through the conjoined 



640 History of tiik City of Rochester. 



parts. On the reverse aide is a sliding clutch with teeth, which are firmly em- 
bedded l>y tuiiiin<^ the nuts that cap it. In no case have these connections 
e\-er come apart. Cases nia_\' i)e shi\-treLl to atunis but these joints hold. In 
the cheiiper grailes tlu'\- are made of cast iron but usual!)- are of beil-metal, 
brought U) a high polish b_\' emery, oil and buffing, with a special substance of 
the nature of rouge. 

The whi]5 business was established as earl\- as 1837 by M\-ron and William 
Strong, on Main street. Strong, Woodbur\' & Co. (H. A. Strong and E. F. 
Woodbury) are extensive manufacturers of whips, corner Allen and Washing- 
ton streets in a large building constructed expressly for the business and equipped 
with all the latest machinery. They employ 90 hands, do nearly $200,000 
worth of business annually, and, besides shipping products to all the states in 
the Union, ha\e trade in England, Australia and the West Indies. 

Clark iK; Co. (William H. Jones) are e.xtensive manufacturers of whips, on 
Exchange street, near the canal. 

Vawman & I'^rbe are manufacturers of o[)tical and survejang instruments, 
employing about 40 operatives, some of whom are, from the fine nature of the 
work, great artisans. The house is located on St. Paul street. 

The Johnston Graphite lubricating axle oil company have works in East 
Rochester; organised as a stock company, capital .stock $250,000, Clark John- 
ston president, Theodore Lane secretar)-, Wm. S. Thompson superintendent. 

The first dyeing in Rochester was done by Francis Peacock in ICS23, who 
established on State street, afterwartl (i.S2<S) moving to the corner of Mill and 
Piatt streets, continuing until 1842, when he died. Mr. Peacock's death was 
the first in the city from the ranks of the Odd h'ellows. Daniel Eear\-, who 
commenced in 1837, succeeded to the business in 1842 and now conducts it to 
conform to the progress of the times, employing more than a score of hands. 
Mr. Leary's business is one that has felt the im])roved mail and express facili- 
ties to a large degree, sending his goods, up to four pounds, by mail to all the 
states. 

Hulbert 11. Warner came to Rochester in 1870 anil commenced the sale of 
safes. In tweh'e \-ears he sold ten million dollars' wcirtli. In 1879 he en- 
gaged in the metlicine business, and before it became self-sustaining he expended 
$1,500,000 in advertising. lie now advertises in 9,000 papers, at an annual 
expense of nearh- half a million dollars. He is a customer for internal revenue 
stamps at the r.ite of $ I 50,000 annually. I*'or certain months in the year his 
postal expenses are $8oo dail\-. In 1883 he built the eight-story iron and fire- 
proof building corner of St. Paul and Pleasant streets at a cost of nearly half a 
million dollars. The system and labor-saving devices in the business are akin 
to the wonderful — especially the advertising department, at the head of which 
is H. L. Ensign. In 1884 he disposed of the safe business to Mosler, Bowen 
& Co., whose headquarters are in the Warner building. He is the founder of 



Rochester Manufactures. 641 

the Warner observatory and patron of Dr. Swift, a local astronomer of world- 
wide repute. 

The Rochester cotton mill was built b)- Seth C. J^ncs in 1845-46, who con- 
ducted it personally a short time, afterward forming a stock company known 
as "The Jones Cotton Mill." In 1853 it was leased by John Vickery and 
afterward purchased by him and run to 1863, when it was bought by Thomas 
Garner. It is now conducted by the Garner estate. Garner & Co. are the 
largest manufacturers of print cloths in the world, and the world is their 
market. This mill has 10,000 spindles and runs without cessation except on 
Sundays. 

The Stein manufacturing company is the pioneer in manufacturing cloth- 
covered burial caskets to sell to the trade ; has branch houses in New York, 
Boston, Chicago and St. Louis. The business amounts to a half a million dol- 
lars annually. The amount paid yearly for fabrics is $150,000. Two hundred 
men are employed at the works, a very ornamental structure, corner of Court 
and Exchange streets. 

The Hop Bitters manufacturing company — A. T. Soule, president, Wilson 
Soule, secretary — is located on Mill street, occupying four floors. . The trade 
is general, including England, France, Belgium, Holland, Australia and South 
America. The annual advertising bills are $170,000 to $180,000. The 
I glass bill (for bottles) is $40,000 to $50,000 yearly, and from 70,000 to 

I ■ 80,000 boxes are used in the shipment of goods, which are handled b\- 30,000 

Patrick Joyce, on West Main street, is the inventor, patentee and manu- 
facturer of a pivotal bier, which is in extensive use in churches, cathedrals, chap- 
els, etc., all over the country. 

Charles J. Lighthouse is a manufacturer of horse-collars in North Water 
street, employing from fifteen to twenty hands. 

P. H. Curtis has a factory on Favor street, for the making of artificial stone 
walks, caps, sills, etc. 

Haseltine, Dunlap & Co. are manufacturers of underwear, in lixchange 
street. This house, among the pioneer concerns in this branch of industry, 
has built up an unrivaled trade until its sales now cover every state in the 
Union. The present members of the firm are all practical men at the busi- 
ness, furnishing employment to 1 50 skilled operatives. The house manufac- 
tures over 450 different styles of garments. 

I The Stewart building, extending from Andrews street to Central avenue, 
is notable for the various industries conducted therein. As a matter of cu- 
riosity we give the names and business of the occupants, with hands emplo\-ed : 
A. Wiseman, shoemaker tools, 10 ; A. Leggett, buttonhole maker, 20; G. J. 
Michaels, machinist, 5 ; J. G. West, machinist, 5 ; D. M. Anthony, baker, 20; 
, Hatch flexible shoe company, 100; Hatch crimper company, 125; Chas. 



642 llisioRS' (IF TiiK Crrv ok R()i:iiester. 

Hodd)-, slujc lasts, 25; Hchn & Yount;-, shoes, 75 ; Henry Kohlmctz, machinist, 
15; .\i)l)(itt (.K; Hradstrccl, ladifs' underwear, 50; II. II. (^ccor, sasli and 
hlinds, ^o ; A. l{lliiit, ele\al(ir i^ales, JO; Aiithoii)- ^v Saner, i,'rinders, 3; J. 
Ci. Smith ^v' Sdii, f.uicet manutacturers, 15 ; .Amevic.m arc!ier_\- company, 50; 
J. j. O'Connor, sash .uul bhnds, 23 ; I)a\is, I.e)- .K: Ci)., furniture, 13 ; I lason 
& l\.ittelle, shoes, J3 ; Judson & Co., lishpoles, 10; John Kelle\', shoes, 150; 
K. W. Hood, buttonhole maker, 13; 1'.. K. Warren, brewery (storage), 
nomin.d ; C'ole K' Co., piinteis, nominal ; Mr. Lipskie, clothing manufacturer, 
23; I,. I.. Clark, baking powder, 10; (joble & Vredeiiberg, printers, 15 ; Ulscht 
..K; Linn, machinists, io; Thomas Hotkly, shoe lasts, 20; George F. Planner)-, 
])rinter, 10; 11. llowe & Co., scales, 23; Rochester scale compan\', F"()rs)'th 
i<; Co., 25 ; Hrettell, general machinist, 15 ; electric light company, 20; C. T. 
llorton. edge tools, 10; j. j. Ziegler, auger manufacturer 10: J. Madden, 
l)lumbing, etc., 10; tot.il numbi..'r empIo)-ed, 9.S 5. 

A simil.ir building to this, ha\'ing for tenantry a ilozen difierent manufac- 
turing industries, is " the l!eehi\ e-," site of the okl Head) mill. The old build- 
ing was destroyed by fire in 18S0 and the present brick structure was |)ut in 
its pi, ice the following smtinier by the present owners — the Butts estate. 

The e.\tensi\e trunk- manufacturing business of Henry Likly & Co. (founiled 
in 1 S44 by .\. R. I'ritchard) calls for the employment of about 125 men. A 
factory built especially for the business is loc.ited on the south bank of the Erie 
canal at L\-ell a\'enue, the site (.)f one of the earl\- (ierman breweries erected 
b)- Louis B.uier. The}- have a store and wareroom on State street extending 
through to Mill street, and their goods are sold and used in every part of the 
United States aiul in foreign parts, as well. The trunk of the present day, 
made almost exclusi\el)- b\- machiner\-, bears strong contrast to the accoutre- 
ments of our fathers. 

Rochester was not compelled to go abroad t(; secure p\'roteciinics for its 
semi-centennial cekbration. The\- were furnished by James Palmer's Sons, 
who are the leading manutacturers in the world and whose peculiar wares are 
shipped to the most remote cities of the continent. The works are on New 
Main street and were founded in I 840 b)' James Palmer. 

Peter Pitkin is a large operator in cut stone, marble work, monuments, etc., 
and occupies the building on West Main street formerh' usetl b\' the Sill stove 
foundry. The up[)er part of tlie building is devoted to the manufacture of the 
Arnold stCcUii ci.ioker, a culinar\- utensil. Whitmore, Rauber & Vicenus, on 
South St. Paid street, are also large operators in cut stone, for flagging, sills, 
street curbs, etc., besides being extensive contractors of public works. Ihe 
same may be said of McConnell & J<jnes, L.xchange and Spring streets. 

The Flour Cit\- soap com[)an}- has for officers: J. .S. Walters, president; 
D. Walters, vice-president and secretar}- ; N. 11 Randall, treasurer; capital, 
$30,000 ; location, PTont street ; sjiecialty, laundry soaps, in which the Palmer 



I 



Rochester Manufactures. 643 

patent saponifier is used, super-heated steam retaining the glycerine ; output, 
two tons daily'. The earl>- soap and candle men in Rochester were Moses 
Dyer, Jacob Anderson, John and William Mcintosh and the Moulsons, the last 
being still in business here. W. & J. Aikenhead are the successors of the 
Mclntoshes and do a large business in Front street. Henry Goetzman & Son 
are also wholesale manufacturers. 

A comparatively new industry in Rochester, introduced within the past five 
or six years, is that of machine carpet-beating and cleaning. There are several 
institutions of the kind, including the American Chemical Co., J. D. Cox, 
Theodore Batterson and Charles Bailey. An enterprising Rochester inventor 
is now experimenting on a machine to clean and beat carpets without taking 
them off the floor. 

The Rochester paper company at the lower falls manufactures nine tons 
daily of print paper, made principally of poplar wood ground into pulp in the 
Fickett machine. The inventor, Albert Fickett, is a lifelong resident inventor. 

In all probability the first book-binder in the city was Everard Peck, who 
carried on the book-bindery business in connection with other enterprises some 
time before 1825. The first firm, however, to make a specialty of binding 
books was that of C. & M. Morse, who began business at an early date. Ac- 
cording to Henry O'Rielly, there were in this city in 1838 three book-binders, 
named Samuel Drake, David Hoyt, William Ailing. Some time after this the 
business of Morse Bros, passed into the hands of Owen Morris, who controlled 
it until 1853, when it came into the possession of John C. Moore, who still 
continues to operate it. There are in the city this year eight book-binders: 
John C. Moore, E. R. Andrews, T. Benford, Creed & Wilson, Robert G. 
Newbegin, C. P. De Neve, Kohler & Parry, W. T. Kunhert. 

Alfred Wright, Clifton street, C. B. Woodworth & Sons, West Main street, 
and Adolph Spiehler are manufacturing perfumers. The first manufactures a 
very high grade of goods, which have a London and Paris reputation. Wood- 
worth & Sons have quite an extensive trade and employ about 125 hands. 
Spiehler is a practical maker and enjoys a fine trade and reputation. 

In contradistinction to this business the Rochester blood and bone phos- 
phate company (Keeler & Ellison) manufacture annually about $75,000 worth 
of fertilisers and bone black, at the junction of the Erie canal and eastern wide- 
water, which are sold in all agricultural sections. 

Sidney Church conducts a ropewalk on West avenue, established fift\'-four 
years ago. 

SCRAPS OP' HISTORY TOUCHING UPON THE MANUFACTURING INTERESTS. 

In the year 1830 Lewis Selye commenced the manufacture of scythes on 
what was then known as the " trip-hammer .lot," on the corner of State and 
Furnace streets. Subjecting his scythes to the "sledge-hammer" test, they 



644 IIisroRV (iF riiE Crrv of Rcichester. 



soon won their way to pulilic fa\-or, b\' reason of their form, strength and dura- 
bilitw anioHL; thi- farmers of tlie western countr)-. Shortl_\- after he added to 
iiis lousiness ihv manufieture of fire engines and fire hose. In iSj/his engines 
were sold as far as the eit_\' of C'k-\eland on the west, and /\lban\' on tlie east, 
when tlie factory was (lestro)-c'd i)y hre. Rebuilding his fietor)' on the site of 
the present Sel}'e anti Judson buildings, on the corner of Mill ,uid l'"urn;ice 
streets, he soon recuperated his fillen fortunes and continued in the manufie- 
ture- of fire engines until l S49, when his fictories were .again destroyed b}' rtre. 
llenr\- O'Riell)' makes the following allusion to the .Sel_\'e lire engine works: — 
•'While kocliester . .. . engines ,uul hydraulions can be furnished from her 
workshojis to protect half the towns in the land against the ravages of the devouring ele- 
ments. Selve's tire engine factory is not only sup])lying many of the towns e\ en inln the 
' f u- West,' but is actually making heailwa\- eastward against the competition of older 
establishments in the .\tlantic cities. Several of the Rochester engines have been bought 
in Schenectady. The corporation having previously tested the excellence of the Selye 
machines, formallv resobed that iIh:\ were ■ best adapted t<j the w'ants of the city on ac- 
coimt of the ficility with which the) threw water and the perfect ease with which the\' 
are kept in repair scj that in everv emergency thev can be relied upon with entire confi- 
dence' — a compliment eipially handsome and well-deserved to the ingenuity and enter- 
])rise of our townsman Lewis Selye, who has estal)lished this and other branches of busi- 
ness, through the force of his own skill and perseverance unaided by any stock companies. 
This fire engine factory was recently ( onipleted and an order for ten of the best cpiality of 
engines for the I'nited States go\ernment. to be distributed among the fortifications on 
the .\tl.intic and westward. Those who retlect on the \alue of such a manufacture to the 
city of Rochester will see that it contributes more to the solid wealth of a place than 
would several wholesale stores, owing to the greatly increased value placed by labor on 
raw material and the conseipient ability to sustain a large portion of an industrious pojj- 
ulation without the use of so much cajiital." 

Ailing & C"or\% i)a])er dealers, celebrated at the beginning of tlu' year the 
fiftieth year of the existence of the house by entering the new building erected 
for them on Ivxchangc street, near the canal. William Ailing, the senior mem- 
ber of the firm, tirst entered the employ of Marshall & Dean, Quaker booksell- 
ers, in I S3 I, at the old stand on ICxchange street. Three years later he be- 
came a pro|)rietor, the firm name being William Ailing & Co., David Iloytand 
.Samuel L). Porter being ]iartners. After three years the last two retired, and 
Mr. Ailing conducteii the business alone. In 1859 betook in two of his clerks 
as p.artners — 1 )a\id Cory and William S. Ailing. The latter died in 1872, 
and about two years ago his youngest son, Joseph T. Ailing, was made a mem- 
ber of the firm. 

Of the 300 inmates of the ^b.)nroe county ])enitentiar\^ (250 male and 50 
female) 200 are employed. Of this number 1 50 are em])loyed on shoe w^irk 
for Huiscamp Manufacturing Co. 

The commercial rating of the combined manufictnring concerns in Roch- 
ester is a little over $20,000,000. 



Rochester Manufactures. 645 

George Oliver has since 1855 been employed in the manufacture of mil 
macliiner}-. He is located at Mill and Brown streets and conducts a large bus- 
iness in the specialty of bran-dusters and grain separators, which are, througl 
their tried excellence, in demand with millers in all parts of the countr\-. 

In 1 844 Thomas Snook succeeded to the fire engine business establishec 
in 1830 by Mr. Selye. Mr, Snook enjoyed the distinction of being the firs 
locomotive engineer to run a night train in America. He was the inventor anc 
patentee of the locomotive headlight of the present da\-, excepting such im- 
provement and simplification as have been made. He was the founder of tht 
e.xtensive business now conducted by the Kelly locomotive lampworks, and ir 
his day was a marked character in Rochester, a mechanic of great genius, c 
good citizen, a warm, whole-souled friend and capable of the keenest reparte< 
in a discussion. He died in 1867. 

Junius Judson manufactured trip-hammers in 1837, and in 1849 Bernarc 
and Daniel Hughes, auger-makers, were engaged in the manufacture of atmos- 
pheric trip-hammers, of which B. Hughes was the inventor and patentee. Danie 
Hughes was the in\-entor of a screw paddle-wheel which afterward came intc 
e.xtensive use. 

In 1827 there were in Rochester 124 shoemakers, 20 hatters, j^ coopers 
23 clothiers, 20 millers, 21 mill-wrights, 24 wheelwrights, 304 carpenters anc 
joiners, 17 coachmakers, 6/ blacksmiths, 14 gunsmiths, 10 chairmakers, 9 = 
masons, 25 cabinet-makers, 21 saddlers, 8 tallow-chandlers, 23 tinners, 29 tan- 
ners, 14 bakers, 16 goldsmiths, 8 book-binders, 31 printers. In 1827 Alcott S 
Watts, E.xchange street, ne.xt to Buffalo street " kept on hand boat stoves, lanif 
oil and boat lamps and also manufactured all kinds of copper, tin, and sheet iroi 
wares ; also, all kinds of castings done at their furnace, including castings, spin- 
dles, screws and other irons necessary to supply complete at very short notic( 
either grist-mills or saw-mills." S. S. Alcott conducted a cotton-mill, employ- 
ing eighty youth and children who were liberally ofifered the advantages of ; 
school five evenings a week at the e.xpense of the employers. F"ollovving is i 
list of miscellaneous manufactories and industries (1827): 3 furnaces, 2 trip ham- 
mers, 2 breweries, 2 distilleries, 3 tanneries, i oil mill, 9 saw-mills, i nail, : 
stone and earthenware factories, 3 scythe and edge tool factories, 5 tin anc 
sheet iron factories, 3 soap and candle factories, 2 morocco factories, i comb- 
maker, I machine maker, 3 coppersmiths' shops, 3 gunsmiths' shops, 2 plough- 
makers' shops, 2 iron- turners' shops, 4 chairmakers' shops, 5 cabinet-makers 
shops, 4 hatters' shops, i paper mill, 3 book-binderies, 6 printing offices 4 sad- 
dlers' shops, 14 cooper shops, 17 blacksmith shops, i sash factory, i shoe las* 
shop, I boat shop and i pail and tub factory. The four last- mentioned art 
spoken of by the historian of that day as "beautiful specimens of the ingenuitj 
and mechanical talents of our countrymen, both lucrative and creditable to tht 
inventors;" 25,000 pails were produced the past season (1826). March 1st Har- 



646 History of the City of Rochester. 



ve\- RaN'mond was an aclvcrtisint; shoemaker on tlic west side of Carroll (State) 
street, one door south nf !■;. I'eck's Ijook-store ; Jnlin H. rhi)ni|)s<)n was a man- 
ufacturer anil wholesale antl retail dealer in '^\\t ami mahi)t4an\--framed lookint;-- 
s^lasses. i'.lihu Marshall was a plain and (irnameiital printi-r and book-binder, 
and the ([uality both of the printing antl bindinL; still in existence \-erifies all 
that Mr. Marshall claimed in iSjj. In 1S34 lulwartl & Ilenry L_\-on were 
woolen manufacturers; l.ouis Merrill was a manufactui'er of leather, on Main 
street near the bridge ; Joseph Medber_\- was a gunsmith ; Marcus Morse was a 
bo(.)k-biniler; Samuel W. Lee was a siKersmith; W. \i Lathrop was a harness 
and trunk-maker; l\.em])shall & l^ush (J. V.) were mill-furnishers on State street, 
iron founders on Mill street and burr millstone-makers on Washington; Seth C. 
Jones was a boat-builder and meiehant ; Barton & Babcock were cutlers and 
blacksmiths at Buffalo street, river bridge ; Moses N. Barnard was a millw right ; 
l)a\'id Bates was a merchant miller on Water street ; Beardslee & Austin were 
wool-carders ;md cloth-dressers; Klisha 15r_\'an was a builder of fanning mills; 
|[enr_\- lUnaiett made a sjieci.ilt)' of dressing deer skins ; James Cole was a mill- 
wright ; Ambrost' Cram was a boat-builder at (_)ak street ; Olmstead Cutting was 
a coach-maker in Pinilell alle\' ; Nason D.infirth w^as a last-maker ; Wm. Brew- 
ster had a cabinet shop on State street; Reuben Doolittle was furnaceman; Sam- 
uel Drake was a book-binder on ICxchange street ; Converse Dyer was a chand- 
ler on Mason (Front) street; Horace D\-er, Anion Bronson and G. ;\. IJollis- 
ter were lumber tlealcrs on l-",xchange stri-et ; Har\e\- C. I'enn was a cabinet- 
maker; Smith (iartlner was a manufacturer of threshing niacliines; Abijah Gould 
was a coach-maker at Sear's cabinet shoj) on Main street; Daniel and Ja- 
cob Graves v\ere leather makers ; Griffith Bros. & -Son wei'e not onl\- wliolesale 
grocers but were soap and candle-makt'rs .it the circus groimd on South 
ICxchange street; J. Il.ir\e)' S; Co. were silk, cotton and woolen tlyers on 
South St. I'aul street. i\t the close of 1833 statistics show: — 

Cash mvesled in mills and Houring niachinerv was, $ 290,000 

Amount pai<l for wheat, barrels, etc.. . 1,413,000 

Barrels of Hour manufactured, 300,000 

INVKSIMKNTS. AMiil .\l PKODICI'. 

Cotton and woolen manufacturers, ..$157,000 $197,000 

Leather and skins, . . 31,000 152,000 

Boat-building, 25,500 80,400 

Iron castings, tools, guns and rifles, 27,250 80,000 

Soap and candles, . . . . 9.393 47-3^9 

Other manutacturers in wood, stone, iron, etc., 69,000 215,450 

In 1845 Henry W'ray advertised a lock manufactory and brass foundry on 
State street. Subsequently he entered the locomotive headlight business, con- 
tinuing the lock and brass fnmdry business, which is still conducted by Wray 
& Llwood. In the same year Joel P. Milliner, corner of Oak and Smith streets, 



BlOGRAPllICAI,. 647 

and Z. H. Benjamin, Ohio basin, were advertising boat-builders in tlie same 
year (1845); Daniel Stocking advertised wooden pumps, corner of Monroe 
and Alexander streets, and Duryee & Forsyth were extensive manufacturers 
of scales on Buffalo street in rear of Barton & Belden's edge tool factory. 

In 1847 Isaac Doolittle advertised that he was "the proprietor and agent 
for divers states and territories of Crossctt's patent stave machine at Lyell 
street bridge, which machine would cut j,ooo staves an hour from any timber 
that is sawed tolerably straight grained and free from knots." 

In 1849 Frederick Starr advertised as a manufacturer of furniture at 49 
Main street (up stairs) ; Wm. Jewell was an advertiser of saddles, bridles and 
military trappings ; James Cunningham advertised an "omnibus and coach fac- 
tory at Canal street, near the corner of Buffalo; " S. Richardson was a ma- 
chinist at number i Buffalo street, and made engine and hand lathes of all 
descriptions; Alfred Judson was a brass founder and turner on State street and 
a manufacturer of school-house, factory and town bells; A. M. Badger was a 
manufacturer of refrigerators on Hill street. 



CHAPTER LIV. 

l!lUCn<AI'lIRAI,. 



FREEM.XN CLARKK was liorn in Troy, N. Y., on the 22d day of March, 1809. 
His father was Isaac Clarke, and his mother FLlizabeth Brown, both of Rensselaer 
county. N. V. Having pursued the usual school course in his native place until he was 
fifteen years old, the young man began business for himself as a grocer and dealer in 
country produce. In the year 1827, when only eighteen years of age he removed to Al- 
bion, Orleans Co., N. V., taking with him a large stock of goods, bought mostly on 
credit, where he engaged in mercantile business, the manufacture of flour and other sim- 
ilar enterprises, which were generally successful. In the year 1837 he was elected cashier 
of the Bank of Orleans, which was the first public step in a long career in which his 
e.xtraordinary financial capacity was demonstrated to an unusual degree. This bank was 
incorporated under the safety fund system of the state of New York, and Mr. Clarke had 
held the office of director in it, before being called to the position of cashier. 

After eight years of faithful and successful service as cashier at Albion, Mr. Clarke 
removed to Rochester, where he subsequendy became largely interested in banking and 
organising railroad, telegraph and other large corporations. He organised a bank for him- 
self (the Rochester bank) under the general banking law of the state of New York, which 
was a successful insdtution. He was soon chosen one of the trustees and treasurer of the 
Monroe county savings bank, and in 1857, during the panic of that year, he organised 
and became president of the Monroe County bank, which office he held until he was ap 
pointed comptroller of the currency. This bank was subsequently changed to a national 



648 Hisroin' (IK riiK Cirv hf K()(;iikster. 



hank and in Mr. Clarke's honor was calluil the CMarke National hank. In these posi- 
tions Mr. darkc aciiuircil at least a lor.il reimtation as a tnian< ier of more than ordinary 
(■a|ia(ily. 

With the ineeption anil ;.;roulli of llie railroad system of this state, Mr. Clarke he- 
came earh- ami prominenlK identified. He was one of the fn'sl direetors and the treas- 
urer of the l.oek|iort iS; Xiai^.ira I'alls road, and when that corporation was < ompelled 
to sell out its stock and fran< hises they were lioie^dit almost entire hy .Mr. Clarke and 
.Mr. Washmi;lon Hunt. In spue of L;ener,d opposition, snftieient interest in this imder- 
takin'4 was developed li\ the tun owners, and stock suliscriptions ohtaiiied to secure the 
hmldinj; of the road and its suhseipient extension to Syra( ust'. Mr. Clarke was also di- 
rector and tieasurer of the ori;,inis,uion for the latter named purpose. He was president 
from the lu'st organisation oftlie Genesee Valley railroad c inipany. and its treasurer, and 
suhse'piently became largely interested in other railroad enterprises in difl'erent [larts of 
the ( iiuntry. 

Mr. Clarke was one of the \er\- hrst to interest himself in the piomotion of the tele- 
graph interests of the tountrw He took stock in both the House Printing 'lelegraph 
compan\ , and the .Magnetic- Telegraiih companv, using the .Morse patents, both of which 
orgamsations were afterward ( onsolidated to form the nucleus ol the great \\'estern Vn- 
ion companv. While these' different olfices and positions of trust and responsiLiilit)- are 
not all to wliK h Mr. Clarke was ( .illed belore he h,id reai;lied middle lile, they w^ill serve 
to indicate tlie degree of conhdence lelt in his financial and executive capacity by his 
fellow-c iti/.eiis and business assoc iates. 

Mr. Cl.irke has alwa\ s felt a ccmimendahle degree of interest in politics, not as an 
avenue through which to .attain position or [)referinent, Inil as a means of securing good 
and efficient governuKMil. Cji to the year 1837 he was ideiititied with the Democratic 
|):irtv, and siibsec|uentlv with the Whig and the Re|)ublican ]i,n-lies. He was vice-jircs- 
ideiil of the Whig state ccjiuention in 1S50, being then but lorly-one years old: it was 
111 this c-oiuentioii that his friend, Washington Hunt, was nominated for governor. 'I'he 
president. 1 b)n. I''rancis (Ir.inger. with a portion of the delegates, seceded to organise the 
Silvc-r Crav and Know-Noihing parties, and .Mr, tdarke was called to act as president. 
In 1S52 he w.is a delegate to the Whig n.itional convention, whicli nominated General 
Scott for the presideiicv. He was vice-]iresideiil of the first Republican state conven- 
tion of the si.ite of New \'ork, in which Mxroii H. CI. irk w.is nominated for governor 
and llemv J. Ravnioncl for lieulenaiU-governoi . In 1856 he was chosen presidential 
elector cm the I'remont and Davton ticket. In i86j, at the most c:ritical [leriod of the 
nation's historv. he was elected a representative from .New York to the thirty-eighth 
Congress, declining a reelection at the expir.ition of his term, to accept the appointment 
in 1865. of comptroller of tin- currencv. It was in this important olfic e, when the finan- 
cial affairs of the countrv were nuicli clistractecl and the credit of the goxernment was at 
its lowest ebb, that Mr. Clarke's innate Imancial abilit)- and tact were recognised by his 
official associates and fully demonstrated bv the im|>ortant arts that followed, for which 
he was principally responsible. It was during his administration that the national cur- 
rency ac-t was passed, which taxed and legislated the old state banks out of existence, 
and compelled all banking institutions to invest heavily in government bonds for deposit 
as security against their issue of bills, thus creating a demand for the bonds and reestalj- 
lishing the credit of the government on a firmer basis. 'I'lie importance of this measure 



I 



Freeman Clarke. — Patrick Cox. 649 

at that time can scarcely be over-estimated, and Mr. Clarke's instrumentality in its con- 
sumination was freely acknowledged by Secretary of the Treasury Chase and other mem- 
bers of the cabinet. 

Mr. Clarke resigned the office of comptroller of the currency and was in 1867 
elected a member of the New York state constitutional convention, of which he was 
one of the leading members. In 1870 he was reelected a representative from New 
York to the forty-second Congress, in which he served on the committee on appropri- 
ations, and was again reeelected in 1872 to the forty-third Congress, serving on the 
committee on foreign affairs. 

If anything further is needed in evidence of the fact that Mr. Clarke might have 
attained almost any political preferment to which his ambition was directed, it is sup- 
plied in the statement that during the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, and when 
it was generally believed he would be impeached, arrangements were quietly made by 
which, in that event, a new cabinet could be organised without delay. For the office 
of secretary of the treasury Mr. Clarke's name was brought forward, first by Thomas 
W. Olcott, the eminent financier, in a letter addre.ssed to Edwin D. Morgan and Roscoe 
Conkling, strongly recommending Mr. Clarke for the position. This letter was endorsed 
by bankers and financial men of New York city representing more than four hundred 
millions of dollars. After the failure of the impeachment proceedings, this letter was 
returned by Governor Morgan to Mr. Clarke and is now in his possession. 

Although a large portion of his life has been passed outside of his adopted city, Mr. 
Clarke has been honored by his fellow-citizens at home, though often feeling compelled 
to decline honorable distinction. He acted as one of the commissioners appointed by 
the city to supervise the elevation of the New York Central railroad tracks through the 
city, a work demanding qualifications of a high order on the part of the commission. 
He is now a trustee of the Rochester university, was formerly a member of the First 
Presbyterian church and now of St. Peters' church, in both of which he held office. 

Personally, iVIr. Clarke is a gentleman of dignified, yet courteous demeanor ; easy 
of approach by the humblest; prompt and terse in speech ; an excellent judge of men 
and a warm and true friend to those to whom he becomes attached. What is greater 
than all the rest, in his long private and public career, much of the time being custodian 
of vast interests, financial and otherwise, he has not only been uniformly successful, but 
has won a reputation extending far beyond the boundaries of the state for unusual 
capacity and unquestioned integrity. 

In 1833 Mr. Clarke was married to Miss Henrietta J. Ward, the youngest daughter 
of Dr. Levi Ward. They have had ten children, seven of whom are now living. Mr. 
Clarke occupies one of the most attractive places of residence in the city of Rochester, 
with ample grounds and beautiful surroundings ; it is situated on Alexander street. 



PATRICK COX is the second son of Dennis and Mary Cox and was born in the 
county town Longford, Ireland, January ist, 1842. When eight years of age he 
was brought to Monroe county by his parents, together with his two brothers and four 
sisters, and the family located in Rochester. Patrick attended the number 9 public 
school, were he made good progress in his studies ; he left school provided with the 
solid foundation of a good practical business education. He then served an apprentice- 



650 History ok the City ok Rochester. 



ship to tlie shoL-niaking trailc and for several years worked on the bencli, i.)roving him- 
self proficient in the business. ' 

in 1862 when the niainifacture of shoes by "teams" was adopted, he was employed 
bv 1.. iV H. Churcliill and given the foremanshi|i of one of their -'teams," being then 
unl\- twenl\' \ears of age. Two \ears later he remined to New \'ork city and there 
began manul'acturing shoes on his own accoimt and meeting with fair success until 1.S71, 
when the labor troubles caused so many maiuifacturers to leave the metropolis. In th.it 
year he returned to Rochester and iipene(l a factory on North Water street a few doors 
from his pr<-sent location. He ((iniuuu-d in business alone until 1876, when he took in 
with him his brother Joseph, the firm being then 1'. ('ox\- IJrother, and remaining thus 
until J.imiar\' 1st, i8S^^. ,\t tluit linu' joseiili retired fr<im the firm and a sto( k com- 
p.iiiN was lonneil under the name of the 1'. Cox .Shoe Mamif icturing (onipan), with 
I'atiu k Cox as president. 

liy constant adherence to principles of integrity in the make-up of their goods and 
their remarkable energy and excellent business capacity, the firm has steadily increased 
its product, until the\' turn out in fine shoes three-(|uarters of a million dollars annually 
and gi\e em|ilo\inent to lour hundred and fifty hands. Their goods are to be found in 
every (atv and stale in llie Union and their trade mark is everywhere acknowledged to 
be a guarantee of excellence of cjuality. The linn is one of the foremost cif the shoe 
manufacturing intc-rest in Rochester. 

Mr. Cox is president of the Rochester \- Charlotte turnpike road company and also 
a director of the Merc hauls' bank. He was married in 1874 to (lertrude Callery and 
they ha\e had fi\'e c hildren, four of whom are living. He has receiill) purchased what 
is known as the Hooker rc'sidem e on I'^ast .\\enue, with about two acres of nursery 
grounds attac hed, where he will make his future home. 



CHKSTER DF.WKV.' D. D., T.I,. D., at the time of his death emeritus ])rofessor in 
the Cni\c-rsitv of Koc iiester. w.is in two respects a rejjresentalive man. He was not 
only a typical teacher, but he also held a distinguished ]iosition among the few who at 
an early day c ultixated and organised the study of natural science in America. 

I )r. Dew ey was born in Sheffield, Berkshire county, Massachusetts, October 25lh, 1 784. 
1 1 is lather was a, man of strong character and clear head, who seems to have had the will 
and the capacity to give his son a most symmetrical training, both moral and intellectual. 
In this work the father was aid';d by a wife of singular piety, ciieerfulness and moral 
excellence. It was doubtless to these early fi)rmative influences that Dr. Dewey owed 
much of that moral completeness which adorned the whole of his subsequent life, .\fter 
a youth spent in alternate lal)or on the farm and study in the common .school, he fitted 
himself to enter the college at Williainstown, Massachusetts, in his eighteenth year. He 
graduated in 1S06, taking rank as a scholar among the first in his class. During his resi- 
dence in college he became the subject of those dee[) religious convictions, by which he 
ever after ordered his entire life. After graduation he lived and studied with Dr. Stej)hen 
West, who was an eminent theologian of the time, and for sixty years pastor of the church 
in Stockbridge, Mass. In 1807 he was licensed to preach by the Berkshire association 

1 This skctcli iscondcnsL-cl from llie Smitlisoiii.an Ke|)oit for 1870, for which the original was prepared 
by iJr, M. 15. Anderson, I'rcsident of Rochester university. 



Chester Dewev. 



651 



P 



(Congregational). After teaching and preaching for a few months at West Stockbridge 
and Tyringham, Mass., he was appointed a tutor in WilHams college. Although he thus 
entered on a new field of labor, he never really retired from the pulpit. For fifty years 
he accepted frequent invitations to preach, in scores of churches in many places, and did 
nearly as much work of this kind as if preaching were his only occupation, and he had 
no other regular and pressing duties to perform. 

After two years service as tutor he was elected (at the age of twenty-six) professor 
of mathematics and natural philosophy. He held this position till 1827, a period of 
seventeen years. During this time the college was poor and struggling for life. Of 
necessity, a heavy burden of labor and responsibility rested upon the officers of instruc- 
tion. Among these Dr. Dewey bore a distinguished part. In times of confusion and 
internal disorder, his influence over the students is said to have been most salutary and 
powerful. According to the custom of the time, his department of instruction included 
not onlv mathematics and physics, but the whole range of chemistry and the natural 
sciences. 

He entered upon the work of accumulating and organising the apparatus and collec- 
tions requisite for the study of chemistry and natural history with great zeal and enthusi- 
asm ; while he was equally earnest in giving instruction in the severer portions of the broad 
department for whose cultivation in the college he was responsible. He fitted up a lab- 
oratory and commenced making collections for the illustration of botany, mineralogy and 
geology. This was accomplished mainly by personal labor and e.xchanges with those 
engaged in similar pursuits in our own and other countries. These labors gave the initial 
impulse to the cultivation of the natural sciences in Williams college and laid the found- 
ations of its now large and valuable illustrative collections. 

In 1827 Dr. Dewey resigned the chair which he had so long held. The friends of 
education in Western Massachusetts had been impressed with the necessity of providing 
more systematic and vigorous instruction for young men preparing for college and im- 
mediate business pursuits. .An opportunity for public service of this sort of more imme- 
diate usefulness, as it seemed to him, than was afforded by his college chair, was found 
in the establishment of a Gymnasium at Pittsfield. He removed to Pittsfield, where 
from 1822 he had been engaged as professor of botany and chemistry in the Medical 
college, and became principal of this institution. He remained in Pittsfield nine years, 
at the same time occupying the chair of botany and chemistry in the Medical college 
there. His connection with this medical school was retained after his removal to Roch- 
ester, until about 1850. From 1841 he lectured for about nine years also at the Medical 
school in Woodstock, Vermont. In 1836 he removed to this city, and took charge of 
the collegiate institute. This institution in connection with Professor N. W. Benedict 
and others, he conducted with high success for fourteen years. In 1850, at the estab- 
lishment of the University of Rochester, he was elected professor of chemistry and nat- 
ural history in that institution, and continued to discharge the duties of that chair for a 
little more than ten years. He retired from active duty in 1861, at the ripe age of sev- 
enty-six. 

Dr. Dewey was always ready to aid those who were honestly working to acquire an 
education. Many of his pupils who became eminent in the scientific world were glad 
to attribute their success largely to the inspiration of his enthusiasm, fullness of knowl- 
edge and willingness to teach. In his chosen profession of teacher he was an enthusiast. 



652 History of the City ok Rochester. 



His whole life was absorbed in obtaining knowledge and imparting it to others. In the 
street, in the social circle, in the [irofessor's chair, he was always the teacher. No ])er- 
son could come within the sphere of iiis influence without carrying away some new fact 
or thought, or being inoculated with new lo\e for moral or natural truth. In his minil 
new truths seemed to fall s|>ontaneou>ly into the form a(la|>tcil for presentation to the 
learner. Me always concei\ed of nature and man as belonging to a common system, 
related to each other in e\ ery part and designed to illustrate a common moral luirpose. 
This naturally led him to estimate new mvestigations and discoveries to be important 
mainlv as they served to set forth the moral dignity of man. to promote his happiness 
and cle\ate his charai ter. His intellectual life was a beautiful commentary on the re- 
mark of Ciibbon, that "It is .a greater glory to science to de\elop and perfect mankind, 
than it is to enlarge the boundaries of the known universe." He was utterly free from those 
petty jealousies which so often niamfest themselves among scientific men. He rejoiced 
in scientific progress, to wliomsoever it was due, and was always most generous in his 
estimate of the achievements of others. To his mind there was no broad separation be- 
tween tlie moral and the material order, liut he was intensely averse to that false phi- 
losophy which seeks unity at the ex[)ense of reducing all thought and volition to dynamics, 
making no distinction between man and a crystal. To his mind, the whole scheme of 
material things was ever throbbing anil quivering with Divine life, benevolence and 
power. This profound recognition of (lod in the modes in which he has revealed him- 
self, rounded and completed his moral and intellectual lile and made him, li\- way of 
eminence, the ^vci/ teacher. 

As a man of science. Dr. Dewey belongs to a class whose abilities and |niblic serv- 
ices are liable, in our time, to be overlooked or underrrated. Reference is here made 
to those men who were iiioneers in the w(jrk of cultivating and popularising natural sci- 
ence in our country. When .\nios Katon, Parker Cleveland, Robert Hare, Benjamin 
Silliman, Kdward Hitchcock and Chester Dewey began their labors, the natural sciences, 
as they are now understood, had, in this country, hardly an existence. .Since that time 
the disco\eries and iinestigations u]>on uliuh ihe)- rest li,i\e in great part been made or 
matured. 

Dr. Dewey left college m 1.S06. Just aliout this |jeriod that remarkable im|iulse was 
given to scientific imiuiry, resulting in almost simultaneous de\elopiiient of chemistry, 
zoology, crystallography, botany and geology, which rendered the first half of the nine- 
teenth century so supremely illustrious. 

In connection with his labors in giving instruction in colleges, medical schools and 
academies, Dr. Dewey was not unmindful of his obligations to make some additions to 
the sum of scientific knowledge. He was for forty years a constant contributor to Sil- 
liiiiaii's yoiinial. He always studied with ])en in hand and was a constant writer on 
scientific subjects for the news])aper press. He became early in life an enthusiastic 
student of botany and contributed very largely to the scientific knowledge of \\\it carices. 
Dr. .\sa dray, our great botanist, classes Dr. Dewey with Schweinitz and Torrey, and 
speaks of his writings on caricogra])hy as "an elaborate monograph patiently prosecuted 
through more than forty years." He further says: "In connection with the two botan- 
ists above mentioned, he laid the foundation and insured the popularity of the study of 
the sedges in this country." Linfortunately, Dr. Dewey did not write any systematic 
treatise on this subject, but his numerous short articles represent the progress of his own 



r 



Chester Dewev. — Addison Gardiner. 653 

observations and studies and give a history of the progress of that department of bo- 
tanical science. Dr. Dewey wrote a History of the Herbaceous Plants of Massac/iiisetts, 
which was pubHshed by the state. He contributed, also, the article on cariccs, to Wood's 
Botany. Up to the last year of his life, his mind showed the vigor and enthusiasm of 
his early years, and he was constantly writing on scientific topics, mainly for reviews. 
His last publications of any length were two review articles, one entitled The True 
Place of Man in Zoology ; the other, An Examination of Some of the Reasonings against 
the Unity of Mankind. These articles were read first before a literary association in 
Rochester, of which the doctor was one of the founders. They displayed a full and in- 
telligent familiarity with all the most recent discoveries and speculations bearing upon 
these difficult and complicated questions. His last labors were the orderly arrangement 
of his large collection of sedges, which had been for so many years accumulating on 
his hands, and copying out his meteorological journal. Just before his death, while en- 
gaged upon his journal, his hand became unable to hold a pen, and, calling for the aid 
of his daughter, he placidly remarked that this would be his last report to the Smithson- 
ian Institution. He died calmly, of old age, on the 1 5th of December. [867, in his 
84th year. He had the control of his faculties to the last, sustained by an unfaltering 
trust in a blessed life hereafter. 

Dr. Dewey married Sarah Dewey of Stockliridge, Mass., in 1810. She died in 
1823. Of their five children all are now dead. In 1825 he married Olivia Hart, eldest 
child of Lemuel Pomeroy, of Pittsfield, Mass. Mrs. Dewey still lives, with her daugh- 
ter, Mrs. William H. Perkins, in this city. The other surviving children are Chester P. 
Dewey, of Brooklyn, and Mrs. Henry Fowler, and Dr. Charles A. Dewey, of Rochester. 



HON. ADDISON GARDINER, formerly lieutenant-governor, and judge of the 
court of Appeals, of the state of New York, was born at Rindge, New Hampshire, 
March 19th, 1797, and died at his home in the city of Rochester, June 5th, 1883. He was 
a grandson of Isaac Gardner, of Brookline Mass., one of his majesty's justices of the 
peace in the colonial times, who was killed at the first outbreak of the revolution, and 
of whom the historian, Bancroft, says : "Isaac Gardner, one on whom the colony rested 
many hopes, fell about a mile west of Harvard college." The patriot marched with the 
Brookline minute men for Lexington, on the 19th, of April, 1775, and, meeting the re- 
treating column near Watson's Corner, was instantly killed in the skirmish which ensued, 
receiving no less than a dozen wounds. His son, William Gardner, born at Brookhne 
in 1761, married Rebecca, a daughter of Dr. Raymond, an Englishman, and settled in 
Rindge, New Hampshire. He was a man of ability and pleasing manners, and in suc- 
cession occupied the principal civil and military offices. He was colonel of the regiment 
of which the militia of the town was a portion ; was for three years a member of the state 
legislature, and was selected for many other important positions. In 1.809 Colonel Gard- 
ner took up his residence for a time at the city of Boston, but soon after removed to 
Manlius, Onondaga county, N. Y., where he was a successful merchant and manufac- 
turer; he died in 1833. His wife, a lady of superior mind and accomplishments, sur- 
vived him about seven years. Colonel Gardner's sons, of whom Addison was the third 
restored the original spelling of the name, in which for several generations the second 
vowel had been omitted. Addison Gardiner, having studied law, commenced practice 



654 lIlSTdkN' (IF 11 IK CirV OK RdCIIKSTKK. 



at Rdchestcr in 1823, the same \oar 111 whi< h the court-house was built, and the year 
after Monroe was separated fVoni ( )iitarin and (ienesee as a separate tountw Tlie vil- 
hige was urowinu rajiidly m popuhition and imporlaiu e, and ho soon serured a lui ralive 
jiraitice. Ilewa-. Rochester's lirst justice of the peai c. Sanuiel I ,. Selden. afterward 
j.idne of the < ourl of Appeals, became his |ianiier. and llenr\- R. Selden, afterward lieu- 
tenant-go\ernor and judi,'e of the < iiurt ol .\p])eals, was a student in the law othce of 
Ciardiiier iV Selden. In iS_'5 Mr. (larduier was appointed district-attorney for Monroe 
countv, and performed the duties of the office so satisfactoril)-, th.it on the 25th of Sc|item- 
ber, 1829. he received the apiiointment, from (iovernor 'Hiroo]). ofiircuil jiid.ne for the 
eighth circuit of the state, consisting of the counties of Allegan) , I'j'ie, Chautauiiua, Mon- 
roe, ( leiiesee and Niagara. Besides holding circuits for the trial of causes, he was cx-officio 
\ice-chancellor of the same territory. The .\nti-Masonic excitement, growing out of the 
disappearaiK e of Morgan, had now comnieiK ed, and perhaps the most important case that 
came before Judge (l.irdiner, white on the bench of the circuit court, was that of the 
])eople against Mather, who was tried at the Orleans circuit, within two months after his 
appointment, lor conspirac\- in the abduction of Morgan. .\ multitude of ciiiestions were 
raised upon the trial, which w.is remarkable I'or its length, it being made a matter of 
special mention in the reports, that it occupied ten days, though, in these days of tedious 
trials, the protession and the public might naturally expect that such a case would occupy 
nearly as many weeks, .\fter the ac:i|uittal of the defendant, a motion for a new trial was 
made in the Supreme court. I'he case is to be found in the fourth volume of Wendell's 
re]:iorts, [lage 220. The head notes, giving the disposition of the various questions raised, 
occupy four pages. On many of the [xiints it has e\cr Itecn a leading case. .Ml the 
rulings of the jndge were sustained by the Supreme court, and the.se, and other decisions, 
gave him the rei)utation of the model circuit judge. Resigning his judicial office in Feb- 
ruary, 1838, he returned to the practice of his profession at Roc:hester, and was recog- 
nised as one of the foremost of the bar of Western New York. In November, 1844, he 
was elected lieutenant-governor of the state on the Democratic: tic:ket, with Silas Wright 
tor governor. Many important cjuestions came before the Senate while he |iresicled. It 
was the period of the anti-rent disturbancres, and various [ireventive and remedial meas- 
ures were discu.ssed. The enlargement of the canals, and other cjuestions of internal 
improvement, received attention. One of the most important bills, passed after long and 
animated discussion, provicled for the call of a state convention for the formation of a 
new constitution. ,\s president of the Senate, I.,ieutenant-(iovernor (lardiner was the pre- 
siding officer of the court for the correction of errors, and then the court of last resort, 
consisting of the president of the Senate, the senators, chancellor, and judge of the Supreme 
court. Not very many cases were carried to this tribunal, litigation usually ceasing with 
the decision of the Supreme court or that of the chancellor, so that most of them were 
important in prim i]ile or amount. Those decided during his presidency will be found 
in Denio's reports. .\s illustrative of his written opinions and methods of reasoning, 
we select Miller v. (Jable (2 Deiiio. .Y)i), on charitable uses, holding that chancery, 
under its general jurisdiction over trusts, will interfere, on behalf of members of a relig- 
ious corporation to whicdi a fund has been granted, to prevent it from diverting the fund 
to promote the teaching of doctrines e.ssentially variant from those designated, but not 
as to lesser shades of doctrine; Mayor of New York r. Baily (2 Denio, 433), holding 
that an .action on the case for malfeasance will be against the corporation ; if tlie city be 



Addison Gardiner. 655 



emijowered by statute to construct works, tlie state reserving the power to appoint com- 
missioners to superintend the construction, the acceptance of the act by the city renders 
it Hable for injuries arising for want of skill, or neglect, in building the works. At the 
close of his term of office Judge Gardiner was reelected lieutenant-governor over Ham- 
ilton Fish, the Whig candidate, by 13,000 majority, although, in the political complica- 
tions of the time, John Young was elected governor by the Whigs, by a majority of more 
than 11,000 over Governor Wright. The lieutenant-governor resigned the position the 
following year. The new constitution, which had been adopted by a majority of 130,- 
000, changed the judicial system of the state, and the new court of Appeals-was, as its 
name implies, the court of last resort. Upon its organisation, in 1847, Judge Gardiner 
was elected one of the judges, and held the office until the close of his term, December 
31, 1855, when he voluntarily retired, declining a renomination, which, in the state of 
parties, was equivalent to a reelection. The other judges, elected to the court of Appeals 
on its organisation, were Judges Bronson, Jewett and Ruggles, who were succeeded, be- 
fore the retirement of Judge Gardiner, by Judges Foot, Denio and A. S. Johnson. 
Among the judges of the Supreme court who were ex-officio members of the court of 
Appeals were Judges Cady, Gridley, Wells and S. L. Selden. In this distinguished 
judicial circle Judge Gardiner occupied a conspicuous position. No opinions were 
([uoted with more respect than his. Short and terse, they go directly to the heart of the 
(juestion. They are reported in Comstock's, Selden's and the first three volumes of 
Kernan's reports. Among them are the cases of Uanks v. Quackenbush (i Comstock, 
129), in which he dissented, with three others of the judges, constituting one-half of the 
court, from the opinion of the four others, that the act of 1842, extending the exemption 
of personal property from the sale under execution, is unconstitutional and void as to 
debts contracted before its passage; Leggett v. Perkins (2 Comstock, 267), holding that 
a trust to receive and pay over the rents and profits of land was valid, under the statute 
authorising a trustee to receive the same and apply them to the use of any person ; Peo- 
ple V. Schuyler (4 Comstock, 173), reversing the decree of the Supreme court, and hold- 
ing that if the sheriff, after the jury have found for a claimant, refuses to deliver the property, 
the surety on his official bond is liable, though the creditor does not indemnify him, and, 
where he requires and receives indemnity before selling and judgment is afterwards re- 
covered against him for the erroneous seizure, his sureties, on payment of the judgment, 
are entitled to be subrogated to the indemnity; Chautauqua Co. bank r. White (2 Sel- 
den, 236), holding that an assignment by the debtor to the receiver of all his real prop- 
erty leaves no residuary interest in the debtor, and reversing the decree of the Supreme 
court, and affirming that of the vice-chancellor; Nicholson v. Leavitt (2 Selden, 510), re- 
versing with-the concurrence of all the judges, the judgment of the Superior court of the 
city of New York, and holding that an assignment by insolvent debtors of their property 
to trustees for the benefit of their creditors, with an authorisation to the trustees to sell 
the assigned property upon credit, is fraudulent and void as against the creditors of the 
assignees; Talmage v. Pell (3 Selden, 328), on the powers of banking associations, re- 
versing the judgment of the Supreme court; Kundolf z;. Thalheimer {2 Kernan, 593), 
on the powers of county courts, reversing the judgment of the Supreme court. The in- 
tellectual and moral qualities which especially characterised Judge Gardiner, as a judge, 
were his directness, comprehensiveness, and vigor, and his intense devotion to the right. 
With the justice of the case clearly in view, he never failed to find satisfactory reasons 



656 History of the City of Rociiestkr. 



to L'stahlish it. A stronglv svmiiatbetic nature, though it never swerved him from pro- 
noun<iiic; the law as he luuuii it. made him switt to la\- his hand upon inii|uity. to redress 
the wrongs of the injured, and to xiudicate the right. .Mthough judge (lardiner retired 
from the court of A])peals before he haif reached his sixtieth year, it was not to a hfe of 
intellectual inactivity. .\s a referee he continued to lend his aid in the administration 
of justice, and it may well he doubted whether he did not, for twenty years, hear more 
important causes than any judge upon the bench of the Supreme court. Judge Gardiner 
was a modest, unassuming man. The path of higher political ])referment was open to 
him. but he never init himself forward. He was at one time spoken of for the national 
presidency, and if he had had the ambition of less competent persons, he might have re- 
ceived the nomination. Passing the evening of his life on his farm, and taking pleasure 
in outdoor exercise, he preserved both his mental and physical vigor u]) to his final ill- 
ness. In 1831 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Selkrigg, of .Scotch descent; 
their children are Charles A. and Celeste .M. William ( lardiner. Judge CJardiner's oldest 
brother, born in 1787. resided several years in Lowell, Mass., when he removed to Texas, 
where he died u])on his ]ilantation near San .\ntonio, alxnit 1855. .'\nother brother, 
("harles, born 1789, who was a merchant in New Orleans, died in i860. His sister 
Rebecca, born in 1791, married ( )ren Stone, a merciiant, and llie partner of (lovernor 
Seymour's father; they removed to Waiertown. where she died about 1S18. .\nother 
sister. Dorothy, married Thomas A. Could, a Lawyer of Pittsfield, Mass., where she died 
in 1857. The youngest sister, .Andu I.ucia, born about 1800, married Hon. Elijah 
Rhoades, of Manlius, a merchant and state Senator. She now resides with an adopted 
daughter in Brooklvn, New \'ork. 



JKSSK W. H.\TCTI. — Prominent among the jiioneers of Rochester, an(t for many 
years one of the leading manufacturers, is the subject of this sketch. Jesse W. Hatch 
was born in Cranville, Washington county, N. Y.. on the 20th day of May, 1812, and 
is directly descended from a family who came to this country immediately after the 
Puritans in 1632. His ancestors, paternal and maternal, ilid honorable service for their 
countrv in the revolutionary struggle, and his father was engaged in the war of 1812. 
When he «as ten years of age his parents removed to .Monroe county. Two years later 
he made his first ad\ent into Rochester, then but a small hamlet. 

The young man obtained such education as was offered in those early days, attend- 
ing school at least a jjortion of each year until he was fifteen, when he left home to learn 
the tanning, currying and shoemaking trades, those three industries then being looked 
u[)on as constituting but one trade. The firm with whom he was apprenticed was Lin- 
nel & Foote, who had an establishment at Palmyra and another at Pittsford, through 
both of which Mr. Hatch ]iursued his way with industry and success, l)ecoming a thor- 
ough master of all the details of the business. 

In the spring of 1831, being then nineteen years old, he came to Ro<:hester, where 
he has ever since resided. .Although the fact is neither to his credit nor his discredit, 
still U is a fact that he was possessed of very limited ca]jital when he reached the vil- 
lage, the amoimt, to speak with precision, being just nineteen cents; but he had the 
good sense to look upon his trade at its true worth. He found employment at once as 
a journeyman boot-maker, in which particular branch of his trade he excelled. He 



Jesse W. Hatch. 657 



succeeded in pleasing his em])Ioyers and gaining a reputation as a workman of unusual 
ability. Two years later his ambition to advance in the world led him to embark in 
business for himself, and he opened a small retail boot and shoe store on Main street. 
He prospere<l fairly for three years, when, owing to circumstances beyond his control, he 
was compelled to give up business and again go to work at his trade. This did not, 
however, continue long, for he was soon again in business in the same line, which he 
conducted successfully until the summer of 1842, when he formed a copartnership with 
Henry Churchill, under the firm name of J. W. Hatch & Co. Three years later, Lyman 
C, a brother of Henry Churchill, was admitted to the firm, the style remaining the 
same. A successful business was carried on by them until 1855, when Mr. Hatch sold 
his interest to his partners, and formed a copartnership under the same .style, with David 
McKay which continued three years. The firm of J. W. Hatch &: Son was then formed 
in the same line of trade (J. W. & Chas. B. Hatch). When the financial stringency of 
1857-58 came, Mr. Hatch was unprepared to meet it and he saw almost his entire pos- 
sessions swept away, leaving him for the second time to begin business life anew. This 
he did with renewed energy, as a manuf:u;turer, which he has continued until the pres- 
ent time. 

It is one of Mr. Hatch's proudest triumphs that he was the pioneer in the United 
States (probably in the world) in introducing the sewing-machine into the manufacture 
of shoes; he was the very first man to make it a success, and thus revolutionised the 
business, doing more, perhaps, than any other one person to forward the manufacture 
of foot-wear from the old and slow methods, to the present mighty industry. Mr. 
Hatch is a natural mechanic, and hence it is not wonderful that his attention was at- 
tracted to the Singer sewing-machine when it was first exhibited in Rochester at the 
state fair of 1852. He had not long witnessed its working before he resolved to apply 
it to the manufacture of shoes. He secured a machine and tried the experiment (being 
then in partnership with the Messrs. Churchill) ; the experiment was only partially suc- 
cessful, chiefly from the imperfection of the stitch and the tension of the lower thread, 
as it was drawn from different points on the bobbin. Mr. Hatch was advised by the 
agent of the machine to go to New Jersey, where he said two manufacturers were using 
it. He did so, but found that one of the men had discontinued using the machine, 
while the other was still behind Mr. Hatch in results. He returned and finally over- 
came the difficulty referred to by using a larger thread on the bobbin than the one in 
the needle; this plan resulted in a pronounced success and has since been adopted 
wherever the sewing-machine is used for shoe-work. Other improvements and changes 
were made in the machine at his suggestion, to better adapt them to shoe manufacture, 
and it was not long before he had samples on exhibition at the office of the Singer Sew- 
ing- Machine company in New York which attracted much attention for the perfection 
and beauty of the stitching. Hence Mr. Hatch is entitled to the credit of being the 
real beginner in the revolution of shoe manufacturing — a revolution almost unparalleled 
in any branch of business, and which has built up in Rochester, especially, one of its 
largest and most important industries. 

But Mr. Hatch did not stop here. In 1853, he, in company with Henry Churchill, 
invented and patented the celebrated revolving die power sole-cutter, which came into 
extensive use in the United States and portions of Europe. In 1871-72 he invented 
and patented a machine for crimping and molding "counters " for boots and shoes at 



658 History of the City of Rochester. 

one 0|ieralion, a (lc\ire whicli turns out three tJiousand ''counters" per day and is des- 
tined li> su|iersede the old and more costly methods. 'Hiis machine is now controlled 
li\' his suns, .Vndrew J. and James 1,. Hatch, under the name of the Hatch Tatent 
Crimper conipanv : the\- have alread\' hmlt up a large and lucrati\e business. 

Mr. Hatch is ies])onsil)le tor \arious other impro\ements in shoe manul'acturin^, de- 
signed to ad\an( e the methods, make it more protitalile and improve the quality of the 
l)roduct. but uhi( h (.ould ikjI be protected by patent and need not be further alluded to. 
.\ later [latented invention is the Hatc:h flexible shoe, tor children, which is designed to 
give ease and comfort to the wearer and es|)ecially to admit of a natural fle.xibie action 
of the growing foot. In making these shoes the insole is shortened and cut away t'rom 
tlie shank around the fore piart of the foot, sewing through the u])])er and outsole only, leav- 
ing the shoe ]ierfectly llexible. {"here is no insole to cut away the upjjcr and the shoe, con- 
sequently, wears much longer. I'or the niamifa<'ture of these goods the Hatch Fle.xibie 
.Shoe company was organised. .Mr. Hatch and his son. ("harles B. Hatcli, being given 
its management. The demand is large and coiisequeiul\- iiK reasing as the merit of tiie 
article becomes better known. 

From 1874 to 187S, .\Ir. Hatch, associated with Henry C. Thompson, of Milford, 
("onn., was engaged in iinenting and ex[)erimenting with improvements in lasting-ma- 
chines, on which he was granted several patents. These inventions showed remarkable 
ingenuity in overcoming obstacles, to surmount which other inventors had expended 
more than half a million dollars, and with only unsatisfactory results. Mr. Hatch made 
improvements that are \itai to any successful lasting-machine and have resulted, when 
consolidated with other im[)rovements, in the now perfect machine made solely by the 
McKay-Copeland Lasting-Machine association, to which his patents have l)een trans- 
ferred. 

The reader of the foregoing pages need not be told that Jesse \V. Hatch is entitled to a 
foremost ])osition among the shoe manufacturers of the world, while as an inventor he is 
worthy of much credit. .Ml this is given him by his friends and ac(juaintances in Roch- 
ester and New Fngland, where his general business standing, his unquestioned integrity, 
liberal public spirit and genial social (|ualities are fully appreciated. 

.•\ few words upon Mr. Hatch's military career will not be out of place here. When 
he arrived in Rochester he joined the rifle company commandeil by Captain Samuel 
Drake, and al the second drill meeting was elected second sergeant. This coni])any 
was a part of the Figlueenth Rifle regiment, and when Horace Gay became its colonel, 
I'icY Colonel .\. W. Riley jiromoted to brigadier-general, Mr. Hatch was given the office 
of adjutant on Colonel Gay's staff; this office he held until the disbandment of the 
regiment. At the organisation of the Union Grays in 1837, chiefly through the energy 
of Lansing H. Swan, brigade ins])ector on Gen. Riley's staff, Mr. Hatch joined the 
company and is no« a member of the Veteran Grays, an organisation for perpetuating 
the memory of old times and which pays jiroper respect to those of the old comjiany 
who are called from earth. 

Mr. Hatch has never been an office seeker in any sense of the word, and has often 
declined proffered positions of honor, chiefly through a lack of taste for such duties and 
the demands of his own enterprises. He acted as a member of the board of education 
in 1846. He has been a member of the Brick Presbyterian church for forty-two years, 
one of its Sunday-school teachers for forty-one years, an elder in the church since 1859, 



Jesse W. Hatch.— Charles J. Hill. 659 

trustee from 1854 to 1876, and was Sunday-school superintendent one year, declining 
the office to which he was reelected a second year. 

Mr. Hatch was married to Harriet E. Fhnt, of Boston, Mass., October nth, 1832. 
She died in 1867. His second wife was Mrs. Mary A. Frye, of Brockport. From the 
first union eight children were born, five of whom are living. His oldest son, Jesse W. 
Hatch, jr., died in 1865 ; his third son, Edwin B. B. Hatch, died in the battle of Gaines's 
Mills, 1862 ; his daughter Harriet E. Hatch married Rev. A. J. F. Behrends, and died 
in January, 1882 ; his daughter Adelaide married A. M. Lindsay, of the firm of Sib- 
ley, Lindsay & Curr, of Rochester, and his daughter Emma lives at home. The sons 
Andrew J. and James L. have been referred to and Charles B. is in business with his 
father. 



CHARLES J. HILL was born at Woodbury, Conn., April 13th, 1796. His father, 
Jonathan Hill, was a New England farmer, born at Bethlehem, Conn., March 25th, 
1769. He afterwards removed to Woodbury, where he married Sarah Judson, daughter 
of Jonathan Judson, and where Charles Hill was born, and later still, about the year 
1818, he with his family emigrated to "the Genesee country," and settled upon a farm 
in Creneseo, on the west shore of the Geneseo lake, where they remained nearly thirty 
years, removing thence to Lima. N. Y.. where Jonathan Hill died, January 6th, 1849, 
at the age of eighty years, his wife having also died there, April 4th, 1847, at the age 
of seventy-five. 

At the age of twelve Charles J. Hill was taken into the family of Noah B. Benedict, 
of Woodbury, Conn., a lawyer of distinguished merit. Undoubtedly clo.se association 
with a mind cultivated, refined, and experienced as was Mr. Benedict's had a lasting and 
beneficial influence upon the character of Mr. Hill. Four years were passed at a select 
school, and at the age of si.xteen a choice of future occupation was given him — to study 
for the practice of law or to engage in trade. The latter was chosen and the youth be- 
came a clerk in a store in the neighboring village of Bethlehem, and there remained 
until 1816, when his employer, ceasing to do business at that point, Mr. Hill came west- 
ward to seek a new field for the activities of business life. The small settlement of 
Rochester, an undrained swamp, in an almost unbroken wilderness, presented a dis- 
couraging prospect to him, and he retraced his steps as far as Utica, where he remained 
for a few months, and again determined to cast his lot with the inhabitants of Rochester. 
Returning there in November, 18 16, he engaged as book-keeper with the firm of Bissell 
& Ely, remaining with them two years. In November, 1818, in company with Andrew 
V. T. Leavitt, he engaged in a general mercantile business on his own account, their 
store being a few rods east of the present Reynolds arcade. The firm of Leavitt & Hill 
continued until 1825, when Leavitt became a silent partner and C. J. Hill conducted 
the business in his individual name for three years, and then took Lewis J. Peet as a 
partner, the firm of Hill & Peet continuing until 1831. 

This period of thirteen years was marked by the e-\.tension of trade to other counties. 
Enjoying the respect and confidence of the community, Mr. Hill's store was a favorite 
resort, and his trade became of large extent. 

In 1831 Mr. Hill commenced the milling business in the stone mill which then, and 
for many years thereafter, stood on South Water street, near Main. He afterwards took 



66o IIlSTURV OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



the mill a<lj()ining on the south, in comjiany with David Bates, and for a time the firm 
of Hill \- r>ates continued the l)u^iness there. Sulisenuently Mr. Hill purchased a mill 
at the lower falls and coTitiiuied there in his own name the manufai ture of tlour until 
icS3i,a disastrous year for Rochester millers, ow in j; to financial disturbances, most of whom 
then saw their accumulations swept away. Mr. Hill amonjj; the number, although he had 
at that time ac(|uired a handsome property. For sever.'d years after that he was engaged 
m other pursuits until 1.S45 when he a^ain commenced the manufacture of llour, in the 
mill on South Water street, now ne.irest to .Main, beini; the same which he relini|uished 
when taking that at the lower falls. He now determined to produce a su])erior ipiality 
of white u inter wheat flour, which should secure and retain the confidence and [latron- 
a.ne of consumers desiring flour of uniform excellence, at home and in eastern markets, 
and the " ( ". |. Hill flour" soon became a fa\()rite article with housekeeiiers in Roches- 
ter ami throuL;hout New \'ork and .New iMigland. On the first of jaiuKiry, icSjo, Mr. 
Hill took Ins son Charles I!, into partnershi]), and the business was continued by ('. J. 
Hill iV Son for twenty-six years, the partnershi]) being dissolved February 2jd, 1.S76. 
by the retirement of Mr. Hill, who had then reached the age of eighty years, sixty-four 
of which had been dcMited to active business. C_"o\ering a term of nearly fifty years 
the " Hill" flour was a well-known brand, and, especially, during the last thirty of that 
period It w.is apprec lated and sought alfer by consumers, desiring excelleiu e and uni- 
fornnty of (piality. throughout a wiile extent of country. 

On the completion of the Erie canal to the cast side of the (lenesee river at Roch- 
ester, .Mr. Hill ere( ted the first warehouse for storage and forwarding in the city, near 
the site of the present weighlock, and soon engaged in a heavy business of exporting. 
He built and resided in the first l)ri( k house in the city, on the present site of the resi- 
dence of William .\lling. on South Fit/hiigh street. He afterwards built a residence on 
Plymouth avenue (then .South Sophia street), w^here he dwelt for nearly fifty years, re- 
moving thence, in 1868, to his spacious and comfortable home, corner of Prince street 
and I'nix'crsity a\enue, where his last days were s])ent. 

.Mr. Hill uas a trustee of Rochesterville from 1820 to 1822 ; .1 su]iervisor of the .sec- 
ond ( ity election in 1835 and at other periods since ; county clerk from 1844 to 1847 ; 
he was elected mayor in 1842 on the Democratic ticket ; he was appointed conimi.ssioner 
of deeds by (Jovernor liouc'k and the Senate in 1843, and elected president of the Pioneer 
society ol Western .New \'ork for one year. In 1823 he was commissioned as (juarter- 
master of the twenty-third division New York state militia, the law at that time re(|uir- 
ing the major-general with his staff to review at least one regiment annuall). .Mr. Hill 
was required to traverse several counties to discharge his official iluties. During the 
same period Daniel D. Barnard was in commission. Mr. Hill was at one time president 
of the Western House of Refuge. I'rior to the organisation of a bank in Rochester, he 
was a director in the (ieneva bank and has served as a trustee in the old Rochester 
savings bank. In pursuance of a legal reipiisition to destroy a certain class of bank 
])aper, he w-as ap])ointed to that office by the comptroller and served in this locality. In 
the early days of Rochester's history he was a prominent and active member of the vol- 
unteer fire department and, at the time of his death, the last surviving member of that 
organisation. In politics he was a life-long Democrat. In sympathy with Masonry, he 
was a knight templar and a warm friend of the free common school system for educating 
the masses. A church member since 182 1, he was for twenty years an elder in the 



Charles J. Hii.i,. — Scmuvi.er Moses. 66i 

First Presbyterian church and subse(|uently an incorporator of Plymouth (Congrega- 
tional) church, in which he was president of the hoard of trustees for a number of years, 
consecutively, and until his death. He was a pioneer in establishing Sunday-schools 
in this city and vicinity, ot'ten serving as sui.)erintendent, and was vice-president of the 
Genesee Sunday-school union. 

Mr. Hill was a remarkably industrious man and probably gave more hours ]jer day 
to the demands of his business than any other miller in the city. He regarded public 
and official life more as a duty than a pursuit, and various official positions held were 
the result of acciuiescence in the desire of others and were not of his own seeking. Had 
disposition favored, there is every evidence to show that honorable position was at his 
command, as well as ample capacity to do himself justice. 

Mr. Hill was married at Rochester, January 15th, 1823. to Salome Morgan, of 
Brimfield, Mass., by Rev. Joseph Penney, I). D., pastor of the First Presbyterian church, 
a union which was destined to remain unbroken for a period of sixty' years, until his 
death, which occurred July 19th, 1883, at the age of eighty-seven years. 

Mr. Hill possessed many of those sterling traits of character which the sons of New 
England carried with them and developed in the West — germs of usefulness, honor 
and success. He was reared to industrious, healthful and thrifty habits, and unswerving 
business and personal integrity, and throughout his prolonged active life he realised to 
the full extent in these respects the promise of his youth. His business character was 
founded upon a solid and thorough basis ; untiring industry, uncompromising rectitude, 
a systematic and careful attention to details and courtesy of manner characterised his 
entire business life. Thoroughly unselfish, he was fan and liberal in his dealings, and 
those who transacted business with him generally came to be his warm personal friends. 

Mr. Hill was genial and sympathetic, and quick to feel for the sorrows and misfor- 
tunes of others. It was his habit to respond to the solicitation of the suffering and the 
unfortunate unostentatiously and cheerfully, and, in his (juiet and unobtrusive manner, 
he often lightened the burdens of others and gained the good wishes and pra)'ers of 
many grateful souls, though his generosity was unrecorded in earthly annals. He had 
a personal magnetism and habitual deference and consideration for others, which at- 
tractetl many to him, and a refined and pleasing thread of humor was woven into the 
fabric of his conversation, which gave it a certain charm, while he displayed it so deli- 
cately that it never wearied nor gave oftense. 

Mr. Hill found Rochester a small hamlet with an uncertain future before it, Inii, 
with an unwavering tru.st in Providence and a finn reliance upon his own capabilities, 
he cast in his lot here, with other earnest pioneers, and for'si.xty-seven years his life was 
iilentified with its history ; he lived to see it become a flourishing city and closed his 
eyes at last upon its activities and its attractions, respected and honored by all who 
knew him. 



SCHUYLER MOSES. Many of the inhabitants of the town of VVuidsor, Conn., 
can trace their ancestry back to the small flock who, under, the pastoral charge of 
the Rev. Mr. Warham, left England in 1630 and after remaining a short time in Dor- 
chester, near Boston, removed in the fall of 1635 and spring of 1636 to Windsor. The 
first grant of land in that town, of which any record exists, was made to twenty-eight 



662 IliMiiKv (II I UK c"n\ di- Ri iciiestkk. 

lier^uiis, anions; the names of whom appears ihat of John Moses, son of J olm Moses, 
who lamefrom iMinlaiul in iC^^^, wlio is supposed to haxc hern mairieil belore lie em- 
igraleil to Amerii a, ' The se<on(l John Moses was married to Mary lirouii May 13th. 
16^^. His ( hildren were |ohn. horn fune 15th. i''s|; W'llham. Iiorn Septemlier 1st. 
1656: Thomas, born Jamiar\ i4tli. 1658; Mary, horn Ma\ i.^th, 1660; .Sarali. horn 
l''ehriiar\- 2d, 166.'; .Mar^aretta. horn Deeemher 2d, 1666: Tmiothy, horn Kehruary 
— , 1670 ; Mart/a, horn March .Sth, 1672; .Miiidui-U, horn Deeemher 13th, 1676. 

Timothy .Moses (of these rhilchen) liad a son, nann-cl I'imothy, jr.. horn in 1700; he 
had a son named Klislia. horn m I73''~>. who was the i;ranihather of Sehmler Moses, tile 
siihjec I of tliis notice. i'.lislia hail a son. i'.hsha. jr., Iiorn in 1761. His children were 
Mami.ih .\nianlia. horn .\ugiist ist. [ 788. died .\|iril i6th. 1.S66; Klislia I). , horn Keli- 
riiar\ I2lh. 171)0. died ( )( loher Kjlh, 1871: ( )rmenta. horn .March 22(1, 17(91. died 
March ist. 1825; Ardeii. horn Septemher 6lh, 1792. died .\pril 12th, 1842; Timothy, 
horn .\ii_mist (jtli, 171J4, died ,Septeniher 4tll, 1823: i'hoehe, liorn Fehniary 23d, I7(j6, 
died )amiar\- 18th, 1820; lietsey, horn .\ii,l;iis1 6tli. 1 7(^7. died June 8th. 1857 ; Schuyler, 
(the suhjeet of this sketch), horn I )ei emher 31st, I7<>S: .Marc lis. horn Septemher 30th, 
1800, died Deeemher c;th. 1880: l-ahiumd. horn Novemher iitli. 1801, clied .Se[)teml)er 
22d, 186); .\ureha, horn Se|itemher 23CI, 1803; Fla\ia,horn |uly25th. 1805. clied [uly 

Schuyler Moses was horn 111 Canton, Hartford c cnnitw Conn,, on the date ahove 
j;i\eii (Deieiiiher 31st, 17(^8). In 1810. when he was c-leven years old, his ]iareiits re- 
mcned to Lenox, .Madison county, .\. \'., and in .\ugust, 1817, came to Rocdiester. He 
was then in his nineteenth year and descnhes the place as •■ a little hamlet in the woods, 
of perha|)s six hundred inhahitants." \\\s educational adxantaLjes were limited to the 
years |)i-evious to the removal of the fimily from Lenox, .\fter his arrnal in Rochester 
he learned the carpenter's tr.ide. which he followed as a journe\ man, contractor, or 
huilcler, until ahout 1853. when he retired Irom the husiness. to devote his entire atten- 
tion to his own real estate c)f whic-h he is a lari;e owner. 

.Mr. Moses has never sought public office, hut his litness for it was rec:ojinised liy his 
t'ellou c iti/ens as early as HS37. when he was elected alderman of the fourth ward. He 
is now the only liviiii; member of that hoarcl. He w.is also honored w ith the same office 
in 1831-52. He was elected supervisor 111 1843, and has held all the ward offices ex- 
cept constable. 

•Mr. Moses is amoiiL; the oldest of the pioneers of Rocdiester, having voted in his 
ward for sixty years, and has lived 011 the site of his present residence on Cdiestnut street 
fifty-nine years. He was a Democrat in politics until the heginning of the late war, 
when he gave his influence to the Republic an jiarty ,nid the |ireservation of the L'nion. 
Hellas lieen a member of the .Masonic order lor sixty three years and became one of 
the charter members of the \'alle\- lodge in this city in 1845. He is one of the oldest 
inemhers of the order 111 Western New \drk. Himself" and one sister are the only liv- 
ing meinliers of his parent's family. 

In July, 1S24, Mr. NLises was married to Elsie Carpenter. Two children were horn 
of this union — William .Schuvler Moses and Klsie \. Moses, both of whom now live in 
California. His first wife died July 16th, 1836, On the 22(1 of March, 1837, he was 



1 This Jolin Moses was a lilacksniitfi ami l)ri)uj;lil witli him from Kngland, in 1632, .1 set of tools, 
whiL-h liave rcmainecf in tlie >foscs family clown to the |ire>ent time, a ])eriod of two liunclred and tifly- 
two years; the anvil liears tile date of 11)52. The tools are now at the homestead in ,Mt. Morris. 



I 



Schuyler Moses. — Nehemiah B. Northrop. 663 

married to Susan Morgan (widow), daugliter of Gains Lane, one of the early pioneers 
of Rochester. She died on the 9th of No\ember, 1838, without children. December 
4th, 1840, he married Bertha Callender, who died May 24th. 187 i. bv whom he has two 
children, Fred A. and Martha .\. JMoses, both of whom reside in Rochester. 

During the long life of Mr. Moses in Rochester he has enjoyed the confidence ami 
respect of all with whom he has come in contact and has earned the gratitude of many 
by his kindly nature and generous deeds. In the decline of life he is enjoying the com- 
petence which his inihistry has provided and may look back upon years well spent. 



NEHEMI.A.H B. NORTH ROP. The history of some lives, although they may have 
been filled with generous deeds and made beautiful by innumerable acts for the ben- 
efit of humanity, must ever remain, to a large extent, unwritten. Such- is the case with 
that of the subject of this notice — Nehemiah B. Northrop. While he was widely known 
and respected in his life and sincerely mourned in his death by the many who were 
proud to call him their friend, still his career was not a public one in any considerable 
degree; his life was one of peaceful tpiiet, suited to his retiring nature, and hence fur- 
nishes little striking material for the biographer. 

Mr. Northrop was born in Trumbull, Fairfield county, Conn., September 17th, 1801. 
When he was ten years old his father removed, with a large family of children, to Perin- 
ton, Monroe county. His early years were passed as were those of most others at that 
period, in manual labor, alternated with attendance at the common school, where he se- 
cured whatever of education was then available. About the year 1830 he removed to 
and permanently located in Rochester. Years before he had accompanied a surveying 
party over this region and, as he often related, jumped from log to log to avoid immersion 
in the swampy depths on the site of Powers block. In this place Mr. Northrop became 
engaged in the transportation and forwarding business, established the national trans- 
portation line on the canal and lakes and built up a large and lucrative business. 

Mr. Northrop's natural inclination to retirement prevented his seeking after public 
office or distinction of any kind, but he was prevailed u|X)n to permit the use of his name 
for alderman of his ward in i84()-5o and was t'le( ted. filling tlie office with dignit\' and 
sound judgment. 

About the year 1854 he became mterested in banking and was a member of the firm 
of Beliien, Keeler iS; t'o. In 1865 he was elected a trustee of the Rochester savings 
bank, which office he honored until his death. In his extended business career Mr. 
Northrop gained a reputation for integrity and general uprightness upon which no breath 
of suspicion or' reproach ever fell. He was for many years a consistent member of St. 
Luke's church, where the influence of his daily life was potent for good. 

On the loth day of Januar)-. 1831, Mr. Northro]) was married to Miss Louisa Hart- 
well, of Pittsford, N. V. She died in March, 1839, and in September, 1840, he married 
Miss F^lizabeth C. Langdon, of Portsmouth, N. H. Four children were born to the first 
union — two sons and two daughters. Both the sons are dead, and the daughters now 
reside in Rochester. 

Such is a mere outline of Mr. Northrop's active life ; but it conveys no knowledge 
of the noble Christian character and the estimable personal attributes which gained him 
a large circle of friends in the community. These are more vividly delineated by the 



664 His'ioRV ny niii City ok Rochester. 



pen of line ol" his most imiinate frienils. wlio wrote of him as follows, at the time of his 
deatli; — 

■■ \]i-. \\:i- n.>i a mere iu'<;nlivc virtiiL-; il « as (lu- vii liK- nf a many si<lcil aii.l liciicrKL-nl activity. 
Hi- vhara.kT «a- ^|i.Rt lull II Ha- |,nMiiM-. an.l la- \va- inui iva.ly u il'h iIk- woiil, an.l llu- ailviiv and 
iIr- act HlnJi i1r' r\i-rncy r(.'.|uir<-.l. Ik- « a- uaimly inirn-lol in all pnlilic .ll.jc■^^^, ami his private 
cliaiitie- u^-iv luinuann- an.l lil.eral. IK- -aiiu-.| llu- > ..nlnlcnrc an.l allWli.in ..f ihe nuini-nui- |>LT-.ins 

uli..ni lu- .■n,|.l..\i-.l. I...1I, l.y lii- lll.i-ralit> 11, r prn-alin- llu-in. aiul llu- nnalTfc-k-.l an.l lu-arty iiiU-rost 

u huh lu- rviiucl in Ihrii- u c-lfari-. Am. .1U4 1 lu- markr.l hails in In- chai aiU-r « a- ..lu- w liii li liis wik- nnce 
liapinly chai aclcri-r.l a- a lu.-].ilalily ..I" ami. I. Hi- llnc-w ..lu-li llu- .I.m.i- of his niin.l as ^^ c .l.-lhi- (lo,,i-s 
n( .>ur li.iiisi-- 1., i-nlniain llu- inU-K-si- of., llu-,-. many of wli.nii lia.l lu. s|n;cial claims u|„,n him. He 
w.iul.l lisu-n [.alic-nlly t.i llu- si,,iii-s „f ilu- .lilluultic-s <,f llu- |h,oi- ami llu- luiml.U-. an.l bring his ripe 
L-sprru-iuc ami txci-lh-iil in.l^incnt t.i l.i-ar upi.n llu- cas,- m sniiml an.l ja.licu.iis a.Kia-. Alnuisi num- 
l,crk-ss arc- tin.-.- uh-. liaM- llin- u.mc- fr..ai liis.|.„,r- Willi llu-ir lu-arls li-hu-iu-,1 an.l ihc-ir pcaplc-\ilic-s 
r.-lu-\c-.l. lUil I l.i..k up in\ pc-n (•»■ n.i c-sU-iulc-.l pi.rlraiuirc- an.l chic-lly I., say a »..r,l in irihulc- I.. Mr. 
N.irlhrop's iR-autiliil .Lmu-siu characu-r. Il » as « iihin ihc- sacrc-.l prcvincls ,,1" li.niu- an.l ami.ni,' his 
cli..sc-n ciicU- ..I liK-ii.ls ihal lu- «as nu.si a.lvaiUa-c-.iusly kmuvn an.l iiiosi lliui(.ui;lily l..vc-<l. . . '. He- 
was tcnilc-r an.l tli.>ui;hiriil a, a wimian ..Jall ilial c.inl.l a.l.l I., llu- j.iy an.l auractiv cnc-ss ot humc-, with 
all a man's capacity f..r rc-ali-in- hi- plan-. Tlu- or.lial ^.^lasp .,1' hi- haml -avc- unmistakable- wclaime 
to the- fric-iul that crosse.l his lhrt-sli,,l,l an.l llu- kin.lly li-hl ..f his i-yc- ami llu- i,c-nii;iiity of his smilo 
sL-cuu-.l n. pc•r^a.k- ihc .Linu-stio ciicU- like- an atm..splu-rc-. In his wilh.haual fr.un that circle a hc-au- 
liful h-hl has been sml.lenly cMin-uislu-.l. ■ 

.\n(l no one uho knew Mr. Northro]i will say thai this hi^h jiraise uas not all de- 
served. The following; resolutions were adopted l)\- the trustees of the Roihester savings 
hank on the occasion of his death : — 

•• AV,.,'/:-,-./'. Tlul in the death .if Nehemiah I!. \.)rllir..p, llu- tru-ic-es of this bank .lepl.ue the loss 
..f an active, useful an.l honest cili/en, an.l an able an.l elluu-nt c..|leat;iie. In s.icial and business life 
he uas euiiiienlly yi-nial and honorable in his ink rcours< with miai. .\s a Irusiee he was inlelliijent. 
indepcn.leiU ami faithful in the ])eif.irniaiK-e of every .Inly, an.l hrm and decided in his opinions. His 
larije experience in the valuation of real estate enable. I him to render services especially valuable to tlii-s 
linnk. 

■• A'r.i.'/rri/. That we share in the sorrows which h.avc overtaken his family unci shall loni; cherish 
his memory, endeare.l to us b\- the associations of many years." 

Mr. Xortlirop died suddenly of apoplexy while visiting at the Mineral Springs at 
."^lalerv ille. .N. \'.. on the 1st of October, 1878. His remains rest in the family inclosure 
at .\lt. Hope. 



E\'KR.\K1) l'K( K die<l on the 9th of l-ehruary. 1854. It is deemed liest to present, 
instead of' a (ontiiiuous sketih of his life, this extract from one of the dtiily papers 
of tile I ity on the day after his death : — 

" .Mr. I'eck was born in lierlin. Conn., on the 6th of Xoveinber. Ijgi, and was in the sixty-third 
year of his age at the time of his demise, having been a resident of this city some thirty-eight years. 
At the age .if seventeen he went t.i Hartlord. Conn., where he learned the book-binder's trade. Hav- 
ing c.iinpK-tc.l his a|>preiuiceship, lu- wc-nt l.i .\lbany, \. V., where he established himself in his occu- 
pali.m. \.it fin. ling bu-iness promising there, he came to Rochester, bringing with him, besides the 
implements of hi- handicraft, a small slock of books. This was in 1816. He fouiul Rochester an in- 
considerable village, numbering smiu- three or f.uir luimlred inhabitants. .Seeing, through the discom- 
forts an.l rudeness t,f the selileinent. indicali.ins which promised a prosperous future, he opened his 
slen.ler st..ck ..f b.H.ks an.l t...ils. an.l set up the chmble business of book-selling and hook-binding. 
lU-ing ju.ispef.ius ill bii-in.-s-. he enlarged his facilities by opening a ].i-inting-(>fTice and commencing, 
in I.SlS. llu- publication .if llu- R.ichester y;-/,;;-w///, a weekly journal. He afterw-ard erected a paper- 
mill, which he opeialeil w ilh grc-at success until it was burne.l. .Mr. Peck left the hook business in 
1S31. After three or four years, in which he «-as out of health — so that for recoverv, he was obliged 



I 



EvERARD Peck. — Ashbel Wells Riley. 665 

to spend one or two winters in Florida and Cuba — he engaged in the banking business and was eonnect- 
ed successively with the Bank of Orleans, the Rochester City bank and the Commercial bank of Roch- 
ester, being the vice-president of the last-named institution at the time of his death. Immediately on his 
taking up his residence here, Mr. Peck gave his warm support to the infant charitable and religious en- 
terprises of the place, and from that time to this has lieen the warmest friend of all such institutions. 
To public office he did not aspire, but labors for the poor, the suffering and the orphan he never 
shunned. The successful establishment of the University of Rochester was in a large measure owing to 
his exertions in its behalf. The friends of that institution accorded to him merited praise, and they will 
ever respect his memory. Up to the time of his death he was a member of its board of managers. 
He was one of the zealous promoters and founders of the Rochester Orphan asylum, wdiich has now 
become permanently established and is one of the most excellent of our public charities. Our citizens 
have been accustomed to rely upon his judgment m all afiairs of moment pertaining to the common 
weal, and he always exhibited a sagacity and solicitude for the welfare of the people which entitled him 
to the public confidence. He was thrice married — in 1820, to Chloe Porter, who died in 1830; in 
1836, to Martha Farley, who died in 1S51 ; in 1852, to Mrs. .Mice Bacon Walker, who survives him. ' 
For more than two years past Mr. Peck has been suffering from a pulmonary complaint, and he spent 
the winter of 1852-53 on the Bermudas, but without obtaining relief from his disease. He has since 
his return been secluded in the sick-room, gradually declining, until he expired, surrounded by his 
wife and all of his surviving children." 

The A/baiiy Evening yi>ttnia/ o{ February 21st. 1S54. contained an article by the 
])en of Thurlow Weed, then at the head of that paper, in which, after copying a long 
biographical sketch of Mr. Peck from the New Haven Diiify Palhiiliinn of a few days 
before, Mr. Weed reinarks : — 

"This deserved tribute to the memory of 'a just man made perfect ' comes from one who knew the 
deceased well. The editor of the Palhuiiiiiii grew up under Mr. Peck's teachings, and was long a 
niemlier of his household — a household whose memories are hallowed in many grateful hearts. 

" In another paragraph the editor of the Palladium alludes to our own relations to Mr. Peck, but 
in a spirit of kindness which excludes all but the following from these columns : — 

" "Mr. Weed, of the .\lbany Evening Journal, began his career in the Rochester Telegraph office. 
He was a young man wholly without means when he applied for employment. We remember Mr. 
Weed's application, as if it were but yesterday. Mr. Peck at first declined his offer, but there was 
something in Mr. Weed's manner that touched a sympathetic chord in .Mr. Peck's bosom, and he called 
him back and gave him a post of assistant e<litor where he soon made the Telegraph one of the most 
jiopular journals in Western Xew ^'ork.' 

"The heart upon which the memory of its early benefactor is engraven will glow with gratitude 
until its pulsations cease. We were, indeed, ' wholly without means,' and with a young family de- 
pendent upon our labor, when, thirty-two years ago, we applied to Everard Peck for employment. He 
did not really want a journeyman, but his kindly nature prompted an effort in our behalf. It was 
agreed that in addition to the ordinary labor, as a journeyman in the office, we should assist Mr. Peck, 
who had the charge of his book-store anil i)aper-mill, in editing the Telegraph. But our friend did 
not content himself with giving employment. We enjoyed, with our family, the hospitalities of his 
mansion until a humble tenement (tenements were scarce in Rochester in those days) could be rented. 
The compensation agreed upon was four hundred dollars per annum. That year glided pleasantly and 
])eacefully away, teaching lessons to which memory recurs w-ith pleasure, and in forming ties that have 
linked us through after-life to dear and cherished friends. .At the close of the year Mr. Peck added 
one hundred dollars to our salary, with expressions of confidence and regard which enhanced the value 
of his gratuity. .\nd ever after, through whatever of vicissitudes and change we have passed, that 
good man's counsels and friendship have helped to smooth and cheer our pathway." 



ASHBEL WELLS RILEY. Prominent among the living pioneers of the city of 
Rochester, is the subject of this sketch, General Ashbel Wells Riley. He was born 
in Glastenbury, Conn., on the 19th day of March, 1795, and has, therefore, now 

1 .Mrs. .\lice B. Peck died December 2d, 1881. 



fee K:~t:?.t CF THE Crrr OF Rochester. 

'cri-:c r; ri.ir "Ot^:: :.:• be -t = -- -- -c :ni'f£r rhe eiisfni 3ci"'j<jL laws. Aner 

sjii-.r:z 1 tizr in Prtsc'c he •Ktrct - _ —Tt. where he resiaiiie'i iiocr 2. vear in 

Foo^'vinx rh;s he 'Sri:: :; B-.iSI':,. -vhere he Wi^rie-i ir hi; lace ih^jc: six atocths. ar 1 
±cn iceni i HmZar cer-..'i - in^-.Li.-ce i: ^-e W^sc Ko'iciiici'i .ccafemT. Ac dee 

•^ter; hut i:rge ;— "-■ire-i irh^rrir.:^ n tie -i-'lire- Drnhn^ uhe gre?:er pornoa oc cae 
fo;cee-il~x ^e--:?"- ;r e-_rh: ytir? ".e » ;rkei here 3X his tniie. aii'i. ss a coorractac. baili 

Ir. h-e Ttir r^;7. Mr. ? 1:^7 -yith ite Lire J-jsaii BiseiL pctridiasei a 

liTZ- m--"- -.-' lir-: ;c :-e -1 : -tzt. etubradci cwo hsoiired and Ebrtr seres, 

HOTS ci';stl-r i.-.-ere-; hy 1 -r-_ ..: ^- -.. -roc. oc ie 0:7 ot Rochester. The price paad 
:or :ic r:ii:: ■«'is 535-;';c. >[r. Bisseil c;oi ibocr two jcsrs aiter the pcnthase was 
nsiie. ir.'i the -r'.-erty tassei is.t; the r-tie p-i'sscss&jn of Mr. Riley. He »2s cTiOsen 

b'"jari :: il't-eme^- L-f v.e citj : he _~ ::c» the '-/rjT E-.iHi member ot :■""" "■ ^-"" --^'-rr 

if.-- it^ir/i ~h.t2_-7 --2s-rrs. ht whioh he ssic^i the hcconbie rid-r 
beer kr.-: ' ~ ' -^17;. .^ciiTi -sjor, iner ae p^.chefi 325 msjiCiciET. *---.-. 

:r/ ■::' P-:i:- - - - - ^, — ta.tj Wii 2. portioc o-f the Firsc rife resTmecr. ».'-■. . --^r--- 
'■pentij baiitrte the Ei^htcer.±. Mr. Riley ws5 3i2<te serscsnt or his ajGipa--y. atxn 
wniith -.tEiit he nprJilT i=i7ir.itet- I:i i S25 he aris dacteii Iie-teEan.:-coi>:>cci oc the First 
resi^ier.t ;c rrentei:- 2±er«ini ±e Iwen-tj-tiLird/. « which EJestjamin H. Erj*n w^ 
coirtrteL =;•! ir. t;;i •sis t-iac-si in 'Xicnss^^j/i v. trie rri — -' " •-'- >■ •- -.'--~-i^-.-- 
iixrcja:'. ; r^ii.er'£-' erii itct ite tiree rczunenE L>;att 

itt',r~.ey- jC ijectTi. Hr ajit-t :i3 i~~i>::^.;c <jGscers were je-ecreil to sjtt a c-- 
MiT'.-ri.-; ie La Fijette j- h> j^crrey ^roca Rothestsr to Canir.'ii. j - 1. i" . " 



I 



ASHREI. WEI.I.S Rll.EV. 66/ 

of the United States) to go south ami aid in quelling the nullification trouliles. For this 
prom]n offer of service Cleneral Riley subsequently had the satisfaction of receiving the 
[lersonal thanks of "Old Hickory" in the capitol at Washington.' 

At about the beginning of his military career. General Riley also began to take a 
practical interest in the advancement of the cause of temperance, the anti-slavery move- 
ment, and other reforms — a work to which he ever afterward gave up a large share of 
his time, his means, and his best efforts. He first made his influence felt for temperance 
in the different military organisations which he commanded, never accepting an office in 
any of them except upon a temperance basis. This resulted in almost eradicating in- 
temperance from the regiment and brigade which he commanded. Neither did he hes- 
itate from lifting up his voice, whenever and wherever it seemed most effective, against 
the curse of slavery, and that, too, during a period when it was anything but a source 
of honor to oppose the institution. From about the year 1826, during a period equal 
to the lives of most men. General Riley has devoted himself, heart and soul, to these 
reforms. In the cause of temperance he has traveled in most of the English-speaking 
countries of the world, going always at his own ex])ense, making no request for com- 
pensation or aid, and often offering to pay those who differed with him for their time 
spent in listening to his potent arguments.^ He ^)eni about a year and a half in (ireat 
Britain, and considerable time on the continent, delivering in those countries about four 
hundred lectures, while those of his difterent tours throughout America are almost in- 
numerable. He procured the dies and had an appropriate medal struck, of which he 
has distributed more than six thousand to ])ersons who would sign his pledge. Many 
of these persons he has met and heard from years after their pledge, in the enjoyment 
that always comes with temperate living. The influence of this life-work, to which 
General Riley has always made worldly riches and advancement subject, is simply in- 
estimable for the general good and morality of humanity. As an eminent writer once 
said of him, '-He has been to reforms what the white caps are to the waves — always in 
the ascendant." General Riley sj)eaks extemporaneously, and, although not an orator in 
the polished and educated sense, he never fails to hold the interest of his hearers. In a 
series of Fc// Portraits of Illustrious Abstainers, written by George W. Bungay, we find 
the following terse criticism of General Riley's elocjuence and platform manner: — 

•'Ceneral Riley's speeches were strings of beads, cor,il, common glass, and gold, witli here and 
llieie a rare jewel, and even diamonds in the rough. The thread of his discourse shone and sparkled 
witli wit, humor, sarcasm, pathos, and eloijuence when he shook the brilliant rosary before an audi- 
ence. His hearers kiughed and cried alternately. Sometimes they were ready to shout his pr.iises, at 
other times to pelt him with showers of unmerchantable eggs. Without trying to think in a direct 
line, or caring to speak logically, his lectures as a whole were arguments. He would leap over the 
Uiws of rhetoric, in his eager earnestness, as a blooded steed would a five-barred gate to get into good 
clover or good comjiany. " 

It will also be appropriate to quote from remarks iriade by General Riley himself at 

1 More extended details of General Riley's military career will be found in the chapter of this work 
devoted to that branch of the history of Rochester. 

- In this connection the following copy of one of General Riley's peculiar handbills will be of inter- 
est: "One thous.ind able-bodied men wanted! to hear an .address in behalf of drunkards' wives and 
children, by General Riley, of Rochester, X. V., late one of the vice-presidents of the New York state 
temiierance society. He will pay wholesale dealers and owners of distilleries and breweries that are 
now in operation, 25 cents an hour ; retailers of liquors 18J cents per hour, and other .able-bodied men 
I2i cents per hour, if they are not s.atisficd at the close of the meeting." 



668 History ok tiik Ci tv of Rochester. 



a reform mcL'ting lielil in the sprinij; of 1S83, in Rochester, where he spoke as follows 
relative to his life-work : — 

•■I Imvi- 1.1115^ liirn a lnlsilu-.^ ninii an.l |.ro|u-rly li..l,kr in K.hIh-sUt. IhiI 1 luur iu\c-r |.;iu>c.l I.. 
«<Mi;li tlic cnnM'.|iiciKos i)f .iMin- li-lii in ;i |.hiin casr. K. tin- I.UMnrs, whi.li 1 clian.x'.l t.. 1h' in. My 
nn.ilK-r lant^lii nu> wli.n a chil.l llu- U-s>on of llu- ni...lLin .litty. ' I )ai c- I., do i ij;lu ; ' an.l I li.ivc uvi-r 
oIh-vc.I liui iniuniiinii. An.l lli..ii-h 1 Inni- MillVird in thu wmlW i-^iinal.- foi iloinij rii;lu an.l ..pi.iw- 
inj; wrimt;: lliini.,'h 1 have s.miL-linu-i l.i-l ni.mi-y, a.ui\ soTnvtinu--. rcinilalion Ky t>|i|).)sin;^ Mas.nuy. 
lii|iioi-sellinf; and slavery in pa^t years, my family have not suffered hunger, — and 1 own a residence in 
this city now as go.id as my neighbors, and have means to live in il. 

•• It is ever liesi in the lont; run to do right, though the u-.ir.ls of .lur Savior were true when he 
warned us that men would hate us for doing right. 'If ye were of the world, the worl.l would love 
his own, but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the 
w orld hateth you.' There never was a man in the city of Rochester so thoroughly hated as was Josiah 
Hissell ; and yet there never was so general mourning at any other funeral as at his. His life was one 
]irotest against Sabbathdireaking, li'|Uor-selling, slavery and the secret lo.lge. an.l hence he was hated 
while living, an.l universally honored and lamented when he was dea.l." ' 

It ilcies not, perhaps, need further details to show that the reform work carried on by 
(leiieral Rile\' has lieen i-ninientl\- unselfish. He has pursued it for neither glory nor 
for gam, but because he believed it the right thing to do. even if at his financial loss. 
He has, moreover, been a Christian but little less radiciil than in his reform labors. He 
was nurtured in the ("ongregationalist fiith, but has long been a iriember of the First 
I'resb) teriati clunili in Rocliester. He was ( hairman of a meeting held here m.iny 
years ago, having for its object the .abolition of tnail carrying on Sunday. While the 
measure did not succeed tipon ,a basis of its (.'hristianity, it did sul)sec|uently restilt in 
m.ail carrying but si.K davs in the week upon all except the great through lines, because 
it would save one-seventh of the expense to the government. In this line of reform 
(General Riley established a line of boats on the canal, in 1835, to run six days each 
week. This enterprise cost him $20,000, which he considered an excellent investment. 
For the cause of religion as a whole he has done much in this city, building one early 
church at his own expense, and giving substantial aid to otiiers. One wooden church, 
40 bv 80 feet in dimensions, for w hich there h as an imperative necessity through a division 
in the Thinl I'resbyteriitn chiin h in the village, was erected on (ieneral Riley's garden, 
an<l 111 the short space of fwc weeks. 'I'his will serve to indicate the man's energy. 
( )n( e having decided that it is necessarv and right for him to ilo a certain thing, it is an 
insurmountable obstacle that can prevent its consummation. 

It is not as reformer alone that (General Riley has lifted his hand and o])eneil his 
heart. When the cholera epiiiemic broke out in Rochester in 1832, he was the youngest 
member of the board of health, and a large share of the repulsive labor connected with 
the terrible scourge fell to him. The first victim (an unknown tramp) was buried in the 
night, (leiieral Riley ])erforming the work almost single-handed. Out of i 16 deaths by 
the dread disease, he placed eighty of the botlies in their cotfms, eleven of which were 



•As an interesting incident, (Jeneral Riley relate his casual meeting, at a dinner table in Rome, 
Italy, with the Rev. |. W. .\yre, M. A., vicar of Saint Mark's church. London, and their succeeding 
short acquaintance. When ( leneral Riley arrived in London, at a later date, he called, by invitation, 
on the distinguished divine, w ho honored him with the unusual invitation to speak on temperance in 
his church. This was done, and with excellent effect, as i.s vouched for by the editor of the St. Mark's 
Monthly ]',iyisJi J'nper, a little sheet published in the interest of the church, a copy of which was sent 
to General Riley after his return to .\nieric.a. It contains a very compliment.ary reference to his ad- 
dress and its influence. 



AsiiBEi. Wells Riles. — Nathaniel Rochester. 669 



in one day. But he never shrank from nor comiilained at tlie labor. He acceijted it 
as his duty, and did it, pa.ssing through the ordeal unscathed. 

In his semi-centennial historical address, delivered in Rochester in fune, 18S4, Hon. 
Charles E. Fitch made the following beautiful allusion to General Riley's unselfish labor 
during the cholera epidemic : — 

"I had thought to observe faitlifully the proprieties, Iiy refraining from anything like eulogy of 
living citizens, Ijut I .im sure you will pardon an allusion to one who, amid that dreadful scourge, bore 
himself with a dauntlessness, before which that which faced the Redan battery or climbed the frowning 
crest of Molino del Key pales and grows weaU ; who met the pestilence with equanimity, when others 
fled before it; whose step never faltered, and whose hand never trembled in the ordeal; who was as 
gentle in his bedside ministrations as he was fearless in the chamber of death, and who, wiih liis own 
hands, placed over eighty victims in their coffins. .Ah I that is a sublimer type of courage whicli walks 
undismayed in the footsteps of the plague than that which rushes upon the foemen's serried ranks in 
the frenzy of battle, amid the plaudits of a nation. .A.nd the citizen-hero. General .Ashbel W. Riley, 

the sole survivor of the whole body of village trustees — for he was a trustee sixty years ago and the 

only living member of the first board of aldermen, although the frosts of nine decades have silvered his 
locks, still walks our streets, erect in form, stately in his bearing, with his mind yet vigorous, and the 
blood of health still coursing his veins, as the results of temperate haliits and cleanliness in livini'. 

" Serus in coelum redeat." i 

This sketch has already exceeded its prescribed limits, and perhaps enough has been 
said to enable the reader to picture to himself the life and character of General Ashbel 
W. Riley. He is a reformer ; but. unlike many aspiring to that title, he has always 
backed his theories not only with the utmost fearlessness, but with all his might and 
means. This means a great deal and has won for him the respect of those who differ 
with him, as well as those who are in sympathy with him. He is now one of the oldest 
citizens of Rochester, and in spite of the fact that he has spent more than one liberal 
fortune in support of what he believes to have been his duty, lie still enjoys a compe- 
tence for his declining years. 

General Riley was first married in iSig, to Betsey Ann Stillson, of Brighton. Siie 
died four years later, and in 1827 he married her sister, Charlotte Stillson. She died in 
1S70 and in the following year he married liis tliird wife, in the person of Mary E. Hoyt, 
of Rochester. There were born to him by his first wife two children, but one of whom, 
his son George, is living. By his second wife he had two sons .\shbel \V., jr.. and Jus- 
tin Gamaliel, and one daughter, Anna H. His youngest son, J. Gamaliel, died in 1873. 
His daughter married Cyrus Bentley in 1853, a lawyer then and now residing in Chi- 
cago. One of his surviving sons is in the treasury department at Washington, and one 
is George S. Riley, of Rochester. 



NATHANIEL ROCHESTER, second son of John Rochester, was born on the 
21st day of February, 1752, in Cople Parish, Westmoreland county, Va., on the 
plantation on which his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had lived. When he 
was two years old his father died, and when he was seven his mother married a Mr. 
Thomas Critcher, who, in 1763, removed with the entire family to Granville county, 
X. C. '• During his childhood the op[)ortunities for a liberal education were extremely 
limited. The varied and practical information for which he was distinguished in private 

1 For further reference to General Riley's work as a member of the lioard of health at this lime, see 
preceding pages upon the cholera in Rochester. 



G-jo lIisidKV di' TiiK Q\\\ OK Rochester. 



intercourse, as well as in the public trusts he so honoraljlv tilleil, was the fruit of the 
later applicalion of a clear and vigorous mind, in the inter\als <if leisure aflorded by a 
life of no ordinary ac ti\il\- and \icissitude." 

In the autunui of lyfiS, when sixteen \ears old. he entered the mercantile establish- 
ment of jame^ Momne, m llillsboro'. N. C, (Ibrtv nnles from home), as a clerk, where 
he remainetl till 17.S3. uluai he eiilert'il into partnershi]! widi his former eniployer and 
Colonel John Hamilton, u ho \\a> < niisiil for the Ihitisli uovermnent in the middle states 
after the close (jf the rexohuion. In 1770 he «as clerk ol' llu' vestry of llillsboro'. In 
1775 the partnership u.is dissul\e<l bv the breakin;^ out of the re\oliition. aiicl the same 
\ear (L)ein!.; onh twein\ tlnx'e years uld at the time) he w.is appointed a member of the 
committee of safetv tor ( )raiiL;e couiU\'. X. ('., whose business it was, to use his own 
wonls. "to promote the revolutionarv spirit amoni; the people, proturearms and ammu- 
nition, make collections (or the people (if ISoston, wliosc harbor uas blocked up by a 
ISritish fleet, and to prevent the sale wnA use of Kast India teas." 

In .\ui;u^t of the same year ( 1775) he attended, as a member, the hrst prmincial 
convention m North Carulina, and at that time was made pasniaster (with the rank of 
major) tor the North ('arolina line, winch at the time ((insisted of four regiments. 
.\Uout the same time he was also made justii e of the peace. 

.\t the reassembhiiL; ot the coiueiition, in .Ma\-, 1776, the .North (.'arohna line was 
increased to ten retjimenls : and in the pro( eedin.ns ol the convention, on Friday, May 
roth, i77f), it "as " l\fsi>l-.r,i. Tluit Nathanial Uochester. es(|uire, be appointed de])iity 
cominissar\ -f^eiieral of military and other stores in this count\' for the use of the ("onti- 
nental army, and that he be allowed the same allow.mce as provided by the Cxintinental 
congress for such officer; and that he i,'i\e seiiiritv in ^/jo,ooo for the faithful discharge 
of the trust reposed in him." 

On the adjournment of the convention he entered upon the active dmies of provid- 
ing to<}d .md ( lothing for the arm\ ; the fatigue incident to which, accompanied by 
unusual exposure in unhe.dthv districts, brought on disease so permanent in its charac- 
ter as to compel him to resign, in a( (ordance with medical advice. Returning to Hills- 
boro' he found that he h.id lieeu elected a member of the legislature, in which he soon 
took his seat; thus be((iuiing a member ol One ol the e.uliest legishiti\e bodies organ- 
ised and assembled in dehance of ISritish i hums to dominion. I )uring this session he 
w;is appointed lieiitenant-( olonel of militia, and 111 the Iblluw ing spring was made ( lerk 
of Orange (ounlv, which ofhce had been held tor inanv \e:irs b\- (leneral K. Nash, who 
was killed ;it the battle of ( 'lerinantow n. 

In 1777 he was ;ippoinled commissioner to est.iblish and su]jerintend ,1 manufai:tory 
of arms at llillsboro'. the iron for w lii( h had to be drawn in wagons from I'eiinsylvania, 
a dist:ince of over four hundred miles. 

Resigning the office of counl\- (lerk, ••because the fees of the olli( e would iKJt pa\ lor 
the ])OStage," he was apjjointed one of a board of three to audit the public .iccounts. and 
was also pronioteil to be colonel. 

In 1878 he again embarked in mercantile pursuits with Colonel 'I'homas Hart (fath- 
er-in-law of 1 leiiry Clay) and James I Srown (afterwards minister to France). In 1783 
he and t'olonel Hart began the ••manufacture of flour, rope and nails, at Hagerstown, 
.\Id." 

On the 20th day of .\pril, 17S8, he married Sophia, daughter of Colonel Wm. iJeatty, 
of i-'rederick. Md. She was born in i'l-ederick. .Md., Jan. 25th, 1768. 



Nathaniel Rochester. 671 

While living at Hagerstown, Md.. he successively filled the ofifices of member of 
Assembly of Maryland, postmaster at Hagerstown, judge of the county court, and, in 
1808, was chosen a presidential elector (with Dr. Jno. Tyler, of Fredericktown, Md.), 
in favor of James Madison for president (Frederick, Washington, and Allegany counties 
forming the district). 

In 1808 he was the first president of the Hagerstown bank. A portrait taken while 
he held that position is now in the po.ssession of the bank, and is highly prized. All this 
time he was carrying on extensive manufacturing establishments in Hagerstown, and 
had in operation two mercantile establishments in Kentucky. 

In 1800 he first visited the "Genesee country," where he had previously made a 
jjurchase of 640 acres; and in September of that year, associating with him Major 
Charles Carroll, Colonel William Fitzhugh and Colonel Hilton, made large purchases of 
land in Livingston county, near Dansville. In 1802, with Colonel Fitzhugh and Major 
Carroll, he purchased the " loo-acre or Allan mill tract" (in what now is called Roch- 
ester, at that time called Falls Town), for seventeen and a half dollars per acre. In May, 
1810, having closed up his business in Maryland, he first became a resident of Western 
New York, and, removing to Dansville with his family, occupied his purchase there. 
Here he remained five years, and erected a large paper-mill, and made many improve- 
ments. 

In 1815, having disposed of his interests in Dansville, he removed to a large and 
well improved farm in Bloomfield, Ontario county. After staying here for three years, 
during which time he constantly visited the falls of the (ienesee and his property there, 
laying it out into lots to be brought into the market, he, in .\pril, 1818, took up his resi- 
dence there, the town in the interim having been called after him, " Rochester." 

In 1816 he was a second time an elector of president and vice-president. 

In January, 1817, he was secretary of the important convention at Canandaigua 
which urged the construction of the Erie canal. During this year he went to Albany, 
N, Y., as an agent of the petitioners for the erection of what is now known as Monroe 
county, but was not successful till the year 1821 in obtaining its accomplishment. He 
was the first clerk of the new county, and also its first representative in the state legisla- 
ture, 1821-22. In 1824 he was one of the commission for taking subscriptions to the 
capital stock of the Bank of Rochester, and, upon the organisation of the institution, was 
unanimously elected its president. He resigned this position the December following 
on account of an impaired jAysical constitution and the increasing infirmities of age. 
This was the last of his numerous public and corporate trusts. From this time he 
retired from active duties, but was always a good and willing counselor to those in the 
young and thriving town which was rapidly growing up around him. He had always 
been attached to the Protestant Episcopal church, and was one of the founders of St. 
Luke's church, Rochester. It was the will of God to remove him by a most painful 
disorder, forbidding him even an hour's troubled repose; but the end finally came, and 
the pain ceased, and there was quiet and peace that was so gradual that those about 
him scarcely knew the moment of his final departure; he died on the morning of the 
I 7th of May, 1831. 

Starting in life with but few advantages, thrown upon his own resources at the early 
age of sixteen, with energy and integrity of purpose, and a fearless self-reliance, he had a 
long career of usefulness. His country demanded his services, and he freely gave them. 



672 lIlSl'ORV OK THE ClTV OF ROCIIKSTER. 



alternating in its tinancial, military and legislative work. Its exigencies terminating, he 
was a /calous co-worker in all that related to the henelicial uses of free government. 
.\lmost constantly lilling important public trusts, he was at the same time the founder 
of business establisliuieiits. the promoter (if pulilic prosperity, and, Ihially. the founder ol' 
a city. 

His wife. Sojihia lleattv, was a descen<lant of John lieatty. who was born in Scotland 
in 1660, from uhich, on account ot religious persecutions, he emigrated to Ireland, and 
from thence to iMigland, where he married Sirsanna Affordby. lie then went to Hol- 
land, and about 1700 came to .Anierica. and settled at Ksopus. Wnv \'(irk. where he 
died, leaving six sons and two daughters. His widow remii\ed with the ( hildren to 
Maryland about the year 1728, where she purchased a large tra( t of land. Their son, 
whose name was William, was born about the \ear 169^. and died in 1757, leaving one 
son, William, and t'i\e <Iaughters. The son William, was born |anuar\- 17th, 1739, and 
married Mary Dorotha drosh (daughter of Jno. ("onrad and .Maria Sophia (irosh, of 
.Mavence, cm the Khine. who settled in Frederick, Maryland, in 1757). He died A])nl 
25th. i<Soi, and his wite on .\ugust 2d. iSio. The)' had sixtetai children, of whom Sophia, 
born January 25th. was the sixth. 

C^ol. Nathaniel Rochester and .Sophia his wife had twelve children : William Keatty 
Rochester, Nancy Harbara Rochester. John Cornelius Rochester, Sophia Fliza Roches- 
ter, Mary Kleanor Rochester, Thomas Hart Rochester, Catharine Kimball Rochester, 
Nathaniel Thrift Rochester, .Anna Barbara Rochester, Henr\ KVw Rochester. .\nn Cor- 
nelia Rochester, Louisa Lucinda Rochester.' 



J.\S().\ W. SI';\\ARI) was l)orn in .\ew Lebanon, Columbia Co., N. \'., on the 23d 
day of December. 1.S06. Like the great majority of pioneers of Central and West- 
ern New \'ork, he ( ame of the sturdy New Kngland stock whose descendants played 
such an important part in subduing the wilderness and advancing the general interests 
of the new coninunmies. His father was .Vbrani Seward of Durham, ("onn., and his 
mother Sarah liostwuk, who came from near New Miltord. Conn.: she was a daughter 
of Klijah Bostwick. w ho was a militia ca|itain in the revolutionary war and gave his coun- 
trv sexen vears of honorable service during that struggle tor liberty. 

Mr. Seward's boyh(H;d and voung manhood were passed at his parental home, where 
he attended school m the winter months and did his share of farm labor during the re- 
mainder of the years. It is, perhaps, worthy of mention that his first .school teacher was 
Isaac Hills, a graduate of L'liion college, and in later years one of the prominent law- 
yers of Rochester, where he recently died. Mr. Seward was an a])t student and, fortu- 
nately for him, his lather was a believer in the value of education ; conseciuently the 
young man was sent to the Oneida institute during the years 1828-29, at the end of 
which perioil, still unsatisfied with his accjuired education, he entered Williams college, 
Mass., in the class of 1833, where he graduated with honor. Leaving college he came 
directly to Rochester, to which village his sister, T. Seward, had received an invitation for 
the purpose of establishing a school tor young ladies. While the fieUi did not at that time 
appear especially promising to Mr. Seward, he decided to remain and bear the heavier 



1 'I'liis liiograjihic sketch is l.ikcn from a p.iiiiptilet, Early History of the Rochester Family in America, 

npik-il liy Xath.iiiiul Rochester, of liuiralo. 1SS2. . ' 



Jas()N W. Seward. 6-/^ 



burdens of the new educational undertaking, for which he felt that his sister, although a 
self-reliant woman, was scarcely adapted. The boarding-school and young ladies' semi- 
nary was accordingly founded (1833), first occupying apartments in the old United States 
building, on Main street. After beginning the school. Mr. Seward returned to Williams- 
town and received his diploma from the college. In the winter of 1837 and 1838 the 
institution was incorporated by act of legislature and became subject to the visitation of 
the Regents of the University of the state. The seminary was successful from the first 
and for its better accommodation a building was erected in 1835 on Alexander. street, 
on the premises now occupied as a residence by Freeman Clarke. Here the school was 
continued, with far greater success in point of numbers of pupils and its general charac- 
ter as an educational institution, than in a financial sense, until 1841, when the founders. 
Miss Seward and the subject of this sketch, withdrew from it as instructors. This action 
on the part of its founders was due chiefly to the necessity then existing for much more 
extensive accommodations for the attendance already assured, and their inability to erect 
buildings and make the other improvements without which they felt the school could 
not be made what it should be. The institution was continued, however, for a number 
of years by Miss L. Tracy, as principal, and others, with varying success. 

After leaving the school Mr. Seward engaged in mercantile business, becoming (juite 
extensively employed in the purchase and sale of grain, flour and similar products. In 
this business, through the persevering energy for which he is known, his native ability 
and his correct and honorable methods, he succeeded in acquiring a competence, in the 
full enjoyment of which he has passed his life since the year 1856, when he retired from 
active pursuits. 

As a teacher he was eminently successful — a success due, undoubtedlv, to some extent, 
to the fact that he loved the profession for its own sake, for the good which he could 
accomplish in it. He was always a student and has familiarised himself with the so- 
called learned professions and with many subjects demanding brain power, applica- 
tion and studiousness, not so much that he expected to make direct use of such knowl- 
edge for the advancement of his material position, as in gratification of his natural and 
acquired love of study. He pursued the study of law in Rochester for about two years 
and might, had he so elected, have made an honorable career in that profession. But 
his chief interest has always centered in the cause of education, in recognition of which 
fact his fellow-citizens have placed him in several positions of trust connected with the 
schools of Rochester. He was prominently instrumental in organising the free school 
system of the city ; was made superintendent of schools of the county of Monroe and 
was also a member of the board of education of the city where his influence was potent 
for the good of the cause of education. His contributions to the press in the same direc- 
tion have been numerous and valuable. He was elected alderman of his ward (the sev- 
enth) in 1861-62 and in 1867 was made supervisor; the duties of these offices, it need 
scarcely be said, were discharged with fidelity and ability. 

In the year 1855 Mr. Seward was married to Ruth Ann Bedell, of Greene Co., N. Y. 
They are without children, and still reside on premises adjoining those where the seminary 
was formerly located, enjoying the respect of the community at large. 



HiSTOKV OF THE CtTY OF ROCHESTER. 



pKAl N\"FV I-v WOOmVOKlH — Amor.,- :he rior.e^r? o:" M 
V t-i' u:"-7!\ o:' >.-c"oer \\\xx'.«or;h. who came rro:n South Cover.'r 
Cora;.. :o the to«r. of ».'.-ite> h- the *j;r.:r.er cf ic>io- Trey h\rite\: .•. 
h.i-t rwr.e* west of the o:tv o:' Rvvhe*:er. on wh.i: is k;:owr. as the *. 
foumev !ro:r. Connection: to R^vhester wu> mjo.e in or.e of the hi'i:e oov;- 
csev^ "ha e.ir'x o-=.\s, there Iv r.i: then no other means of travel nt thrs x?ot: 
oth o„iv of June. iSio, :he\ .irrlve^i at the ta\-eru of Oh\ er Ca'.vrr. ;n Bn^nion. 
thev h.iltevi for tne nich;. The fol'-owini: liay was ennrely sv^r.t -.n reaohrvU fnc 
home, so .itt.e hah h<ee;'. hone tow.ir.ts onen.in^ a roao. : tnev :ra\ eie\i bv » 

In the fa ■;■.;".>" of this nioreer was an infant son. who v\,\s bom oti the ." ; 
Febraarv. tSio. and oonse.;uent',v. a: the :-n-.e of the nticr.i:;on to Monroe . 
.tbou: four months o'.d. This w.is Channoey R \V..x\:\vor:h. now one of : 
oitirens ano. btisinesss nien of the city of K^vhester ano. the subjeot of this 
remainevi at the yarentai hon\e. >ie\otn-;^ a share of e.ioh year to the a 
of such eviuc.".: on .is was thtn awi .ab.e. nnti'. he ^»as twentv-.,^ne ve.tr> of a,. 
encaievi ;n the crocerv bnsntess or. the voraer of Fast Man; ano. Xonh St. : 
on the she of the >.>i-bur.-. Hous<.- b'.vvk, thus for the f.r^: f.i\e ;detu;f>iRi; h 
the business in:erests of the c:t\ that h.ts sn;ce felt no. so many ways the mriuence 
enercie^ 

.\lvnt the ye.ir iS^i Mr, Wcvsiwonh alvin.c.on.evi th.e ^rvver> business .m. 
a farm a: Ironcle'.r.ioh and es:.-.biishe\i a h;ri;e s>iw-mi'.i which he oixxaievl s^ 
sunnlynij; the ".un^b-er for many of the bnf.d.incs ere\":e\l in K^x-hester in e.»rb 

In i>5j;. together \>;th Jon.es \- Osburn. he buik the Crs^tai PaUce Wov ^ 
street. .\'ov^u: the s.\me tuiie he removov.: to his present place of njsivlence. 41 
Washn-.i:ton street. 

Down to this time Mr. Wovviwordn h.ui. in virtue of in.viastry, e- 
btjstness s.'icac:tv anoi •uoliLment. met with siuxx-ss m .»ii of his uiivi- 
er.i:aj:e\i r.'. the business that h.is ever since oociip.oxi a hirge share o: 
has made his name famf.iar ;hrvH!i;hout the cvvintrv ; this is the ir. 
famer\ .itui e\tr.ic;s. For this work he m iSjt .issov-uievi with K, 
^nd the m.muf.-.cture of j^i.iss-ware »,vs sul>sc\j'.:en:',\ adde<.i. Fhrxs. 
Mr. Wo^xiwortiT svicceevievi to the entire business, which has since I x . 
one of the ",arj;est. mv>st successtui and honv'^rable 01 the kmd i« the > 

On the 5th of Iani:.ir\. iS^j, Mr. Wixxiwonh was niarriixi to M 
3 daughter of Ciark Smith, of Bv>ston. Ma.ss. They h.ive had nvc 
«-hv>m .ire son.s. One of these. H.im S. \\\xxiwvnh. is now in C\.-*1U\_ 
Chauncey C VWxxtworth an.vi F'rank K, \V\xxiworth. are associatevi »■ 
business, the linn lx?-.ng C, B. \\\xxiwonh iV Sv->ns, Their manutac;,.rc- 
throuihou: the conntr\ and the stand.ird of their reputation is the hij^hest. 

The preser.t extensoe and enicient street r;»ilro,>vi svstem ot Rvxhester ;- 
outirrowth of Mr. \Voo\iwor.h's enteriirise. In the ye.»r 1S6S, when the Ro. 
i: Brighton r,v.irvV;d conij\in\ "s projierty and franchise vvas soi." 
closure. \[r. Woovi worth punhaseil it entire. He then joimxi " 
directors, reorganiseii the comivinw extendeii its tracks 
there are tew cities in the counirv more thorousAlv and s 



xcJEY R WoiMiwoRVH, — (>KoKt;i'. ), WmrNK 



^ 1 -s than Rt,x~heswr. Mr. Woodwonh has been ireiismw of the cxjiii 

isatiiw- 

- is noi whhom cWriy <kiii\enl political convictions, hm lie h.ts no\ > 
In 1S55 ho WMs inducol to atsx^pt the nommaii.in lor shoniV . 

\>e on the Whi*; ticket, ;uh1 was eltvicd. ll is, perhaps. iiniuve^s;r 
. es of the otfioo were taithtully anil cai>ahly ili.scliarj;xHi. 

has been a trustee of the Me<-hanics' saxings hank and a trustee of 
i ■ - - - • ^^-i-ilogic^J seminar)-, Since 1864 he lias heen a director and is now vicc- 
pie-::: o!" the Flour City National bank. In these several important trusts he has 
cnli - ' - ' .^esei^-ed business reputation and has added to tlie high estimation in 

« iii .is associates. He h.is been a member of the Second Baptist chun-ii 

tor e years, and one of its trustees about thirty-three years. In all 

me, ,Liieral ad\-ancement and well-being of Rochester he has always ex- 

hib; ,. ...vrest and an active public spirit, white in his social and family ixila- 

tioi ■ . ii'ovs the esteem of the communitv. 



/^i •; 1. WHITNEV. Among the pioneers who exerted,! marked inlhience 
Vl the village and city of Rochester was Warham Wliitney, who came to Monr>>e 

coii.i ~ ,',i county in the year 1819. and settled in that part of RiH'hesier 

kncn. He there built a mill, which he oiierated with unqualilied succes-s, 

his ■ : nour attaining a wide reputation lor uniform excellence. He also iKvame 

a l.i: . A : cr of real estate in this vicinity and was a pmminent man in all the pulilic 
reli: : life. He was the father of tour daughters and three .sons, of whom (leorge 
J. V ;he suhjecr of this sketch, w.as one. He was horn on the 26th of January, 

1 - < brought to Ri>chester by his parents while an infant. After spending liis 

I uool, ;Uternated with various kinds of lahor, he took charge of tlie farm 

ii| ii> father died in Manrh, 1840, and remaineil thei-e a year or two. In 1842 

he u rned to Julia BuUanl. For a short time he conducted a store at Frankfort, 
;i" ■ ,• engaged in the milling and grain business, which he followed until his 

;ng an operator on a saile of great m.ignitude and known throughout the 
<■ ; V . In the milling business he was for a time at first associated with tlie late 

t.> n \Villi.xms, and here his business capacity seemed for the first time to 

tin ; . road enough for its successful development. He built in the year 1857 the 

lar^ .:,>r in Rochester which still bears his name and is operated by his son, James 
\\ " ■ ^^ . ind also had the charge of the New York Central elevators in both Biirtalo 
an 1 , \ ork. In this enterprise ,and in his position as director of the New York Cen- 
tral : : Huison River railroad, he w,as brought in immediate business relations with 
Mr . 1 icvbilt, and had he lived would undoubtedly have been one of the chief instru 
niei' > ,c establishment of the proposed steamship connection across the .\tlantic, oik 
of I: -! stuiiendous enterprises ever projected. .\s a director of the Central railroad. 
his s> , . , uere considered of such value and his counsels were so generally wise and 
jiii-.' - that he was continued in the otiice through three different administrations — 
tho> .K Richmond-Corning regime, then under the Keep organisation, and finally 
undtithe Vanderbilt management. He was not retained by Mr. Vanderbilt the first 
yean Vanderbilt's reign, but was put in the second year (being dropped the first year). 



6/6 HlSTOKV OK THE CiTY OF RoCllKSTER. 

He was the only director in the previous organisations who was retained by Mr. \'an- 
(lerl)ilt when lie became president of the road — the highest conipHnient to his worth in 
that |)osition that i:auld have l)een ])aid liini. He liecame jiractically the manager of 
the western division of tlie road and at the time of liis death was in absolute control of 
all the trans|]ortation, storage and delivery of grain which passed over the Central rail- 
road from liuffalo to New Wnk. The writer of an obituary of Mr. Whitney, in allud- 
ing to this portion of his business life, said " he was the only resident director in this 
l)art of the state, and how ably he discharged the manifold duties resting upon him, his 
record s])eaks with an eloquence that will not be hushed for years to come." Mr. Van- 
derbilt said of him, when apjjrised of his death, "men like Mr. Whitney are not very 
])lentiful. As a husband, as a father, as a friend, he was e(|ually admirable and relia- 
ble, and as a business man he was e.xceedingly capable. The New York Central will 
keenly feel his loss." 

Mr. Whitney will be n)ost vividly remembered for his farseeing sagacity, his strong 
determination, his prompt and vigorous action in all emergencies, his wise judgment and 
remarkable exe<:utive ability. In these res|)ects he was not surpassed by any of his 
contem])oraries. His insight into all business details was wonderfully clear and com- 
prehensive; liis plans were quu kly devised and then followed with resolution and unfal- 
tering vigor to the end. Obstacles were recognised by him only to be surmounted. He 
was, in short, the ideal successful business man. 

Mr. Whitney never had time, and probably little inclination, for jjoliiical preferment; 
the bent of his genius was in other directions. He did once |)ermit the use of his name for 
alderman (by one jiarty ; the other party also nominated him and when election day came 
no tickets had been printed each party thinking the other would do that), but only that 
he might serve his neighbors and friends in the city, which he did to their eminent satis- 
faction. He was for ten or twelve years a member of the board of managers of the 
Western House of Refuge, and for eight years of the time its president ; and it was said 
of him at the time of his death that it would be ■■ difficult to name any enterpri.se of 
large pro]jortions that did not owe the greater ]iart of its success to the foresight and in- 
defatigable industry of (leorge J. Whitney." He was mainly instrumental in establish- 
ing the dri\ing park, and, as jiresident of the institution, gave it the prestige it has abvays 
retained. 

Mr. Whitney was a man of social dis|)osition and a genial, warm-hearted, kindly na- 
ture. He drew around him many sincere friends, whose coni])anionship and regard was 
dearer to him than any practical worldly success. To those who knew him intimately, 
what has been called "the home side of his nature" was his best side. 

James W. Whitney, of Rochester, is his only son, and he had three daughters. He 
died December 31st, 1878. 



M.ARTIN B. .\NUKRS()N. LI.. I). — Of the men who have been identified with the 
intellectual and moral growth of this city, there is, perhaps, none who holds a more 
prominent place than Martin H. .'\nderson. For the last thirty-one years he has been 
])resident of the University of Rochester, and in this position he has become conspicuous 
by his efforts to advance the cause of education. And by his broad common sense, his 
ruggeil force of character and his jiositive moral convictions, he has naturally become 



Martin R. Anderson. ()■/■] 



recognised as a leader or, at least, adviser in nearly every enterprise of a benevolent 
and philanthropic nature. His lite has lieen a constant and earnest effort to elevate 
the intellectual and moral tone of the connnunity in which he has lived. 

Dr. Anderson was born in Brunswick, Me., February 12th. 1815. The influence 
of his Scotch-Irish descent has left a strong impress upon his mind and character. In 
early life he was thrown largely upon his own resources ; and while yet a boy he was 
compelled to think and act as a man. Among the first impulses given to his intellectual 
life was his contact with a few men of mature age and experience who had organised 
themselves into a society for the purpose of discussing questions relating to politics and 
other topics of general interest. He then became an omnivorous reader, and acquired 
a taste and talent for public speaking. At the age of twenty-one he entered VVaterville 
college (Colby university) where he was graduated in 1840. In college he acquired 
a reputation for great industry, breadth of knowledge, and thoroughness of research, 
especially in subjects relating to philosophy and the sciences. After graduation he 
spent a year in the theological seminary at Newton, Mass., preaching sometimes in 
neighboring towns. In 1841 he was appointed tutor of Latin, Greek and mathematics 
in Waterville college; and in 1843 he was promoted to the chair of rhetoric in the same 
institution. Besides rhetoric he taught also Latin and history, and delivered a course 
of lectures on the origin and growth of the English language — probably the first course 
on this subject delivered in an .\merican college. In 1850 he resigned his professorship 
and removed to New York city, where he became editor-in-chief and joint-proprietor 
of the New York Recorder, a weekly Baptist journal. His editorials were marked by 
extensive learning, vigor of thought, and frequently by keen controversial acumen. In 
1853 he received a unanimous call to the ])residency of the University of Rochester. 
This institution had but recently been established, and the work of laying securely its 
foundation and of determining its future character was, in a great measure, placed in his 
hands. So fully has he identified himself with the cause of the university that whatever 
reputation and success it has achieved may be attributed greatly to his personal efforts 
and influence. The largest and most valuable part of his life has been devoted to its 
interests and to the cause of higher education which it represents. 

His success as an educator has depended largely upon his extensive and varied 
acquirements as a scholar, his high conception of the functions of the teacher and his 
unusual capacity for administration. In liis scholarship he is broad and liberal. He 
has pushed his investigations mio many departments of human knowledge, and has 
organised the results of his investigations into lectures and courses of study suited to 
the students under his charge. These lines of instruction have included intellectual 
and moral philosophy, history and constitutional law, political economy, social science, 
jurisprudence, art criticism, the history of the fine arts, etc. In connection with these 
studies he has frequently used his pen for the promotion of interests of a scientific and 
educational character. His writings are comprised for the most part in newspaper 
editorials, article for reviews, discourses and essays upon education, religious addresses, 
papers on social science, oflicial reports and articles for encyclopaedias. These writings 
are characterised by vigor of thought, directness of expre.ssion, breadth of learning and 
earnestness of purpose. 

But it is not as a mere scholar that his power and success are to be measured. It 
is rather as a teacher, or, better still, as a guide and an inspiration to young men that 



6j^ IIisioKV OF Till". City of Rociikstfr. 



his intlueiKC has become periiianent. His power is, by way of eminence, [jersonal 
]]()wer, and is clue to im|iartin|; liis own ideas and spirit to others. The young man 
wlio (annul lie aroused bv liis magnetic appeals is dead beyond the possibihty of resur- 
recticm. His i;realness is most full\- seen wilhin tlie walls of his own (lass-room, and 
is shown not sn nnu h in mere instru( tion, or the e\]iosition of s( ientifu topics, as in 
the transnnssKin lA' menial and moral \italu\. and in revelations of the pracli( al signifi- 
cance (if human life. 

lUit his energies have not been entirely restricted to the instilulion and to the young 
men iinmediately tinder Ins charge. He has freely gi\ en his .lid to eiilerjirises of a 
social and piilitic al nature. During the war he was ardently p. itridlic, writing editorials 
and dehsering speeches in la\(ir of the nalidiial cause. In i S6.S he was appointed a 
member of the New \'ork state board of charities: and while a member of this board he 
wrote several \aluable reports to the legislature, chief among which are those upon 
Out'Doi'i- RtlicJ mmX Ali()i l\}iip,rs. .As a recognition of his ability as an economist, he 
was chosen as an honorarv meniber of ihe (.'obden club of l'',ngland. .\n appreciation 
of his judgment in matters relating to ]iublic improvements was shown by the governor 
in apiKiinting him a member of the .Niagara Falls commission. .\nd his willingness to 
assist m carrving out the liene\dlent purposes of his fellow-citi/ens is shown by his ac- 
ce]itaiue of the position as president of the board of trustees of the •• Reviiolds Library." 

To ihose who are best accpiaiiited with Tresident .\nderson he appears at once as a 
man of ihought and a man of at tion. .\s a scholar he s\ iiipathises with all honest 
efl'orts to eiil.irge the sum of hum. in know ledge. .\s a m. in of affairs he is willing to 
lend his aid to anv ( ausc which tends to iiu rease the sum of human happiness and to 
improve the general well-being of society. 



] I()\. I'.R.VSMrS i).\l<\Vl\ .S.MITH, I.L. !).. ex-justice of the Su|ireme court 
1 1 .111(1 of the (durt of .Xjjpeals of the state of New \'ork. was born at De Ruyter. 
Madison county, on the loth day of October, i8o6. l)e Kuyter, the southwestern town 
of Madison (ouiU). was settled about tlie commeiu eineiit of the iiresent century. 
.\inong its pioneers was Dr. Hubbard Smith, who remo\ed from Stephentown, Rens- 
selaer countv, in i8oi (jr i(So2. having pre\ lously married I'aiiiK e Jones, ot that place, 
one of a fimily of ten children. Dr. .Smith w. is engaged in an e\tensi\e practice at 
De Ruyter for more than forty years. He was the first postmaster, a justice of the 
peace, and for several terms one of the judges of the court of Common Pleas of Madi- 
son county. At the outset of his profe.ssional life, the celebrated Dr. Erasnuis Darwin, 
the father of the still more celebrated Chades Darwin, w'.as in the full tide of success 
and iiojHilanty as a poet and philoso|ihical writer, and Dr. Smith gave to his son the 
name of the author. Krasmus Darwin Smith was studious and relf-reliant, and, having 
received a good common school education, at the age of fifteen years became a school 
teacher, following the avocation for h\e successive winters, and using his earnings to 
secure a classical education. iJuring three summers he [lursued preparatory studies at 
Hamilton academy, and in the fall of uSjfj entered Piamilton ct/llege. Soon occurred 
the long controversy between l)r. Davis, the president of the college, and the trustees, 
in conseiiuence of whicl> no students were graduated in 1829 and 1830. The advan- 
tages of study were so much impaired that most of the students left in 1828. In the follow- 



Erasmus Darwin Smith. 



679 



■i 




ing winter Mr. Smith coramenceii the stiuly of the law in the otlice of Clregory & Hum- 
phrey, at Rochester, which he continued with Ebenezer Gritifin, esi[., of the same place, 
imtil his admission to the bar at the October term in 1830, when he went into partner- 
shij) with Mr. Grifiin, whose daughter, Janet Morrison, he afterwards married. The 
year 1828 was a presidential year, and Mr. Smith, being somewhat active in politics as 
a supporter of Gen. Jackson for the presidency, came into collision with an old merchant 
of Rochester, of the family of Smith, who as an individual was also distinguished by 
the name of the English physician. This Erasmus Darwin Smith was opposed in poli- 
tics to Gen. Jackson, and not at all inclined to indorse the acts and sayings of the 
youthful partisan of the same name. The latter was accommodating, and, having no 
desire to appear to sail under another's colors, avoided the difficulty by agreeing to 
suppress a portion of the prenomen, and has ever since written his name E. Darwin 
Smith. The interruption which he had encountered in his studies was compensated for 
by his [jrivate reading and reflection, and he became well qualified for legal practice. 
His professional connection with Mr. Griffin, which continued for several years, was 
terminated by the removal of that gentleman from Rochester, when Mr. Smith formed 
a new copartnership with Hon. Samuel L. Selden, afterwards an eminent judge of the 
court of Appeals. Subsequently Mr. Smith was associated in practice, for many years, 
with Henry E. Rochester, esq. In 1832 he was appointed master in Chancery, and 
continued to hold ' the office for three successive terms of three years. Soon after this 
appointment he was designated, by Chancellor Walworth, as injunction master for the 
eighth district, of which Monroe county, including Rochester, was a portion. In the 
year 1841 he was appointed by the chancellor clerk in Chancery for the eighth district, 
a position not only un,solicited, but accepted with much hesitation. His practice in all 
the courts, especially in the court of Chancery, was then extensive. The office pre- 
cluded practicing in that court ; he therefore formed a partnership with E. Peshine 
Smith, esq., who conducted that part of his legal business. He continued to act as the 
clerk of the Chancery court until it was abolished July ist, 1847, under the provisions 
of the constitution which had been adopted the year before. During a portion of this 
period he resided in the town of Gates, adjoining Rochester, to which he moved in 
1839. Returning to Rochester, five years later, he was chosen for various local offices, 
serving one year as health commissioner, and for several years as school commissioner. 
His services were often required as a public speaker on political and other topics, and 
he made many addresses on social topics, and Fourth of July orations in different places. 
Twice he was nominated for member of Assembly, and once for Congress, but, his party 
not being in the ascendancy in the district, he shared the fate of his fellow candidates. 
As a delegate to the Democratic national convention held at Baltimore in 1848, he co- 
operated in the nomination of Gen. Lewis Cass for the presidency, whom he supported 
actively during the canvass, being an earnest and effective speaker. The Democratic 
party in the state was now divided, and the Dally Advertiser of Rochester supported 
the Van Buren or Free Soil movement. The conservative Democrats established the 
Daily Courier, which supported Cass. After the campaign was over, Mr. Smith united 
with Judge S. L. Selden, Joseph Medbury, Joseph Sibley, and H. G. Warner in the 
purchase of the Daily Advertiser, with which the Courier was merged. He became, 
soon after such purchase, the political editor, and wrote most of the leading articles for 
the paper during the year 184^. The Free Soil wing of the party afterwards decided to 



68o History of the City of Rochester. 

establish a new paper, and the prospectus of the Daily News was issiicil ; but a com- 
proinise was effected, in conse(|uence of whu h its [jrojectors abancioned tlicir eiUer|irise 
and houglit the stock of souic of the partners in the Ai/virt'uvr, which was continued 
under llie echtorship of Mr. Ilor.itio (l.ites Warner initil Mr. Isaac Hutts, tlie former 
editor, repurchased an interest, and united the Ath'irtistr witli the Rochesti-r Union, a 
journal then recently established. Pursuing; his profession, he was engaged in many im- 
])ortant litigations, and in the autumn of 1855 was nominated by the conservative Demo- 
crats as a justice of the .Sujireme court. The American party also gave him its support. 
He was elected by a small majority, and commenced a judicial course which was to re- 
flect credit on his jiersonal and legal character, and continue for the remainder of his 
active life. Until the breaking out of the war of the rebellion he had always been firm 
in resisting any attempt to interfere with the rights of the Soutliern ])eople; but, after 
they appealetl to arms, he acted with the war Democrats and subsequently with the Re- 
publican |)arty. On the call of the govenniient for troops he put himself into sympathy 
with the movement, addressed pul)lic meetings on the subject, and took an active part 
generally in encouraging enlistments. In his official capacity as a judge he was 
proni])ted by the same patriotic impulse, and, in his addresses to the grand jury, incul- 
cated the duty of every citizen to give an active and earnest sujjport to the government 
in the prosecution of the war. In 1863 he was reelected to the bench of the Supreme 
court, and again in 1871, continuing to hold the office until January ist, 1877, when he 
had reached seventy years of age, the constitutional limitation of the tenure of a justice 
of the Supreme court. Under the provision making the judges of the Supreme court 
having the shortest period to serve ex-officio members of the court of Appeals, Judge 
Smith was a member of that court in 1862, and again in 1870. He was designated by 
Governor Hofftnan, in December, 1872, on the death of Judge Johnson of the fourth 
department of the Supreme court, to take his place, and sat in that department, as gen- 
eral term justice, until 1877. His judicial decisions have been marked by research, 
luci(lit\-, and logical precision. The opinion which he wrote in the case of Freeman 
Clarke v. the City of Rochester (24 Barbour's Reports, p. 446) was the first to settle 
really the (|uestion of the power of cities to take stock in corjjorations. The opin- 
ion in the legal tender case of Hague v. Powers, extending from the 427th to the 
479th i)age of the 39th volume of Piarbour's Reports, was of the greatest importance, 
settling the question of the jjower of the federal government to issue paper money as a 
means of self-preservation in time of war, and as a war measure. Ciiief Justice Chase, 
of the U. S. Supreme court, remarked to Judge Johnson of this state that the decision 
was, in its influence on the credit of the government,- eejual to a victory in the field. It 
relieved the whole country from a jjosition of extreme embarrassment. Other important 
opinions will be found in tlie cases of the People v. the Albany & Suscpiehanna Railroad 
Company (55 Barbour, 344) ; the habeas corpus case, "In the matter of Jordan," (2 
American Law Register, p. 749) ; and the People v. the Central Railroad Company of 
New Jersey (42 N. Y., 283), a decision rendered in the court of A])])eals. Many opin- 
ions written in the fourth department are to be found in Cook & Thompson's and 
Hun's Reports. The degree of doctor of laws was conferred upon Judge Smith while 
on the bench of the Supreme court, wholly unsolicited and without any knowledge on 
his part. Since Judge Smith left the bench he has been employed in closing litigated 
cases as counsel, and has acted as referee in quite a nuuiber of important cases, but has 




Z^7i 



Ct^l^TVCA 



RNER. 68 1 

Ugh in his sev- 

uiracterised his 

nd eiiHghtened 

incere desire to 

itude. His ex- 

hest esteem of 

11 benefit by his 

me into the oro- 

1 his fidehty, and 

encouraged them 

leir advancement. 

nansion, was buih 

rst store there on 

877, Judge Smith 

the first wife three 

.., wife of Isaac E. 

^rapher. 



fleet was making its 

812, the echo of the 

II upon the ear of a 

e left his plow, un- 

Idered his gun and 

iptain Seth Warner, 

; sketch. He would 

jns been necessary to 

. with many examples 

,,nificance of the motto 



1S07, and Electa Harrington, 1 



ine generations, in this 

.eicester, England. In 

om Woodbury, Conn., 

ject of this sketch be- 

s delineated : ist, John ; 

amuel ; 7th, Seth; 8th, 

is first cousin of Colonel 

was christened by him. 

as wounded, and drew a 

in the war of 181 2. Dr. 

>vho won excellent repute 

self is not a physician, the 

icefully. 

)nondaga county, N. Y., in 
'wn, November 13th, iSio. 



7l 



Erasmus Darwin Smith. — Hulbert Harrington Warner. 68i 

rarely appeared in the courts. He is enjoying a vigorous old age. Though in his sev- 
enty-seventh year, he has lost little of the stamina and alertness which characterised his 
whole mature life. He commands universal respect as an upright and enlightened 
citizen who manifests his concern for the welfare of his fellow men ; a sincere desire to 
be helpful to every one who may claim his friendship or enlist his solicitude. His ex- 
tensive and important labors on the bench have gained him the highest esteem of 
contemporaries and entitle him to the respect of his successors, who will Ijcnefit liy his 
painstaking elucidation of controverted questions. Those who have come into the uro- 
fession and grown up under his long administration of justice applaud his fidelity, and 
acknowledge the uniform courtesy, the helpful kindness which have encouraged them 
in times of difficulty and aided in overcoming obstacles that impeded their advancement. 
The house in which Judge Smith resides, a commodious and elegant mansion, was built 
by Ira West, a prosperous merchant of Rochester, who opened the first store there on 
the settlement of the village in 1812. Having lost his first wife in 1877, Judge Smith 
married Mrs. Emily Perkins Smith in 1879. Of his five children by the first wife three 
are living: Vincent M. Smith, attorney at law at Rochester; Cora E., wife of Isaac E. 
Sheldon, of New York ; and Erasmus D. Smith, law clerk and stenographer. 



HULBERT HARRINGTON WARNER. When the British fleet was making its 
deadly assault on the city of Oswego, during the war of 1812, the echo of the 
guns, resounding through the rolling lands of Central New York, fell upon the ear of a 
stalwart farmer in Onondaga county, and, like Cincinnatus of old, he left his plow, un- 
limbered his horses, and, with a quick good-bye to his family, shouldered his gun and 
hastened to the defense of the beleagured city. This man was Captain Seth Warner, 
the grandfather of Hulbert Harrington Warner, the subject of this sketch. He would 
not have been true to his name or lineage, had a second summons been necessary to 
urge to the doing of a patriotic duty. The Warner line is graced with many exam])les 
of genuine, stalwart, heroic manhood, illustrating to the full the significance of the motto 
of an English branch of the family, in their "pluck and persistence." 

Hulbert Harrington Warner traces his ancestry through nine generations, in this 
country, to 1650. The family originated in Kent, Essex, and Leicester, England. In 
this country one branch started from Ipswich, Mass., another from Woodbury, Conn., 
and another from New Hampshire. The line to which the subject of this sketch be- 
longs originated in this country in Woodbury, Conn., and is thus delineated : ist, John ; 
2d, John ; 3d, John ; 4th, Dr. Ebenezer; 5th, Thomas; 6th, Samuel; 7th, Seth; 8th, 
William ; 9th, Hulbert. The Seth of the seventh generation was first cousin of Colonel 
Seth Warner, the famous Vermont hero of the revolution, and was christened by him. 
Samuel of the sixth generation served in the war of 1776, was wounded, and drew a 
pension for life. Seth of the seventh generation was a captain in the war of 1812. Dr. 
Ebenezer of the fourth generation was one of eight in his line who won excellent repute 
in the practice of medicine, and on Hulbert, though he himself is not a physician, the 
niande of the healing art has descended genealogically and gracefully. 

William of the eighth generation was born in Van Buren, Onondaga county, N. Y., in 
1807, and Electa Harrington, his wife, was born in the same town, November 13th, 1810. 



682 lIisToKV III' Till", City of RofiiKSTKR. 



'I'liey were married Mav 3<1. 1.S27. Hull)ert heiiif; the seventh chihl and the fourth son. 
William died in 1.S77, his uidou sur\i\inL; him and residing in Koihester, N. \'. 

Klecta 1 larrinyton was a dim t desi endant in the fourth L;eneratioii of the Rev. 

lones, a l!a])tist minister who ( ame to this (ountiy soon alter the arrival ot the 

Miiyflowrr. Her grandfather, .^ilas iSrwuii. ser\ed with lioiior in the re\ olutionar\- war. 
and her fuller. Dr. i.ioiK-l llairiiit;lon. won fune and an untimely death in the war 
of iSij. 

Ilulliert llarrin-ton Warner was horn in \'an lluieii, ( )nondai;.i i nunty, N. \'., 
|anu,u\ 19th. iS|2. He uas trained m the common mIukiIs of the town, and after- 
wards >|ient sever.d \ ears in the lamous aradeniy of l)r. T. Is. Wright, at KIbriilge, 
N. \. His grandfather. Seth, mnwd into \'an liuren in 1S07 from Stockbridge, Mass., 
settlmg near the \illage of Warners, whu h, in eonsider.ition of the character of himself 
and his two brothers, Heman and Henry, was gi\en the fannly name. 

With an honore<l lineage <in both the [laternal and mateinal sides. Hulbert began his 
( areer wuh the strong advantage of good blood. Tiring of faini hie, his father, seeing 
that he was deternnned to "strike out for himself," ajiiirentit ed him to the tinsmith trade 
in .\lem|ihis, Onondaga countw when he was lit'teen years of age. In 1865 young War- 
ner " went west." cundui ting the stoxe and hardware business until 1S70 in Michigan, 
when he returiieil to .\ew NOii. .md settled in Rochester. If lite in the great west clid 
nothing else for him. it ([uickeiU'd his earl\- formeil |iiir|iose to sui leed despite all obsta 
< les. and the ln'ttiT htteil him lur the extraordinary business career which was about to 
open. In 1S70. ha\ing sec ured the general ageiu y of the Mosler. Ilahmann i\: (_'o. fire 
and burglar-proof Safe, manufactured at Cincinnati. < ).. lu- began a record in the sale 
business w hich has had no parallel in this country or in any other ccjuntry. At that time 
the excitement in the oil regions of Pennsylvania ran high. Towns sprang up in a night. 
Cireat men and great opjxirtunities met. Personally taking the field he disposed of sev- 
eral hunclred safes in a tew weeks, and accpiirecl that intimate insight into the liusiness 
which e\er after made him master of its details and .1 good judge of the rec|uirements 
of successful safe salesmen. This mission ga\e him his tirst substantial sticcess, and in 
a short time he had sale warehouses all o\er the land, and liaci over a hundred men in 
the held. He thus early realised the ambition c)f his boxliood. which was to see his 
liiinie associated with a widely-extended and sue cessl'ul commercial enterprise. l"',\en 
in his youth his ideas were all on ,1 large scale, and his later life has clemonstrated that 
he is, in all things, a man ui iiidxlnid. 

The ]ianic of 1873 overtook linn with plans and ])urposes of continental extent. In 
that stui)endous crisis strong men were unmanned, and weak men were undone. While 
his competitors clid not dare to assume the risk of holding the territory until the return 
of better times, he, with pluc k and sagacit)', determined at whatever sacrifice to take no 
steps backward. It was a severe financial and physical strain, but the end justified him. 
The tide turned in 1876. i'lie territory which he had held had now become ex<:]usively 
his own. Concentrating all his energies, making Rochester his sole basis of opera- 
lions, he sold ill less than eighteen months over two and a half million dollars' worth 
of safes, had not only made good all the losses of the three years of business depression, 
but had also acc|uired a handsome competence. It is said that circumstances often 
make men great, but in this case the man of " jiluck and persistence" wrested success 
out of most adverse circumstances. In the past twelve years he has sold over 70,000 



I 



HuLBERT Harrington Warner. 683 

safes, aggregating $15,000,000. In 1884. owing to the extraordinary demands made 
upon his time by his other enterprises, he disposed of the safe business to Mosler, IJowen 
& Co., of Rochester, N. Y. 

Like too many other energetic men, Mr. Warner exhausted in his business energy 
his stock of vitahty, and when commercial success had rewarded him, and the pros- 
pect of an easy future dawned upon him, he was quite broken in health; — so much so 
that his physicians thought he could not live a year. But when they had exhausted all 
known means for his recovery, by providential suggestions he was led to the use of a 
simple compound which was reputed to be a specific for the kidney disorders from which 
he suffered. In less than a year it cured him. Clrateful for his own release, and with a 
characteristic generosity, he determined to devote a part of his accumulated capital to 
the manufacture of this compound, for the benefit of others who might be suffering as 
he had suffered without hope. When he learned that the medical profession had no 
other curative for extreme kidney and liver disorders, and that the compound was per- 
fectly safe to use, he had it scientifically perfected and gave it to the world under the 
name of " Warner's Safe Cure." In process of time he added " Warner's Safe Diabetes 
Cure," "Warner's Safe Nervine," "Warner's Safe Pills," "Warner's Safe Rheumatic 
Cure," "Warner's Tippecanoe," and "Warner's Safe Throatine." The formulae of these 
preparations are all of the very highest order, and the preparations themselves have only 
been manufactured in obedience to a strong public demand for them, the character of 
"Warner's Safe Cure " being so high as to commend to [Hiblic i)atronage any prepara- 
tion manufactured by H. H. Warner & Co. 

This personal experience explains wliy, in addition to conducting the largest safe 
business in the world, he assumed the projirietary medicine business. The enterprise 
grevv with astonishing rapidity, and what was begun in 1879 as a testimonial of gratitude, 
has at length- ab.sorbed almost his entire personal and financial attention. The gross 
sales amount to over $2,500,000 per annum. In five years he was obliged to make three 
removes tc> accommodate his growing business, and in 1884 he erected the largest and 
completest medicine laboratory in the world. It is built of wrought iron and brick, 
is absolutely fire-proof, and cost a half million dollars. It contains over 4 1-4 acres of 
flooring. It is eight stories high, is of very imposing appearance, and is located on North 
St. Paul street, Rochester, N. Y. 

In the early part of 1879 '^''- Warner casually met Mr. Swift, the famous comet 
finder. With his customary liberality, being interested in the man and his work, he 
assured him that if he would raise the money to purchase a large telescope, he would 
build him an observatory ; and in January, 1883, the Warner observatory was completed, 
finished and furnished at an estimated expense of $100,000. Dr. Swift was appointed 
director, at a handsome salary paid by the founder. This observatory is the finest 
private institution of the kind in the world, and is located on the corner of Arnold Park 
and East avenue. It is built of Lockport white sandstone, rough ashlar, and is finished 
throughout with the rarest native hardwoods. The telescope was made by the Clarkes, 
of Cambridge, Mass., is a little over sixteen inches in diameter, twenty-two feet long, 
with its mountings weighs over three tons, and cost about $13,000. The fund for its 
purchase was raised by Dr. Swift among the public-spirited citizens of Rochester. 

The Warner observatory is the only private astronomical observatory in the world 
which is open to the public, Mr. Warner being determined that it shall minister pleasure 



684 HlSTClRV OF THE CiTY OF ROCHESTER. 

anil prolit to the greatest possible number of people, 'i'he Vienna Academy of! k 
in iSSo. having abandoned the giving of medals for cometary discovery, he atonce;^ 
two Inmdred dollars in gold to any .Xmerican astromoiiier who should discover ;e 
scopic. unexpected comet. The prize has been renewed e\erv year suice. In'jj 
was e.xteniled to dreat liritain, and in aildition thereto one of two hundred d' ij 
gold was oli'ered for an}- meteoric stone contauung organic remains, and fifty do jj 
any meteoric stone seen to fall during that \x'ar. In iSSi he ottered a prize of ^ j 
the best essa\' on Coiiir/s. their Composition, Pii>poii\dnJ I''.tji\'t on the /uirt/i. Tl ,: 
was won by Dr. Lewis Boss, of the Dudle\- observatory, .\lban_\', N. \'., and hisessa s; 
to be the linest monograph extant on the suljject of comets. Since the establish] it 
the Warner observatory eighteen hundred dollars have been awarded in prizes, it 
(hstinguished ]iatronagc of astronomy, Mr. Warner in 1882 was elected a memb« •Ji 
.American .Association for the .Advancement of Science, at the Montreal session. ' 

His sym])athies move quickly, and his generosity does not lag. He believe; t 
ing judiciousl)-, and has often said that e\ery dollar ])roperly gi\-en away has coi 'i 
to Inm ui fourfold measure. He does not give for the public faine, for in c il 
wa\s he illustrates to the full the Scriptiu'al injunction not to allow his left ': :1 
know what his right hand doeth. 

.Mr. \\'arner when he works, works with extr.iordinary energy. When he h 
enters into all diversions with a like zest. He is \er_\- fond of fishing and hunt'.i; 
vacluing. and spends several weeks of each year on l)oard his han<lsome steair a 
the Siista, cruising up and down the St. l,avvren<:e and the chain of great lakes [ 
to inherited instinct, he is a successfiil sportsman, and owns as fine a dog kenne 
be found in the land. In his stables also can aUvavs be seen horses of the la 
blood. 

He owns a Uwk; summer residence on one of the 'I'housand Islands of the ! . 
rence, and his city residence, on the corner of (looiiman street aTid Kast avenu , 
of the most striking houses in the city. It was erected in 1879, of brick andstcil 
with the grounds cost about $150,000. It is sumptuously furnished, its wahii 
adorned with many notable ])aintings, among them several of Henry Hosier's ti 
works — an artist whose genius Mr. Warner discovered and liberally "encoiri 
lf)ng belore the French government conferred upon him the coveted honor of its |)i 
age — the first distinction of the kind conferred on an American artist. 

Mr. Warner is a conservative Republican in jiolitics, and though he has neve ■& 
|)olitical preferment, he was unanimously elected a delegate to the national Rejlu.i 
convention which met in Chicago on the 3d of June, 18S4.. With his custom n 
of douig whatever he attempts on a large and generous scale, he chartered tv 3; 
man cars and invited over a hundred of his friends to accom])anv him to the cot v'|i 
city, as his personal guests. | 

He is of a marked domestic habit, and, though connected with many social 1 r. 
ternal organisations, he finds his greatest ]jleasure, when the duties of the day a'i,' 
in the pleasant com])anionship of his fainily. He is vestryman of St. Paul's Pr it 
Episcopal church, and is a generous contributor to all the church enterprises. 

iJeceuiber 19th, 1S64, Mr. Warner married Miss Martha L. Keeney, of Skai e? 
OTiondaga county, i\. \'. She was born in Auburn, June 18th, 1842, and di :o 
24ih. 1 87 1, 



HuLBERT Harrington Warner. — Edwin Pancost. 685 

October 29th, 1872, he marrieil Miss 01i\e Emily Stoddard, in Oneida, N. V. She 
was born in Livingston county, Mich., August loth, 1S47, and belongs to a family of 
distinction. Her line begins with John of Weathersfield, Conn., who came to America 
somewhere between 1630 and 1640. The family includes some of the most distinguished 
names in American history and literature, and originated in England, the pioneer ances- 
tor going to England with William the Conqueror, and being attached to his court. To 
the well-equipped mind, excellent judgment and wise counsels of his wife, Mr. Warner 
attributes much of the success which he has won. 

Mr. Warner is about six feet one inch high, weighs 250 pounds, is of light complex- 
ion, with blue eyes and dark brown hair. He has great physical vigor, and belonging 
to a line of long-lived ancestors, bids fair to live to a ripe old age. He is one of the 
most thoroughgoing citizens of Rochester, public-spirited, enterprising, charitable — 
such a citizen as every city delights to claim and honor. 



EDWIN PANCOST. The subject of this sketch was born in Scipio, Cayuga county, 
N. v., on the ist of June, 1812, and died June 22d, 1867, at the age of fifty-five 
years. He was the youngest of a family of fourteen children. After spending a por- 
tion of his early life at school, feeling a desire to start in life for himself, he obtained 
permission from his parents to leave home. He accordingly went to Auburn, in his 
native county, where he was employed in a dry goods store. In 1831, when he was 
nineteen years of age, he came to Rochester, where for a time he served as clerk in the 
store of Kempshall & Bush. Three years later (1834) he married the eldest daughter 
of the late Oren Sage. He soon after began the boot and shoe business on his own ac- 
count. In the following year he formed a copartnership with Mr. Oren Sage who had 
been in the same business since 1827. The firm continued as Sage & Pancost until 
1856, when E. O. Sage was admitted. Under the name of Sage, Pancost & Co., the 
firm did business until i860, when Oren Sage retired and Wm. N. Sage was admitted. 
This partnership, under the name of Pancost, Sage & Co., continued until the death of 
Mr. Pancost in 1867. The firm was for some years one of the largest manufacturers 
of boots and shoes in the country. 

Mr. Pancost always occupied a cons[)icuous position among the prominent business 
men, and in the social and official circles of the city. Though never seeking political 
office, he was often entrusted with positions of responsibility, where his strict business 
habits and well known integrity rendered him especially useful. He was elected alder- 
man of the first ward for two years, and held the ofifice of school commissioner one or 
two terms. Always foremost in promoting the cause of education, he was made a mem- 
ber of the board of trustees of the Rochester university from its first establishment. 
He also evinced a deep and practical interest in the Theological seminary. He was a 
trustee of the Monroe County savings bank, a director of the First National bank of Roch- 
ester, and a prominent member of the board of trade. These institutions united in pay- 
ing tribute to Mr. Pancost's worth in appropriate resolutions passed after his death. He 
was for many years a member of the First Baptist church, in which he held the offices 
of deacon and trustee ; he was also superintendent of the Sabbath-school for seven years. 

It was said of Mr.- Pancost by one who knew him well, that an indomitable will 
was a prominent characteristic of his life. He was an independent thinker, and when 



686 History of the City ok Rociiksier. 



liL- hail onif tlmc lied a tdiu iiNiiiii. il was (litiii Lilt to turn him IVdui tlu- purpose hr had 
l(iniu-il. His niiiid was < Icar. c oiniircliL'nsivc ami u ell Ijalaiucii. iind he was in the 
habit III' rulti\alini,' it by constant and (riti< al study. Mr. I'ancost's beiicvolcin-c was 
earnest, praetiral and discriniiiiatin.u. and his benefactions were both lari^e and well 
bestowed, while the\ were so modestly made that lew were aw. ire ol" their extent. His 
Christian character and perfect u])rightiiess pervaded all the acts of his life, L^.ainini,' for 
him the un<|ualified respect of the entire communitv . His life and character were c:or- 
rectlv jiortrayed bv one of the sjieakers in a ineelinu of the board of trade after Mr. 
I'ancost's death, in the following words: " He h.is perfectly fullilled the command to be 
'fervent in spirit, diligent in business, serving the Lord.'" 



JONWril.W CHI 1,1) was always unol)trusi\e ; alw.us true to his iimvictions in 
sunshine or storm. He was unaftei ted b_v envy : not dazzled by prosperity; not 
demeaned by reverses. He indulged in no man worship tor the exalted, or disdain for 
the lowlv. He was a sell'-respecting. Christian man. 

These were his jiersonal characteristics. To this may be added — his temper was 
genial ; his manners courteous ; his presence marked. 

Mr. Child was born in Lyme, N. IL. January 30th, 1785. Lyme is directly on the 
Connecticut river, ojijiosite Thetford, \t. His father's home was in Thetford, but own- 
ing, and temporarily occupying, a firm in Lyme. Mr. Child there lirst saw the light, 
surrounded by the bears and wolves. His early life was spent in 'I'hetford. upon a 
charming plateau ; ujion the foot hills of the White Mountains; 1,500 feet above the 
sea. He was prepared for Dartmouth college, at Hano\'er, an adjoining town in New 
Hampshire, but, owing to a tracture of his knee, severely |)ainful and slow of recovery, 
his expectations of a college education were relincjuished. When he was twenty-one 
years old, in accordance with the then New h'.ngland custom, his father gave him a saddle- 
horse and one hundred dollars, and, thus ei|ui|>pe<l. he started westerly to make his way 
through life. He reached Ltica, N. \'. ; secured a position as school teacher; sold his 
horse, and remitted to his father the proceeds with the one hundred dollars given him, 
and thus began his career, feeling unshackled with that slight jjecuniary obligation. 

This self-reliance was in his blood. Il was, jierhaps unconsciously, a part of his 
muscle. Wendell Phillips says that a despised ojjinion of 1620 w-as .soon a ])recedent ; 
then a statute ; ended by being incorjiorated into the blood, bones, minds and souls of 
the babies. 

His New England |iarentage was pure and his lineage wholly I'uritan. liis ances- 
tors were among the English emigrants to America, under G<jvernor Winthrop, 111 1630 
— ten years after the Pilgrim fathers. The historical record is: " In 1630, about three 
hundred of the best Puritan families came to New England. They were virtuous, well 
eduiated, courageous men and women, who left comfortable homes with no expectations 
of returning." .\mong them were Ceneral (Irant's ancestors. Among them, too, was 
listi-d as a ])assenger Oliver Cromwell. The English government pre\ented his de- 
parture. It was providential. He remained to cut off the head of Charles I., a tyrant. 
Both New and ()ld England were then doing duty in advancing liberty. The one — 
by creating :i state with civil and religious tVeedom ; the other — by wielding a heads- 
man's axe. 



Jonathan Child. — William Henkv Gorsline. 687 

Peaceful farmers in New Kngland, Mr. Child's ancestors yet obeyed all calls which 
suninioned them to war. When trouble came, they .shouldered their flint-locks, and in 
King Philip's and other Indian massacres, protected their homes as became Christian 
braves, and then C}uickly returned to their cornfields. 

In the battle of Lexington twenty-two of the family, whose names and memories are 
honored by their descendants, fought and bled in driving back the British slayers. 

The grandfather of Jonathan Child, his namesake, gave himself and eight sons, 
Creen Mountain boys, during the revolution, as patriot .soldiers. He fought at Ben- 
nington, at Bunker Hill, in Penn.sylvania, in New York, at Lake Champlain, there re- 
sisting the same red coats with whom he was an ally in 1755, at Quebec, when he, hold- 
ing the commission of King George II. as a British officer, fought the French when 
Montgomery and Montcalm fell. At the close of the revolutionary war, with liberty 
won, he returned to his Vermont home, bearing a colonel's commission in the patriot army. 

Such were the progenitors of Jonathan Child. As for himself, he served his country 
during the war of 1812. and was in the engagement at Fort Krie, the most sanguinary 
battle fought on this continent prior to the rebellion. 

Mr. Child moved to West Bloomfield, Ontario county, from Utica. and while 
there was twice elected member of Assembly — in 1816 and '17. He, for a while, was 
in business at Charlotte, the mouth of the (ienesee, shipping produce to Montreal, 
and was there postmaster. In 1820, he removed to Rochester which thenceforward 
was his home. He was a merchant, forwarder, and contractor. He constructed the 
first locks on the Erie canal at Lockport. In 1834, when Rochester became a city, he 
was its first mayor. During the second year of his mayoralty, disagreeing with the 
common council on the propriety of giving licenses to sell into.xicating, liquors, he re- 
signed his office, although the board offered to relieve him from the necessity of signing 
them by appointing a special officer for that purpose. He declined to accept the favor, 
thinking it an evasion of his official duties, and an indirect way of countenancing and 
effecting what his judgment disapproved, yet avoiding the responsibility. 

.\s to his domestic life, he married a daughter of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, one 
of the founders of the city. Their married life continued, until severed by death, for 
over thirtv years. His own death occurred October 27th, i860. "As he was closing 
his e\es in death he heard of the successful election in Pennsylvania which gave assur- 
ance of the election of Mr. Lincoln to the presidency, and then, as if spiritual prescience 
was illuminating his last moments, he thanked God that slavery would die." 

Such are a few outlines of a good man's useful career. Jonathan Child was a val- 
uable citizen ; respected by the community ; beloved by his family and friends. 



WILLIAM HENRY GORSLINE, a well known contracting builder and business 
man of Rochester, was born in that city on the 12th of July, 1829. Richard 
(iorsline, his father, who was of French extraction, resided for some years at East Bloom- 
field, whence he removed to Rochester in 181 6. He was a builder by profession, and 
many substantial and costly specimens of his work, still standing, testify of his genius 
and skill. The ponderous stone aqueduct which crosses the Genesee river, reviving, by 
its solid masonry and graceful arches, recollections of old time bridges over more classic 
streams, was built by him. He was a typical specimen of the race from which he 



688 History of tiik City of Rochester. 

spranii, hcing spn^htlv anil \i\aiiouN. and |)UNM-sNing ihe aI•ti^li< teni|)cramL*nt in a 
marked degrcf. as uc-11 as n tnu- ])hysiiiu(.' and i^rcat lapacitv tor hanl work. He- lived 
to a ^ood old age. dying in 1870. and «as sur\i\eil li\ his wife, whose maiden name 
was .Xiirelia Rice, about seven \ears. l''or some years [irereding his death he was .1 dea- 
eon in Dr. .Shaw's I'resbv terian ehurc h in Roehester, and his name heads those msc rihed 
on the memorial slab to the founders of that ediliee. William Henry Ciorsline, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, was brought up and educated in his nati\e place. The school he 
attended was presided over by one of those fiery-tempered \illage pedagogues, now, 
forlunaieU. less iVequenth found in such responsible positions, who was commonly 
known as "old Ferrw" and who is doubtless remembered uith unpleasant associ.ilioiis 
by main' other citizens of Rochester. •■ Old Perry" «as much more given to flogging 
than to education, and, his harshness growmg unendurable, \oung (jorsline abandoned 
the school at the age of fourteen years, and associated himself with his father, then bus- 
ily engaged in jirosecuting his profession. With him he obtained the most excellent 
training to which he could lia\e been subjected; tor, besides being a willing and active 
bov, he inherited his part'Ut's taste for e\erylhing pertaining to architecture and builil- 
ing. On attaining to manhood he became iiuc-sti-il wiih responsibility as his lather's 
trusted associate, and ac(|uitted himsell with i reilil both to lumself ;ind his industrious 
and jiainstaking parent. As he became older he became inteiiseb' interested in inunici- 
]ial affairs, and engaged in ])olitics with all the warmth of an enthusiastic nature, .\fter 
some little experience, his t'ellow-citi/ens, who readily a])preciated hiscapaciiy for public 
business, nominated him tor aklerman of the city. His election followed, and he served 
one term, at the close of which, feeling that he had discharged his share of jjublic duty, 
he devoted himself e.xclusivel)' to business pursuits. Mr. Oorsline's acknowledged e.\- 
cellence in his business has naturally led to his being intrusted uith tlie construction of 
manv important buildings, — both public and pri\ate; and it may be said that the large 
number of the tine structures, for whu h the ( ity of Rochester is famous, have been 
ere( ted by him. .Among the most noteworthy of these are the Um\ersit)- of Rochester, 
the Rochester 'I'heological seminar)-. Rockerfeller hall, the High school, the (_'it\' hall, 
the .Arsenal, the Rochester savings bank, Powers commercial building, Powers Hotel, 
Warner's fire-proof building (one of the finest m the city, whicii was l)uilt in .si.\ months), 
the Oimningham carriage f.-ictory, the First Presbyterian church, the Central church, the 
Brick church (Or. Shaw's) and the Jewish synagogue, besides these, .Mr. (iorsline has 
( onslrui led many large blocks of buildings devoted solely to business purposes, and a 
number of the most magnificent private residences in the city. 'I'o give an idea of the 
magnitude of the o|)erations in which Mr. (Jorsline has been engaged, reference need 
only be made to some of the principal buildings he has constructed. Probably foremost 
among them stands Powers commercial building, situated in the very heart of Roches- 
ter's business district. This structure is said to be unsur|)asse<l, either in magnitude, 
comenience, or elegance, by any similar edifice in this < ountr)-. (Quadrangular in shape, 
it has a total frontage of over five hundred feet, and is eight stories in height, exclusive 
of the basement, with a French roof of tile and slate twenty-five feet high, abo\e which 
rises a tower for sixty feet, averaging thirty feet long by twenty-four feet wide. 'I'he 
structure is tire-proof throughout, and so perfectly secure that no insurance has ever been 
deemed necessary. The ground floor of this edifice is occupied by Powers banking 
house antl fifteen spacious stores, while the upper [jarts contain aliout two hundred and 



William Henrv Gorsline. 689 



tiUy rooms. Kverything demanded by the most improved systems of modem comfort 
are combined in tiiis building, inciudmg, of course, thorough ventilation, steam-heating 
apparatus, and water facilities in every apartment, and two steam elevators. Constructed 
on the tubular plan, every room in the edifice is amply lighted from without; while the 
halls and corridors, paved with X'ermont and Italian marble and wainscoted with the 
latter, are airy, spacious, and elegant. The basement, which is furnished in keeping with 
the rest of the structure, contains the drums and hoisting apparatus for the elevators, 
steam engine, powerful steam pump for forcing uater throughout the entire structure, 
eleven steam boilers employed in supplying heat, and all the necessary mechanism for 
making changes aiid repairs in so colossal an establishment. Some idea of the solidity 
of the edifice may be gained from the fact that it is calculated to resist a pressure of two 
hundred pounds to the square foot on every floor. More than one-half of the upper 
floor of the biiilding is devoted to a superb art gallery. A striking evidence of the con- 
fidence reposed in the integrity of Mr. t'lorsline is afforded by the fact that all the pay- 
ments made by Mr. Powers for his splendid hotel, just completed (which was finished 
in eleven months from the day of connncncement), passetl through his hands. The limits 
of a biographical sketch do not permit of a more extended allusion to Mr. Gorsline's 
labors. In conclusion, however, it is pertinent to say that each succeeding task in which 
he found himself engaged, proved in a still greater degree his claim to preeminence in 
his calling. \Vhatever he undertook to accomplish, he entered upon with zeal and pros 
ecuted with all the vigor of an enthusiast. The larger the undertaking the more it 
seemed to develop his capabilities, and, e\en though sometimes threatened with loss, he 
ne\er relaxed his efforts to make his work as perfect as all his great skill and all the mod- 
ern api)liances and inventions would permit. Xo confidence reposed in him ever proved 
unfounded, and his name has become synonymous, in the citv where he has spent his 
whole life, with all that is honorable and reliable in business tran.sactions. In 1874 Mr. 
Gorsline entered into partnership with Ira L. Otis, a gentleman of liberal education and 
fine business capacity, for the manufacture of salt-glazed pi|)e. The factory of the con- 
cern has become one of the foremost of its kind in the countrv. The firm now have 
four clay mills, two presses and ten kilns for burning |)i|)e, in active operation, the entire 
plant occupying a space of three acres on Oak street. The superior quality of this com- 
pany's manufactures has commended them to general use, and from the company's retail 
yard in New York city shipments are now made to all parts of the globe. The annual 
product for some time past has averaged about one hundred and fifty miles of pipe yearly. 
The success of this enterprise is largely due to the inventive genius of Mr. Gorsline. 
From the various facts given in this sketch it can be seen that Mr. Gorsline's life has 
been an exceedingly active one. and that his business operations have always been more 
or less on a gigantic scale. Yet. tlespite the wear and tear imposed by the important 
undertakings and enterprises to which he has devoted his life, his energy is in no way 
abated and his activity promises much more in the future. Unlike many upon whom 
fortune has smiled, he does not allow his heart to become hardened by success and 
wealth, and vanity finds no place in his nature. Witli cordial respect for every deserv- 
ing fellow-being, and an active sense of justice to all, he is rarely met in any other than 
an agreeable mood, and his face is seldom without the smile that conies of a good con- 
science, and a contented mind. His well known reliability, industry, and thorough prac- 
tical knowledge of his profession, place him in the front rank among the first-class busi- 



690 PIlSTi)i;V OV lliK C\\\ OK ROCIIKSTER. 



ness men of Rochester. Mr. Gorsliin' is a trustee of the Brick church, of whicli the 
Rev. Dr. Shaw is pastor. His donicstic rcl.itions are exceedingly happy, and he has 
the prouil satisfaction of sei'ini^ a ianuly of fi\e pronnsing sons growing up around hnn, 
the t-hlesl ot'\\honi. named Kusselh is a \(iuth of 20 years. The other sons are Walter, 
Ralph, William Henry, .ind Ru hard ,iged. re^pei ti\ ely , iS, 17. 6. and 4 years. 



ABKl,.\RiJ RI-:\ NOl.DS. It has been well .said that "to write the history of .\bel- 
ard Reynolds is to urite the histor\ ol" Rochester." lie 1 aine to the place when 
no building marked its site, other than one log hut on the west bank of the ri\er, and 
here his long and useful life was passeii, until the great busy city took the ]ilace of the 
wooilnian's clearing. 

Abelard Reynolds was born October 2d, 17X5. at a place called (^)uaker Hill, near 
Red Hook. Duchess connt\. .\. N'. His father was a saddler by trade, and the son was 
apprenticed to the same yocation. The family li\ed successi\ely at -Stringer's Patent, in 
New \'ork, and at (Iroton. .Montv ille, ,ind Windsor, Conn. When .Abelard reached his 
twentieth \c-ar he was given the remaining Near of his apjirenticeship by his father, and 
he went to Maiuhester. \'t. Here he worked al Ins tr.ide until he accumulated his fust 
hundred dollars. Returning home he found his l.ulier in pet LUHar\ dilticult\. which he 
at once assumed and also piuc based a farm .md began the saddler's business on his own 
account, at Washington, lierkshire county, .Mass. He riano\ed Iroin there- to I'itttsfield, 
where, on the ist of { )ctober, i.Soc;, he was married to l,\ilia Strong, with whom he was 
permitted to enjoy a wedded life of seventy years. 

In the fall ot' 181 i Mr. Reynolds determined to make a western tour of obseryation, 
with a view to subsec|uent permanent remcnal. He loaded a onediorse wagon with 
saddlery ware, and traveled through l,ow\ille, Watertowii, ISrownsville. and to Sackett's 
Harbor, but returned to I'ltlsfield without luuing satisfied himself as to a place for per- 
manent settlement. He started again, however, upon a still mcire extended tour through 
Western ,\ew N'ork, Northern I'ennsylvania, to W.irren. Ohio, to whic:h place he was 
strongly attracted. He returned to I'ittsfield, and on the 6th ol" .\pril, i8r2, again 
started westward with the intention of making Warren his future home. He came 
through Rome, Manlius. Skaneateles. Cieneva and Canandaigua, and halted at lilooni- 
held. where he was informed of the bright prc)si>ects of Charlotte. He immediately 
.startecl for that place. M " the falls" he met i*',nos Stone, one of the pioneers of Roch- 
ester, of whom he learned of the purchase of 100 .acaes of land by .Messrs. Rochester, 
Carroll and l-'it/hugh, who had laid out the tract in lots and offered it for .sale. Mr. 
Stone was their agent. .Vfter thorough examination of the distinctive features of (.'har- 
lotte and Rochester, and c-oniparison of them with his impressions of VV'arren, he finally 
decided in favor of Rochester and immediately ])urchased lots 23 ancl 24 (the site of 
the ,\rcacle) ancl erected the lirst frame house on the " roo-acax- trac-t." In August of 
the same year (181 2) .\Ir. Reynolds returned to I'lttslield. disposed of his interest there 
and arranged for ]jermanent removal to his new home. While absent he was ap|)ointed 
the first jjostinaster of the village, holding the office eighteen years. 

In February, 1S13, he removed hisfiimily to the little hamlet and soon after opened 
his dwelling as a public- house, the first in the place. Mr. Revnolds lived in the dwell- 
ing on the Arcade site until 181 7. when he removed to a house which he had built on 



Ap.F:i.ARn Reynolds. 691 



the corner of Buffalo and Sophia streets, having leased the " tavern " to a Mr. Skinner. In 
the spring of 1819, the lease having exjiired, he returned to his first dwelling, where he 
remained two years, and then removeil to a house that stood on the site of the pres- 
ent city hall. There he lived but one year, returning to his own house on Buffalo 
street, where he remained until he removed to his farm in the western part of the 
city, in 1836. In 1828 he erected the Arcaile then the largest and most e.\pensive 
building in tlic United States west of Albany. In 1838 he purchased a house on North 
Sophia street, where he lived until 1847, when he occupied his residence on South Fitz- 
hugh street. 'I'here he died on Thursday, December 19th, 1878, aged ninety-three years. 

Such is a brief review of the business and domestic incidents in the life of Abelard 
Reynolds. In this place little more can be said of him. He was a Whig and Repub- 
lican in ])olitics, l)Ut never sought political preferment, only twice consenting to the use 
of his name for public office. He was member of Assembly in 1827 and represented 
the first ward in the board of aldermen in 1838. He was one of the founders of the 
AthenKum — Rochester's first public library — and furnished a room specially for the 
library when the Arcade was erected. He was for nearly sixty years a member of the 
Masonic order, in which he always exhibited a deep interest and warm pride. He 
passed through the various grades of the order and in 1854, when a member of Monroe 
commandery. Knights Templar, he was exalted to the high office of Prelate, which he 
administered for more than twenty years. It was said of him, at the time of his death, 
that he had " ]jrobal)ly received more templars at the altar than any other prelate in the 
IJnited States." 

Mr. Reynolds was a man of public spirit and identifieil himself unselfishly with ev- 
ery measure having for its object the growth and welfare of Rochester, while his char- 
acter was broadly founded upon principles of justice, probity, benevolence and kindness. 

Six children were born of this marriage already alluded to, four of whom only reached 
maturity. William .V. the eldest, was born at Pittsfield ; Mortimer F. (the first white 
child born in Rochester) : Clarrissa R., who married Dr. Henry Strong, of CoUinsville, 
III., and Mary K., who married B. D. McAlpine, of Rochester. Of these children, only 
Mortimer F. is now living of whom mention is made below. 

It is eminently proper to make personal reference to the wife of Abelard Reynolds, 
who was born in Pittsfield, Mass., September 23d, 17S4, and still survives at the great 
age of one hundred years. For a [jeriod longer than the lives of most people, she shared 
her husband's labors, his trials and his success, and has witnessed the entire growth of 
Rochester from its first beginning. Their wedded life was one long season of mutual 
love and helpfulness. In his own language, " She has well performed her share of the 
burdens which devolved upon us, as a heliMneet." Her children and her home were 
her world, and to the rearing of the one and the beautifying and making hospitable the 
other, she ever gave her unselfish devotion. The following beautiful allusion was made 
to Mrs. Reynolds by Chas. K. Fitch in his address at the celebration of Rochester's 
semi-centennial : — 

" Mrs. Abelard Reynolils came to KocliesLer, a yuinitj wife and mother, lo share in tlie toils of the 
frontier settlement, and to rear her family in ' the nurture and admonition of the Lord.' What pano- 
rama of dissolving woods, of opening thoroughfares, of artificial water-ways, of iron fingers with 
friendly clasp of distant communities, of ascending walls enshrining peaceful homes or uphfting dome 
and tower and steeple, of hammers swinging and wheels revolving, of varied industries unfolding and 
exiianding, of hospitals and asylums evoked by the gentle genius of charity, of the confident tread of 



692 History of the City of Rochester. 

tlio ^011^ prcs-iiiij uiMiii iIk- loltL-iin;,' slc|is n( ilu- fatlu-r-, lias pa^M-,! In-fnix- Ikt ryes. MiiUkt in 
Krat-1 : ue j;ri.fl tlu-is to. lav, witli nviniuc ami Imc. Ljr^itL-fiil llial ilimi lla^l lu-i'ii s|iaifil t.i wiliiess 
all llusc; w.mkKts, and L-arncslly iniiil.>iini; llial n|i.in tin- rc.un.K-il cyilc of lliy luin.lrL-a yL-ar>, nnw 
s,, ni-ar it- cDsunmutinn, iR-altli ami |R-ac,- an.l nu-icy may cU'-crn.l in l.onr.licliun." 



Wll.l.lAM AHKLARl) REYNOLDS, eldest son of Ahclaid aiul I.ydia Reynolds, 
was liuni in Pittsfiekl, Mass., Scjitcnihcr 2d, 1810, i anic to Roi liestcr\ille with 
liis |iaicnts in l''L-liruar\-, 1X13, as above noted. When about si.\ years old he nu-t 
with an aci ident, which rendered him a lifelonji cripple, necessitatinL; his use of a 
crutch. lie was educated tirst at the .Middlehtuy a( adeiny, Wyoniinj; < oinitx', and 
afterward at the aca<Ieniv in Oeneseo where he fuiished his education. His lirst business 
enterprise (aside from assistance rendered his father in the post-olfu e) was in the seed 
trade, in connection with M. B. liatehain. This business was soon exteiideii by the ad- 
dition of greendiouses and nurseries, and foruK-d the nucleus of the now nii;anti<' nurse- 
ries of l'',llwanger & liarrv. wiio were in .Mr. Reynolds's ein|jlo\ and to u hom he trans- 
t'erred the business, and ol the wurld-renowned seed house ol llir.iiii Sibley \- Co. 

I'rom i.S5<S to 18.^5 Mr. Resnolils had the lu.magement of the large l.i\ingston 
llouring mills in I'enfield, near Rochester. 

January 12th, 184.1. he was married to So|jhia Clark, of I'eulield. whose death oc- 
curred about I'ifleen months later. She was a woman of e.xcellent traits of character, 
and her death was a blow which left upon him a lifelong impression. He was never 
.iflerward married. 

In i8.tOi>-' •'^^"""-'•' eiuitrol and management of the .\rcade, built by his lather in 
1829. 'This property was greatly enlarged and improved by him, and it continued in 
his hands until his death. " I'he .\rcade stands to-(la\' a fitting monument to the far- 
seeing juilgment of his father in its erection and to the liberal and untiring industry of 
the son in his judicious anci unstinted expenditures in its completion." 

In 1848 he erected the Corinthian hall, whic h he managed many years, until his 
duties became so onerous that he felt (ompelled to dispose of it. 

Mr. Reynolds was, as tar as Rochester is concerned, a pul)lic man, although he never 
sought and seldom accepted station of any kind, e\('ept as he felt that by identification 
with various institutions and enterprises, he could promote the general welfare of the 
( ity. He was for three years a member of the common council and was a delegate to 
the last constitutional convention ( 1867). He was for many years a trustee of the 
Rochester savings bank and its president when he died. He was jjresident of the board 
of managers of the Western House of Refuge. He was president and trustee, and one 
of the foremost ])atrons of the .\then;eum and Mechanics' association, an institution in 
which he alwavs felt pride and deej) interest. \Vith a few others he organised the \Vest- 
ern .\e\\ \'ork .\gric:ultural society, which held its annual fairs in Rochester. He was 
also a trustee of the Rochester universitv and was a liberal su])porter of the j)ublic 
library, while all worthy charities received his countenance and generous aid. 

Mr. Reynolds died on the 12th of January, 1872, aged sixty-one years. The event 
was mourned by the community at large, and lo( al societies and institutions, sonie of 
which ha\e been mentioned, united in spontaneous tributes of respect to his memory, 
through resolutions of eulogy. 



WlLLIAxM AbELARD REYNOLDS. 693 

It will, perhaps, moi'e fully deliiieale Mr. Reynolds's character to (juote briefly from 
the remarks made by President Anderson of Rochester university at the funeral : — 

'• He was a tender, constant and faithful son. Indeed, he may be said to have spent his life in 
caring for the wants and watching over the happiness of these venerable and aged parents. Surely 
never a parent's blessing crowned with its priceless garland the head of a more exemplary son. 

■' He was an eminently faithful man in the discharge of all his ol^ligations. Whatever duties arose 
out of his relations to his fellow-men, or were voluntarily assumed by him, never failed of performance. 
This promptness and fidelity in the expenditure of time, or thought, or physical strength, were a |iart 
of his nature, and were hardened into habits of life by the action of a steady and unwavering will. 
Whatever he promised to do was done well and done promptly and thoroughly. 

" He was honest and fair in all his business transactions. Few men had better illusirated the 
sound maxim of morals and economy combined, that no bargain is in the broadest and highest sense a 
good one, which is not beneficial to all the parties concerned. His numerous tenants became his per- 
sonal friends. If they were young or inexperienced he gave counsel, encouragement, patronage and 
aid. How many objects of charity have received his bounty as the landlord of Corinthian hall I In 
all moneyed transactions, in all public trusts, he retained through life the unbounded confidence of this 
entire community. 

" He was preeminently a gentleman in his st>cial relations, and in his intercourse with all classes of 
men. With him courtesy took on the value and dignity of a Christian virtue. It was not that super- 
ficial varnish of word and manner which often conceal a mean spirit and a hard and vulgar nature. 
His bearing among men was the natural outgrov^■th of a benevolent heart and a sincere respect for the 
rights and feelings of all, without regard to rank or social position. He was endowed with that broad 
good sense, quick sympathy and delicacy of apprehension which enabled him to say the right word at 
the right time, and do the right act in the right place. I have never known a truer gentleman than he. 

"He was an eminently public-spirited man. I remember to have remarked on some former occasion, 
that our city was fortunate in the character of the formative forces of its early civil and social life. 
Take away from Rochester what has resulted from the benevolent feeling. Christian principle and un- 
paid labor of its public-spirited pioneers, nud how morally meagre would be the residue, .\mong 
those who have done work fir our city, with no motive but the public good, with no reward liut the 
consciousness of duty performed, we can hardly find a brighter record than that of our departed friend. 
It seems to me that the noble body of men who, up to this time, have given commercial credit, moral 
tone and an hcinorable reputation to our city is fast [lassing awav. There are gathered around this 
coffin to-dav those men in whose hands must lie the well-being of our beautiful city in these coming 
years. All may not have his ca|iacity to plan and execute fir the public good, but all may emulate 
the simplicity of his aims and the purity of his motives. 

"All these virtues of the man seemed to me to spring from deep-rooted moral convictions and 
Christian feeling. Of his personal religious life I have little knowledge, but 1 have learned that the 
spirit of Christianity is most clearly shown in the love and service of our fellow-men. All sin is in- 
volved in the control of the character by selfishness, in the disposition to make all social, civil and per- 
sonal relations subservient to lust or avarice, ambition or love of power. Too often this selfishness 
describes the ' course of this world,' and the life of men. The aim of Christ is to reverse all this — 
so to change the current of the moral life, that, spontaneously, the citizen shall serve the city, the 
Christian the church ; that the learned shall serve the ignorant, the rich shall serve the poor ; that 
the strong shall serve the weak, that the good shall serve the bad. For many years our friend has 
been in your homes and streets, and every day, like all of us, has been tried by this test. How he has 
passed this trial you all know. The verdict of this community is expressed in the spontaneous utter- 
ances of affection and respect which arc springing from every heart and dwelling on every tongue." 

The above remarks of President Anderson are not only a just estimate of, but a 
deserved tribute to the character of Mr. Reynolds, and picture the man as he was so 
well known in the community where he spent his life. In closing a lengthy obituary to 
Mr. Reynolds, the editor of the Rochester Democrat &" Chronicle wrote as follows : — 

" Mr. Reynolds was a man of extraordinary executive ability. This quality showed itself in every 
enterprise to which he gave his attention. It was this which made him the real head of every public as 
well as private undertaking to which his minil was directed. He was a man who worked. He was 



694 History or thf; Cnv of Rochester. 

in-.a|ialiU- c,r jiiclilTen-iKc- ii|>.>n aiiyMilijLHl wlu-ii it lia.l imico f\i ilr.l lii^ inlcn.-.l, I It- r-aVL- llic musi 
|iaticiil allrnlioii i.i rM.-i-\ ilclall. A man of muIi .iiialitit-^ i^ rare, and hiv iiiiiiiii laiKc- to a yoiiiif; and 
LjinuiMt; i.iiniimnily lannci l.c i\a^i;i-ral<-d. lUil. h..u imi dourly Mi. K<-ynold> gave liis allfnlKin 
1,, l.usincs^ un.K-ilakni-s and however uukIi In- nnnd was l.urd.aud vmiIi llic cares of public offices, he 
foiuul time to advance the moral and inlell.clual interests „f the city. He was active in all reforms 
and em|ihalically in our educational insiiuiiions. His death is a |nililic h.ss." 

'I'liL' i'jiu'u ^' Aiherhsir L;a\e him, in the eourse of its lonnth}' trihutc, the followitig 
hi^h I liaise : — 

•■ Ml. Reynolds, perhaps as much as any other man, has been closely ideiitilied with the career of 
Rochester, and iluiint; his lifetime had as much iiillueiice in shapinj.; liei affairs as any citizen. The 
decease of Mr. Reynolds is indeed a public calamity and will be so regarded by all." 



MOR TIMKR F. RKVNOl.DS. On the 2<1 of Deceiiiber, 1814, there was l)()rn. in 
the narr(i\v •'clearino; " that skirted the fonl of the (lenesec river, the first child 
of wliite parents to see the light iipoii thai " Hiindred-.Vi're 'Tract " which was the primi- 
tive site of the present cit}' of Rochester, i'erhaps in no maimer could tile ama/mo cle- 
\elopinent of that infant comiminity he hrimght home so effet tively to the apprehen- 
sion of a ileni/eii of the olil world, as liy the statement of the concrete fact that the 
earliest oftsprinj; of that coloiiv , ha\ino seen in twenty \ears its incorporation as a city, 
hints himself no«, while still in s|)lendid vigor, siirrotmdc-d hy a population of more than 
a lumdred thousand souls. The emphasis of this fact might, however, he heightened 
l)y the further circum.stance that his mother also sur\i\es to see the wilderness rejoicing 
and blossoming as the rose. 

Of individuals it may be saiil, as it has been of nations, that that one is happiy that 
has no historv. .\n uneventful, onlerlv and peaceful life has been this one, coeval 
hitherto u ith that of the community in which it began. .^ struggling infancy, subject to all 
the hanlships and limitations of a raw and poor society, was followed by a maturity of 
hard and successful labor, and that in turn by intelligent and not indolent repose in the 
enjovment of the accumulations of a life-time. The story of .\belard Reynolds has al- 
read\' been told in these ])ages. 'I'hat he, of whom we s|ieak, was the .son of Abelard 
and tlie \otinger brother of William is that which, more than anything else in his life, 
would seem to him w ortlu' of record. 

Mi)Kri.Mt:K l''Ai'.niiius R:;vNoi.iis was the name gi\en, for family reasons, to the first- 
born of this backwoods settlement, 'i'o say that the young child's boyhood was dili- 
gently traineil at home and in such schools as were acce.ssilile, would only be to reiterate 
the a\ennent of the Puritan .\evv Kngland origin of his parents. Heyonil this not much 
could be addeil. but that for thirty )ears of mature life the man engaged in active coin- 
men e in his native citv. Withdrawing in 1872, with a competency, from the business 
in which he had acquired it, he devoted himself thenceforth to the assistance of his 
venerable lather m the management of the large estate left by his eliler brother, and 
which not long afterward devolved almost entirely ujjon him. Hut during all this time 
the interests of the city which had grown up with him engaged his constant observation 
and his active aid. In many < orp<irate and charitable trusts, m the promotion of public 
improvements, ami in the e.xercise of that private virtue which bears the name of " jiub- 
lic spirit," the time and the means of Mr, Reynolds have lieen liberally expended. But 
it is with a foundation but just now^ laid, u])on which is to rise in the future an institu- 
tion more beneficent, perhaps, than all others established here by private liberality, that 
he has chosen to link his name and that of his family. 



Mortimer F. Reynolds. — Arthur G. Yates. 695 



The large estate which had grown out of the purchase of village lots by Abelard 
Reynolds in 1812 had descended to his son, the sole survivor of the father's six children ; 
the sole descendant, himself childless, who bore the familv name of which he was justly 
proud. Before him father and elder brother had, from the beginning, interested them- 
selves profoundly in the intellectual and moral advancement of the community in which 
they lived. The subject of this sketch determined, therefore, to establish with that 
estate an enduring memorial of his family, which should also be a perpetual benefaction 
to the city. In order, therefore, that there might be a body competent, when the time 
shall come, to receive and admi)iister such a trust, tlie legislature of 1882 was applied 
to for a suitable charter. 

It is not agreeable to recall tlie criticism which met this disclosure of Mr. Reynolds's 
purpose, upon the publication of the bill. This work is not devoted to disparagement 
of the people of Rochester, or of any part of them. It is enough, therefore, to say that 
the bill, as signed by the governor, was such in its terms as to be unanimou.sly rejected 
by those named in it as trustees. In 1884, however, there was passed "An Act to in- 
corporate the Reynolds Library." which is chapter g of the laws of that year. It declared 
the purposes of the corporation which it created to be " to establish and maintain a 
public library and reading-room," and " to promote the mental improvement of the in- 
habitants of the city of Rochester by means of lectures, discussions, courses of instruc- 
tion, collections of objects of art and science, and other suitable means." 

To this body Mr. Reynolds at once turned over a collection of some 12,000 vol- 
umes, which, at his own cost, he had some years before rescued from the wreck of the 
old '■ .\thena2um" which his father and brother had so liberally and efficiently sustained, 
as a nucleus for the far greater collection which must grow up around it. And it is 
publicly announced that he has made such disposition that, at his death, the splendid 
estate known as the '' Arcade " and the " East Arcade." together with his superb home- 
stead and its adjoining grounds on Spring street, will pass to the Reynolds Library for 
its perpetual endowment. 

Thus, as it was said of another that Providence denied him children that a nation 
might call him f;Uher, it might, with slight change, be written of the first-born child of 
the new city. .\nd when the stately figure of the last surviving child of the pioneer 
Abelard Reynokis ^hall be no more seen upon the streets of Rochester, a grateful city 
will perpetuate the memory ol the e.xtinct race. 



ARTHUR G. Y.\TKS. the subject of this sketch, was born at Factoryville (now- 
East Waveriy, N. Y.), December i8th, 1843. He is the second son of Judge Ar- 
thur Yates and grandson of William Yates, M.D.. who was born at Sapperton, near 
Burton-on-Trent, England, 1767. He studied medicine but never practiced it. Being 
the eldest son, he inherited a large estate with the title of baronet. His marked char- 
acteristics were great benevolence. He erected and conducted at his own expense an 
insane asylum for paupers at Kurton-on-Trent, for treating the insane upon the humane 
plan, and he is spoken of in his biography as a great philanthropist. He was a cousin 
of Sir Robert Peel, the statesman, and John Howard, the philanthropist. He sailed 
for Philadelphia in 1799 and was the first to introduce vaccination in America, expend- 
ing much time and money to introduce this great boon to humanity. The following 
year he returned to England, and then again returned to America, and from Phila- 



696 History of the City of Rochester. 



(lelphia nsccnilcil the Siisquclianna \'alley with Judge Cooper, Oeneral Morris and Judge 
Fraiuhot. He met a daughter of one of the leading settlers of the Butternuts valley, 
married her, and immediately sailed for Kngland. .\fter two years' absent:e he returned 
to .America, .\ftcr having dis])osed of Sapperton to his lirother Harry, he ])urchased a 
large estate in Ikitternuts (now the town of Morris). Otsego rounty, N. Y., and during 
his life he disposed of a large fortune to ( arry out his benevolent ideas. He died in 
his ninetieth year greatly respected and uidel\ known as a great philanthropist. 

Judge .\nluir \'ates was his eldest son. born in lUuiernuts. Olsego county. X. V., 
Februarv 7th, 1S07. He obtained his education 111 the (omnion schools, and in 1832 
left Otsego county and settled 111 l''aclor\ \ ille (now Kast Waverly, i\. \'.), where he en- 
gaged in the mercantile and lumber business, u liich he c untiniied e.xtcnsively for thirty 
vears, doing much to builil up and be.uitify the present \illage of Waverlv. He was 
appointed bv the governor judge of 'I'ioga count\ in 183.S, All his life he was prom- 
inently identified with the ( hurch, school, and banking interests. In January, 1836, he 
was married to Jerusha, daughter of Zeba W'ashbon of Olsego coimty, and died in 
1880, widely known and greatly respected. He had se\'en children, the fourth of whom 
was .Arthur (i. Vates. He obtained his educalKjii pnnc ipalK m his. native town and 
finished it in various academic institutions. 

In .March. 1865. at twenty-two years of age. he came to Rochester to acce])t a 
position with the .Vnthracite ("oal association. Two years later he engaged in the 
coal business on his own aciount. continuing il at the jiresent time, developing it to a 
remarkable degree — his personal anthracite coal business e.xtending over all the Northern 
and Western states and (.'anadas and .iggregating over 350,000 tons annually ; while 
the ship])ing interests at Charlotte are now being develo])ed by the immense shipping 
docks recently erected by him, making Rochester headquarters for the distribution of 
vast quantities of coal. 

In 1876 the firm of Hell, Lewis \- \ales. of which he is a member, was formed for 
the purpose of mining and shipping bituminous t:oal. i'heir success has been remark- 
able, the tonnage having reached 650,000 tons or more, annually. He is a director in 
the Bank of Monroe, trustee of the .Mechanics' savings bank, and for many vears a 
warden of St. i'aul's church, and is a direc tor in various < (i.il and other companies and 
interests outside of the state. 

He has never accepted [jolitical oftii e. but prelers to give his undivided attention to his 
large and increasing business interests. .Mr. \'ates is high principled and honorable in 
all his dealings, and is in the broadest sense one of the most honorable and foremost of 
the business men of Rochester. Having develo|)ed the coal trade in so few years to 
su( h enormous pro[)ortions. he has. at the same time. ac(iuired a teptutation most en- 
viable as a man of abilitv and integrity. 

He was inarrieil December 26th. 1866. to Jennie I.. Holden, daughter of Roswell 
Holden, esq., of Watkiiis, N, \'. The)' have had six < hildreii, Frederick W.. Harry, 
Florence, .Arthur (<lecease<l). Howard F. (deceased), and Russell I'. 

THEMUMFORD F.A.NHLV. Ihe .Mumford familvwas of Englfsh e.xtraction. 
Thomas Mumford, of South Kingston, R. 1., emigrated to this country about 1650. 
I'he family afterward settled in New London and Groton, Conn. In 1758 David Mum- 
lord, the grandson of Thomas, married Rebecca Saltonstall, granddaughter of Gover- 



The Mumford Family. 697 



nor Saltonstall and great granddaughter of Governor Thomas Dudley, of Connecticut. 
The si.xth child of this marriage was Thomas Mumford. the father of Wihiam AVoolsey 
and George Huntington Mumford. 

David Mumford was one of a family of six sons, mentioned in the accounts of 
that locality as distinguished for their size, being of the average height of six feet, or 
according to familiar report, " thirty-six feet of Mumford in one family." Early in 
the disputes between .America and the mother country this family took a decided 
stand in tavor of the claims of the colonies, and prior to and during the revolution- 
ary war, were prominent and enthusiastic in their assertion of these claims. It is 
related that shortly after the commencement of the revolution, the Rev. Mr. Graves, the 
rector of the Episcopal church at New London, had been respectfully requested to de- 
sist from reading that portion of the liturgy containing the prayers for the king and royal 
family ; " Ijut w-ith this request.'' the chronicle goes on to state, " he declared that he 
"could not conscientiously compl)'. It was then intimated to him that if he persisted, 
it was at his peril, and he must abide the consequences. Accordingly the next Sunday 
a determined party of vvhigs stationed themselves near the door with one in the porch to 
keep his hand on the bell-rope, and as soon as the minister began the obnoxious prayer, 
the bell sounded and the throng rushed into the house. They were led by the broth- 
ers Thomas and David Mumford, both men of commanding aspect and powerful frame, 
who ascended the pulpit stairs and taking each an arm of the minister, brought him 
exjieditiously to the level of the floor." The account, however, goes on to relate how- 
he was rescued by two " resolute matrons" who protected him from violence and es- 
corted him to a place of safety. 

The name of Thomas, son of the David here referred to, ajiears in the list of alumni 
of Yale college as a member of the class of 1790, In January, 1795, he was married 
to Mary Sheldon Smith and shortly thereafter moved from Connecticut, and established 
himself at Cayuga Bridge at the head of Cayuga lake, in this state, where he continued 
to reside during the remainder of his life. Here were born in November. 1795, William 
Woolsey, and in July, 1805, (ieorge Huntington. 

William Woolsey Mumkord was prepared t'or college at Utica and graduated at 
Yale in the class of 1814, numbering among his classmates.and friends Samuel B. Rug- 
gles, Daniel Lord and others who afterward became conspicuous in various professions. 
He studied law at Litchfield, then the most prominent law school of the country, and 
about 1 81 8 established himself at Rochester in the practice of his profession. He became 
extensively interested in real estate, and either as owner or agent of his father, controlled 
a large amount of land adjoining the (jenesee river, on the west side, and particularly 
in that portion of the city wdiich was for many years known as Frankfort. To the im- 
provement of this real estate and the advancement of the growth of the city he devoted 
his time and means. About 1828 he erected on South St. Paul street the first brick block 
for residences of any considerable size constructed in the city, and resided in one of these 
houses to the time of his death. For many years in partnership with Mr. Frederick Whit- 
tlesey, the firm of Mumford & Whittlesey conducted an extensive law business through 
this portion of the state. He was one of the directors of the old Bank of Rochester ; 
was deeply interested in educational matters and was instrumental in organising the old 
High School, and for many years one of its trustees. About 1830 he retired from active 
practice of the law and devoted himself principally to the care of his real estate. During 
this time he was extensively engaged in milling, particularly in the villages of Mumtord 



698 History of the City of Rochester. 

ami Lima. During a life of ihirtv years la-re he was a witness of the marxelbus growth 
(if the town — a growth, in fact, that far excceiied his most sanguine predictions. He 
saw (luruig tliese years a mere hamlet ex|)an(l uito .i i\[y ol u|i\\,ir(ls ol 50,000 souls. 
He died in |anuarv. 1S4S. at the age of lifl\-lwo \ears. He was twice married and left 
three children. 

CiKnui;!-; li L N ti Nc. I'oN .Mi.MKiKi) was the fifth child of i!ie family of six. He grew 
up al the hospitable old lamily mansion at Cayuga, Ihidge, tlieii on the direct line of 
travel between .Mbany and liuffalo, and al which most of the pronnneni men in the state 
were entertained in their journeyings back and t'orth. At an earl\' age he entered I'nion 
college, from whicii he graduated in the class of 1824. Soon thereafter he < lune to Roch- 
ester and entered the law oftice of Mumford \- Whittlesey as a studeiU. .Afler Ins admis- 
sion to the bar and the retirement of his elder brother from practi<:e, he formed a business 
connection with Mr. \\hittlese\\ and the hrni of Whittlesey iV Mumford was for many 
vears one of the leading law hrms in Western New \'ork. lie remaineil in the active 
practice of his jirofession until about the year iS^^. when the state of his health induced 
him to relin(|uish it. Few men ha\e (()mmande<l I'ontidence. public and private, to a 
greater degree than did .Mr. Mumford, or more thorough!)' deserved it. The various 
positions he was c.dled upon to fill, unsolicited by him. and often against his protest, 
testil\' to the confidence reposed in him. I'limigli he studiously avoided public posi- 
tions, he was for years a member of the board of supervisors; for nearly thirty years he 
was a trustee of the Rochester savings bank and at times its presielent and attf)rney ; he 
was trustee and president of the Rochester City hospital from its organisation to the time 
of his death : he was director in the old liaiik of Monroe, and in the Commercial liank : 
he was one of the originators of the Cnion bank, a direi tor during its entire existence, 
and at one time its linancial officer : he was director and president of the Manufactu- 
rer's bank, and the first jiresident of the 'I'rader's bank. In the early history of railroad 
construction in this state he had become interested m the organisation and construction 
of the 'I'onauanda railroad, and al'ter its absorption into the liuffalo iK: Rochester rail- 
road was for nianv \ears one of its directors and the secretar\- of its board. He took a 
dee|i interest in the development of the telegraph system of the country and early 
foresaw its value and im]>ortance ; was identified with the \\estern Union telegraph 
company in its earlv struggle, and later triumphs, and up to shortly before his death was 
one of its directors, and at times an ofticer. There were few enterprises of a public na- 
ture in this locality, during the busy period of his active life, with which he was not 
identified, and to which his sound judgment and perfect integrity ilid not add weight 
and character. He was a man of earnest religious convictions, and for manv years senior 
warden of Grace church. 

He died in this city in September 1871, at the age of sixty-six years. His wife, a 
daughter of Mr. Truman Hart, of i'almvra. and four children survived him. 



A.M<.(.)N ICRK'KSON was notable among those ])ioneers whose sturdy industry and 
liurity of life left durable impress upon the new settlement of Rochester. 
I-'or nearly sixty years he made this city his home and the varied occu])ations which 
engaged him all bore direct relation to jjroductive employments which alone create 
hinnan wealth and substance and, in their best forms, sujjjjly those natural re<iuirements 
wliich, untrannneled. maintain enlightened civilisation. When siich a man passes away, 



Aaron Erickson. 699 



the results and influence of his hfe remain to mold and give pattern to liuman enterjjrise 
and, too. with that fragrance which arises from the ■' remembrance of the just." 

It is due to the memcjry of one who tempered the manly and successful resolves of a 
strong intellect with the gentler guidings of religious suljjection, that the man himself 
should not be forgotten, even though his example remains a beacon to those who come 
after. 

Mr. Erickson was of Scandinavian origin, and a descendant of the historical Swedish 
colony which was planted in New Jersey, near Trenton Falls, about the year 1632! In 
1626, Gustavus Adolphus, the illustrious king of Sweden, issued his proclamation grant- 
ing substantial advantages to colonists. The derman war delayed the mission, but it 
finally departed, provided with ships and necessaries, and also ministers of the Gospel, 
which latter were recjuired by the king, not only to attend to the spiritual needs of the 
colonists, but, in the w-ords of the edict, to plant the Christian religion amongst the 
heathen. The descendants of this colony largely remain along the Delaware to this day. 

Mr. Erickson was born at Freehold, N. J., not far from Trenton Falls, directly in sight 
of the battle-field of Monmouth, on the 25th of February 1806, and, as it was his pride 
to avow, of patriotic revolutionary ancestry. But, honorable and gratifying as was this 
birthright, he was permitted to know still greater than this, that the earliest historical 
knowledge of this North American continent was due to the fearless and brave ambition 
of his progenitors. 

In the year 984, five hundred years before Columbus set foot upon San Salvador, the 
Norsemen, under the leadership of Eric, with the stars for guidance, discovered New- 
foundland ; and, in the year 1000, Leif Eric-son, son of Eric, sailed westerly into the .Sea 
of Darkness, as the Atlantic was called, and, coasting, di.scovered this continent, landing 
near Fall River, Mass.; and, in the year 1002, Thorwald Ericson, brother of Leif 
sailed to Fall River, remained three years, was killed, and, an intelligent fancy suggests, 
it was his skeleton in armor, discovered in 1832, that was the foundation of Longfellow's 
poem. This is a record which inspires justifiable j^ride in a genealogical history both 
remote and distinguished, and the storv. too. that of bold discoverv attained by the high- 
est exhibition of human daring. 

This inherited trait of resolute purpose marked Mr. Erickson's successful life. He 
came to Rochester in 1823, when seventeen years old, poor and indomitable. First a 
superior iron-worker, possessing a versatility of adaptation to the various demands in his 
toil, so needed in new communities, and always marking a skillful from an inetficient 
worker, he then engaged in the wool business, and not content with merely buying and 
selling, he acquired such knowledge of the trade of the world in wool; of its annual 
supply ; of the effects of tariffs ; of British prohibition of exportation ; and other dis- 
turbing elements in the prices and uses of this commodity, that his views became of 
recognised public value, and were asked by statesmen, such as Robert J. Walker, secre- 
tary of the treasury, and Henry Clay. When mature life was reached and worldly com- 
petence obtained, he established a large moneyed institution, and through it greatly 
advanced the industries which gave the city of Rochester prosperity. His business life 
was spent in promoting legitimate, productive employments, by which all wealth is 
created, and is removed by infinite distance from the speculative gambling of idlers and 
chance-seekers. 

Such was Mr. Erickson's business career. It was the natural consequence of a 
strong, personal individuality, guided, first, by conscience, and then by sound intellectual 
reasoning, enhghtened by the best self-culture. 



700 History of the City of Rochester. 

In private life he was beloved by all in whom he reposed such ronfidence as gave 
access to his home and heart, .\luavs courteous and hosjjitable. in the genial atmos- 
phere of his fireside the grac es of a self-respecting, manly character shone with delight- 
ful imjiress. In foreign travel he eciuijjped himself with such acipiisition of useful lf)re 
that hours were |)assed in unallo)ed enjoymenl at his clear recital. .\t his home, his 
extensive grounds gave opportunity for such indulgence in tree, .md lawn, and shrub 
that the\' made entrance there to a delightful, unfading recollection. .And here, sur- 
rounded b\' an elegant sufticiency, his welcome and kindly greeting, made more marked 
bv his patriarchal form, gave a liappiiiess to the wavfarers which made life sweeter ami 
helped dissi])ate earthly disajipointments. 

.\lr. luickson's death, which took place Januar\- 27th, r88o, called sincere tributes 
to his honored. Christian character. His unostentatious charities were somewhat divulged ; 
his offerings to the Rochester CAiy hospital : his unexepecled gift in the winter of 1869 of two 
hundred and fiftv barrels of flour to the sick jioor. through the Female Charitable society; 
his friendl\' help to the young desiring e<lu( aiion ; to others seeking start in business life: 
to help needy, humble tViends ; and ma manner delicate and unobtrusive, all these 
were recounted with warm recollections of the well proportioned outlines in strength and 
kindliness of their benefactor's life. 

Such a man was .\aron I'.rickson. tearless, just, merciful. 



GK()R(;i-. l-.i.l.W \.\(;i';k. Ihe life and character of .Mr. (;eorge Kllwanger illus- 
trate the truth that an honorable and successful career — one that wins domestic 
happiness, sincere friendships, public confidence and private esteem. — in a word, every- 
thing that renders lile desirable, is the result, in most cases, not so much of great genius 
and brilliant intellectual gifts, as of earl\- training. ]iersevering industry, integrity of pur- 
])Ose and a sincere regard for \irtue and purity of life. These (|ualities command respect 
and deserve success, and generally gain them. 

Mr. Kllwanger was born 1 )ecember 2d. 1.S16. .it (Iross-Heppach. in the Remsthal. 
one of the mans beautiful \alle\s that e.Menil in e\ery direction through the kingdom 
of Wiirtemberg in (Jermany. called the " ( I.irden of the Fatherland." In accordance with 
the law and practice in his natixe country, he ])assed the period of his youth at school. 
The intervals of stiuly. v.ications. etc.. lie spent with his father and brothers in the 
vineyards which constitute<l the family |)atrimony, the raising of gra])es and manufacture 
of wine being the chief sources of revenue and support ('or the inhabitants of this favored 
vallew 

The love of nature and taste for flowers and horticultural pursuits that was developed 
by the associations and occupations of his home decided him to learn, )iractically and 
scientifically, all that was possible relating to jjlants and flow^ers. fruits, shrubs, soils, etc. 
.-Xccordingly, he entered a leading horticultural establishment at Stuttgart, where he re- 
mained four years till he had |)erfected himself in all the arts of horticulture and land- 
scaiie gardening. 

'i'his education constituted his whole capital, his "stock in trade." He then sought 
a projier s|)here for its ]irofitable use. His intelligent mind was ([uick to profit by the 
information, then first sijreading in Germany, of the great possibilities of the New world. 
The limit for achievement in the Fatherland no longer satisfied his restless, growing 
ambition; and he resolved to leave old friends and home and make his career and win 



George Ellwanger. 



fortune and distinction, if possible, in America. He sailed for this countr)- and arrived 
in New York in 1835. He did not come as a parasite, to live oft' its bounty, but brought 
with him the wealth of a strong purpose, well disciplined mind and habits, and the know! 
edge that was to help develop the resources of the country of his adoption. Pushing 
westward he settled first in Ohio, at Tiffin, then a mere hamlet, but now a large and 
flourishing city. His expectations not being fully realised at this point, he recalled the 
many attractive towns he had passed on his way through Central New York. Among 
them Rochester had most favorably impressed him. from its beauty of location, its thrifty 
vegetation and apparently prosperous condition. 

The wisdom of his resolution to settle here has been amply proved by the results. 
He did not wait until the position he most desired presented itself, but accepted the first 
occupation that offered, and then, in the spring of 1835, entered the horticultural estab- 
lishment of Reynolds & Bateham. From his industry, his quick perception of the re- 
quirements of such a business, and a complete knowledge of the modus operandi oiY>xo\)- 
agation, etc., he was intrusted with the entire management of the establishment. In 
1839 he began business for himself. He saw the opening offered in this then new coun- 
try, for planting fruit and ornamental trees, and bought out the horticultural establish- 
ment of Reynolds & Bateham, the first of its kind in Rochester. He also purchased 
eight acres of land on Mt. Hope avenue, the soil being in its primitive state, and natur- 
ally well suited to the growth of nursery stock. This was the commencement of the 
Mt. Hope nurseries, so widelv known, and sojustlv celebrated, and now covering nearly 
600 acres in extent. 

Seeking then, as always and everywhere since, for all kinds ot information relating 
to the propagation of fruits and flowers, Mr. Ellwanger e.\aniined the lists of the few 
horticulturists to be found in the United States. From that of .Mr. Kendrick, near Bos- 
ton, Mass., he made his first collection of fruit trees from which to cultivate and sell 
specimen stock. This, he often says, proved one of his "best investments." 

In 1840 he made the actjuaintance of his present i)artner, Mr. Barry: and their 
views being in accord, they entered into a copartnership which has continued without 
interruption ever since. 

.Mr. Ellwanger made many business trips to Europe in the interest of his establish- 
ment, collecting trees and plants previously unknown in this country, thus advancing 
public taste and greatly enlarging the scope of his business. He imported the first dwarf 
apples and pears, and drew public attention, prominently, to the advantages of growing 
fruit trees with low heads, in contrast to the old method of pruning away the lower 
branches. 

Mr. Ellwanger has been a constant student arid careful observer of all that has been 
written and accomplished in horticulture, and has visited all the best establishments in 
the Old world. He has introduced, grown, and disseminated a greater number and 
variety of trees throughout the United States, than any other person. In this way he 
has added gready to the comfort and convenience of living, and shown what taste and 
refinement can accomplish in embellishing our American homes. 

Immediately after the formation of the partnership of Ellwanger & Barry, the united 
enterprise of these two gendemen projected and put into execution numerous other 
business plans. The Toronto nurseries, in Canada, were established by them. and. later, 
the Columbus nurseries, in Ohio, both of which have since become famous. 



702 



History of the City of Rochester. 



Through extL'iisivc correspondence with leading liorticuluirists in Europe, the house 
of Kllwanger \- Harrv has been enabled to add everytliing vahiable. new or ohl, suited 
to (iur ( liniate. to their own eonstantly increasing collections. Xothiiig has been spared 
in time. nioiie\' and [lanis to make the Mt. Hope nurseries the most complete and largest 
in the worlil, and uortlu of the famed \ alley of the Cienesee. called the ■■(larden of the 
great stale of New \ork." The)- were the first in this countr) to plant complete col- 
lections of friut trees to propagate from, and produce new \arieties. This system has 
been continued till their specimen grounds are ot ver\ large extent. i'liey ha\e also a 
complete arboretum for their own |)ersonal satislactio)i. and ser\ uig. at the same time, as 
a school tor their friends and patrons, ' Most of the old orchards of choice fruit, in the 
western states and California, lia\e been furnished by this establishment. l'"or many 
years niirser\ men m ,dl parts of the coiuury were supplied from it. and Us productions 
are in demand all over the world. They make shipments to luirope, .\ustralia. New 
Zealand, japan, and e\en to Jerusalem. The Japanese government honored it with an 
imlimited order for a complete collection of fruit trees, shrubs and plants, to be accom- 
jjanied also by a horti(-ultural instructor. 

Rochester ha<i previously only been known as a i iiy at die lalU of the Cenesee, with 
a good water-power turning the wlieels of a do/,en mills for grinding wheat, and ainbi 
tiously called the ■' Flour city." ISui the ( onstantlv extenchng fame of the horticultural 
establishment of Messrs. Ellwanger \- IS.nry. first, and chieHy. attracted the attention of 
peoi)le of taste and refinement, at home and aliroad. to visit their extensive groumls 
and conservatories. These visitors, witnessing the effects produced in this city, by sur- 
rounding the homes scattered along its well shaded avenues, with beautifully planted 
grotintls, gave it the more apitrojiriate name of the '• I>'lower city." 

When Me.ssrs, Ellwanger iV liarry first established their nurseries in Rochester, money 
was scarce, trade was limited, anil there were no manufactories to attract labor and create 
wealth. P.ul their business soon expanded into a vast industrial establishment, employ- 
ing several hundred hands. These had to be housed, and ]irovided with all the require- 
ments of life, and the monev earned, and paiii out for labor, soon circulated among the 
merchants, and ga\e new life to business. The enterprise of this establishment, and the 
industry and economy of its emijloyees, showed a most beneficent result in the numerous 
comfortable homes that, year after year, were planted around, and encroached upon the 
grounds of the Mt. Hope nurseries. Most of these were built for the emjiloyees by Me.ssrs. 
Ellwanger K' Harry on easy terms of payment that encouraged saving by their workmen, 
in the prospect of soon possessing homes ol iheir own. .Many more costly house.s of 
tasteful architecture have been built by the firm, on streets laid out and improved by 
themselves, bordering the grounds of their large estate. 

For a long time Mr. Ellwanger has been identified with the banking interests of the 
city, having been successively director in the T'nion bank, the Flour City bank, and 
trustee in the .Monroe ('ounty savings bank, and the .Safe Deposit company, since their 
organisation. He is also a director in the Rochester (las company, and in the Rochester 
iV Hrigluon street railroad company. He and his partner. .Mr. Barrv . own half the stock 
of this latter company, and it has been pushed forward with great ra])idity. till its tracks 
run to every part of the citv. and are constantly extending, as the increase of population 
in new sections, renders it necessary. I'he money he has given, without ostentation or 
publicity, to churches, charitable institutions, schools, etc., of Rochester would amount 



George Ellwangek. 703 



to many thousands, and would surprise those accustomed to see gifts and bequests pa- 
raded before public attention. His many acts of personal kindness, and generosity to 
friends, are known only to those who have been the recipients of them. 

While iVTr. Ellwanger has been looked upon as a successful and accomplished horti- 
culturi.st, and has kept the details of this vast business always well in hand, as also 
of various other business enterprises that have occupied his attention and helped him in 
the accumulation of his large fortune, he has found time for extensive reading, study and 
intercourse with the most intelligent men of the day. Not only is he familiar with the 
rich literature and varied and interesting history of his own country, Germany, but he is 
well informed in the political, social and financial history and literature of America, and 
has kept pace with the scientific discoveries, inventions and improvements of the times. 
In architecture his taste is carefully connect, and his knowledge of the best methods for 
building is as good as that of professional architects and builders. He has a fine artistic 
sense, a critical judgment and practised eye, in ancient and modern art, formed by fre- 
quent visits to the most celebrated galleries and studios in Europe ; during his travels 
abroad he has purchased many fine original paintings and pieces of statuary. 

As a citizen of Rochester Mr. Ellwanger has constantly exercised a helpful and 
elevating influence on its material prosperity and business integrity. He is always ac- 
tive and prominent in every public enterprise, giving freely of his time and means, if the 
object is to promote the general good. 

In 1846 Mr. Ellwanger married a daughter of General Micah Brooks, one of the pio- 
neers of Western New York. Four sons were born of this marriage, who received the 
advantages of education afforded in the best schools and colleges of this country, anfl 
of extended study and travel in Europe. 

Breadth of culture, variety of knowledge, and experience and contact with the world, 
especially with refined, cultivated people, and correct, moral principles, have always 
been, in Mr. Ellwanger's opinion, the surest foundation for usefulness and success in life. 
These lessons he has always inculcated in the minds of his children, and his rapidly ac- 
cumulating fortune has been freely used in procuring for them these advantages. The 
same satisfactory results have followed his ambition for his children that have come from 
his business enterprises. 

The eldest son, George H. Ellwanger, is a gentleman of extensive and \aried 
literary accomplishments, and he was. till recenth'. the editor of the Rochester Post- 
Express. 

The second son, the late Henry B. Ellwanger, ranked with the first horticulturists of 
the day in scientific attainments, and was widely known in Europe and America for his 
interesting and instructive writings upon rose culture. 

The third son, William D. Ellwanger, after graduating at Vale college, and the 
.\lbany law school, has entered upon the practice of law in this city. 

The youngest son, Edward S. Ellwanger, is possessed of literary tastes, and is 
engaged in the book trade. 

In his social and domestic life Mr. Ellwanger is genial and entertaining, and is never 
happier than when he welcomes his friends to his beautiful home. This is always a 
scene of the most generous and gracious hospitality. People of cultivation and distinc- 
tion are constantly received and entertained by him, with a refined and graceful courtesy 
that gives an added pleasure to social intercourse. 



704 History of the City of Rochester. 



In the attainment of his ambitions he has added to the wealth, and increased the at- 
tractiveness, of the city of his adoption. The avarice of accumulating and hoarding 
material wealth, he has been quick, to sec, enriches no one ; while a selfish absorption of 
the ])roperty and labor of others, without tiie just return which leaves every man with 
cajjital and means equal to his ability and opportunities, im])overishes both the indi- 
vidual and the communitv. and reacts on those whose only conce])tion of riches is to 
possess all themselves. 

In how many respects, and how beneficially, hi.-) fuie taste, his practiced eye and 
skilled hand have turned the waste places — the highways and byways — into teeming 
fields and blooming gardens, those have seen, who have stood with him on the elevation 
south of Rochester and looked at the extensive vineyards lie has planted, and fields of 
grain sweeping southward that he annually cultivates, and liundreds of acres of fruit 
trees, shrubs, and flowers he has planted in this section. 

Those who have known him through the busy, active years, during wliii ii he has ac- 
comiilished .so much work, and amassed a princely fortune, have seen iiow strongly he 
has impressed his character on the business enterprises of Rochester, and reflected his 
taste for out-of-door adornment on this thriving and ])rosperous city. His vigorous, and 
determined ]>urpose, have made him one of the foremost among our citizens, and won for 
him the distinction of being universally respected and honored. While active and suc- 
cessful in business, however, he has retained his early love for nature, and his faith in the 
precejJt that •• much of the purest liap|)iness of life is found in actixe employment in 
the garden.'" 

Whatever el.se he has created, or become, he has always remained the true artist 
among flowers — a landscape gardener without a superior, his skill in creating an effective 
picture rivaling that of the best landscape painter. Indeed, his knowledge of the har- 
mony and contrasts of color, of light, and shade, of distance and perspective, and their 
proper treatment for producing fine effects, in a given space, enaijles him to paint the 
lawn with nature's actual colors, and dispose the trees, shrubs, and plants — even the 
sky itself, with its gleams of light and depths of shadow — into pictures, as pleasing to 
the eye. and satisfying to the taste, as the most accomplished artist can jjut on canvas. 
Downing was a genius in landscape art, and Mr. Ellwanger seems also to have been en- 
dowed with this rare gift, fostered and nourished among the hills, and valleys and varied 
and beautiful scenery of his native land. 

Some twenty years since the writer of this sketch had the good fortune to make an 
extended tour of travel with the subject of it, tlirough the states of Germany. We 
went along the Nekar and Rhine valleys, to Frankfort, the great commercial center 
where the Rothschild family originated, and on to the picturesque region of Eisenach 
and the Wartburg, to Leipzig, and thence to the art city of Dresden. We spent a week 
at Berlin, the ambitious city extending along the banks of the river Spree, and then 
went to Potsdam, visiting the numerous palaces and villas of Prussian kings and queens. 
Everywhere Mr. Ellwanger was an intelligent and instructive companion. The art, 
history, a.ssociations, political and social condition of (iermany were subjects on which 
he was as well informed as if he had not already been twenty years a citizen of the 
New world. .\t Munich, then first developing into the great art emporium of Germany, 
his appreciation and enthusiasm for its new schools of modern art gave him great 
pleasure in visiting the royal galleries, and the studios of the best living masters. 



/ .1 




A / »S^S^:?^^^^^K^Se=S:^ 




George Ellwanger. — Halbert Stevens Greenleaf. 705 

From Stuttgart, the capital r>f \Vurtemlierg, we went, during the October vintage, to 
the Remsthal, the early home of Mr. Ellwanger. Here it was easy to realize how the 
scenes and incidents surrounding his youth, had influenced his whole life and character, in 
America — how, in his case, "the child" was emphatically "the father of the man." 
The peaceful spirit of rural life reigns in this beautiful valley. Hills covered with the 
lavish bounties of nature hem it in, and purple mists, and gray shadows, fall deep into 
the furrows l)etween them. We climbed up, through the vineyards, meeting the vin- 
tagers bearing the luscious fruit to the wine-press. .At the summit we walked along the 
crest of the hills, among a profusion and variety of flowers growing wild, and free, such 
as only the most careful culture could produce, in a less favored locality. From this 
elevation we looked across the smiling \ alleys below, and down upon the scenes that 
had been the daily contemplation of the child, and the cherished remembrance of the 
man, in maturer years. The industr)- and thrift, apparent on every hand, had become 
both precept and example wuh him ; and united with taste, ambition and ardent love 
of nature, had enabled him to repeat these pictures of surpassing beauty, in his work 
as a landscape artist, and to attain .so honorable nnd prominent a postion, in the land 
of his adojition. 



HON. HALBERT STEVENS GREENLEAF. of Rochester, member of the Forty- 
eighth Congress of the United States, representing the thirtieth congressional 
district of New York, was born in Guilford, Vermont, April 12, 1827. The descent of ^ 
the Greenleaf family of New England " is undoubtedly to be traced," says the com- 
piler of the Greenleaf genealogy, "from the Huguenots, who, when persecuted for theii^ 
religion, fled from France about the middle of the sixteenth century." The name was 
originally Fuillevert, anglicised Greenleaf, in which form it occurs in England towards 
the close of the sixteenth century. The common ancestor of the Greenleaf family of 
America was Edward Greenleaf, a silk dyer by trade, who was born in the parish of 
Brixham, in the county of Devonshire, England, about the year 1600. He married 
Sarah Dole, by whom he had several children in England, and with his wife and family 
came to this country, settling first in Newbury and afterwards in Boston, Mass., where 
he died in 1671. A number of the family have distinguished themselves in New Eng- 
land by their intellectual attainments, which have been of a high order. One of these, 
Jeremiah Greenleaf, the father of the subject of this sketch, was the author of what was 
known as Greenleaf s Grammar, and devoted a large part of his life to study, author- 
ship, and instruction in this special branch of education. He was also the author of 
Greenleaf s Gazetteer, and Greenleaf s Atlas, both excellent works of their kind, and 
highly esteemed at the time they appeared. True to his instincts and patriotism as a 
"Green Mountain boy," Jeremiah Greenleaf took an active part in the war of 1812, 
enlisting as a private and winning his commission as an officer. He married Miss 
Elvira E. Stevens, the daughter of Simon Stevens, M. D., of Guilford, Vermont — "a 
true and noble woman, of no small degree of culture." Thus the subject of this sketch 
combines in his nature, as in his name, the elements of two characteristic New England 
families of the old school. His career has been in many respects a most varied and 
remarkable one. The son of educated parents, it was quite natural that he .should 
receive a good education, which was received in part, of course, at home, ami in 



7o6 History of the City of Rochester. 



pan at the cuninioii scIidoIs and academy of liis native New England. His boy- 
hood and \nuth were spent in rarni hfe. but from his nineteenth to his twenty-third 
year, he tau;.;ht district and ^rannnar schools in the winter months, and ihuing one 
season — so as to ad<l as muiii as possible to his funds — worked in a coimtrv brick- 
yani. .\t the age ot' twenty-three, he made a six month's sea \oyage in the whaling 
vessel. /.r;i'/s Jhiicr. serving before the mast as a common sailor. On the 24th of 
Jtme. icS^^. shortly alter In^ return from sea. he married Miss Jeannie F. Brooks, the 
youngest daughter of John lirooks. M. !).. of ilernanlston. Mass., and. in the month of 
Se])tember following, removed to Shelburne I'alls. .Mass.. where he obtained employ- 
ment as a da\- laborer at the beiK h in a large cutlery establishmeiu. .\ few months after 
engaging in this w(irk. he roun<l a position in the cjffice of a neighboring manufactory, 
and in a short iinu- became manager of its growing business, and subse(iuently a mem- 
ber of the llrm of Miller iV (Ireenleaf. On the iith of .March, 1S56, he was commis- 
sioned by the governor of Massachusetts a justice of the peace, and was one of the 
youngest, if not the youngest, magistrate in the state not a member of the legal piro- 
fession. in nSj;. a military coin|iany having been formed in Shelburne l''alls. the 
young men com])osing it selected .Mr. Oreenleaf as their captain, and he continued in 
command of the organisation from the 29th of .\ugust in that \ ear. until the 3d of 
.March. 1S59. when, owing to pressure of business duties, he resigned his captain's com- 
mission, '{'he same year he became a member of the firm of Linus Vale, jr. & Co.. 
in Philadelphia, .ind went to that cit\' to live, remaining in business there until 1861, 
when In- returned to Shelburne I'alN. and organised the Vale & Greenleaf Lock com- 
])any. of whic h he became business manager. .Making the best disposition he could of 
his business, he enlisted as a private soldier in the LInion army in .August, 1862. entering 
the 52(1 .NLissa'chusetts regiment, to the organising and recruiting of which he devoted 
both his money and energy. He was commissioned captain of Co. K, September 12th. 
1862. and, on the 13th of October, was unanimously elected colonel of the regiment, 
which was soon afterwards ordered into service under (ieneral Hanks, in the department 
of the Cbilf, During Banks's first Red River exjiedition Colonel C.reenleaf was com- 
mandant ol the post at Barre's Landing, Louisiana, and for a brief |ieriod in command 
of the second brigade of (irover's division. .\t the head of his regiment he |)artici]jated 
in the battle of Indian Ridge, and |)erformed gallant service at Jackson Cross Roads; 
and in the grand assault on Port Htidson. June 14th. 1863. and in the subse(|uent siege 
operations resulting in the surrender of that important confederate stronghold, he bore 
a cons|)icuoiis iiart. and distinguished himself by his coolness, judgment, and bravery. 
The following brief extracts from the pages of the graphic little work entitled The Color 
Guard, from the pen of Rev. James K. Hosmer, a member of the 52d Ma.ssachusetts 
regiment, attests the gallant service of that corps, and the bravery of its commander, to 
whom the volume is inscribed, as follows: "'Po Halbert Stevens Greenleaf, late Colonel 
of the 52(1 Regiment, Massachusetts V(jlunteers, a resolute soldier and noble man, this 
volume is respectfully inscribed by one who has witnessed his courage and experienced 
his goodness." The author, (now professor of Kngli.sh and (ierman literature, ^Vash- 
ington university, St. Louis, Mo.) is describing the o])erations of the command on those 
eventful days in June, and thus grai)hi(;ally pictures its sliare in the assault on Port 
Hudson : — 

"Toward llie eml of iliat .S.itur(lay (June 13th, 1863) .afteinoon, the explicit orders came. The as- 
.sault was to be made the ne.\t morning, and our regiment wa» to have a share in it. Before dark we 



Halbert Stevens Greenleaf. 707 

were ordered into line, and stacked our arms. Each captain made a little speech. 'No talking in the 
ranks ; no flinching. Let every one see that liis canteen is full, and that he has hard bread enough for a 
day. That Is all you will carry beside gun and equipments.' We left the guns in. the stack, 
polished and ready to lie caught on the instant, and lay down under trees. .Vt midnight came the cooks 
with coffee and warm food. Soon after came the order to move; then slowly with many halts, nearly 
live hundred strong, we took up our route along the wood paths. At length it was daybreak; and. 
with every new shade of light in the east, a new degree of energy was imparted to the cannonade. .V--. 
we stood at the edge of the wood, it was roar on all sides. In a few minutes we were in motion again. 
We crossed a little bridge over a brook thickly covered with cotton to conceal the tramp of men, and 
noise of wheels ; climbed a steep pitch, .and entered a trench or military ro.ad cut through a ravine, 
passing some freshly made rifle-pits and batteries. We w ere now only screened from the rebel works 
by a thin hedge. Here the rifle balls began to cut keen and sharp through the air about us; and the 
cannonade, as the east now began to redden, reached its height — a continual deafening uproar, hurling 
the air against one in great waves, till it felt almost like a wall of rubber, bounding and rebounding 
from the body — the great guns of the Richiiunid. the siege-Parrots, the smaller field batteries ; and, 
through all, the bursting of the shells, within the rebel lines, and the keen, deadly whistle of well- 
aimed bullets. A few rods down the military road the column paused. The work of death had begun ; 
for ambulance men were bringing b.ick the wounded ; and, almost before w-ehad time to think we were 
in danger, I saw one of our men fall back into the arni>- of his comrade, shot dead through the chest. 
The banks of the ravine rose on either side of the road in which we had halted ; but just here the 
trench made a turn ; and in front, at the distance of five or si.\ hundred yard^. we could plainly see the 
rebel rampart, red in the morning light as with blood, and shrouded in white vapor .along the edge as 
the sharp-shooters behind kept up an incessant discharge. Between us and the brown earth-heap, 
which we are to try to gain to-day, the space is not wide ; but it is cut up in every direction with 
ravines and gullies. These were covered, until the parapet w.as raised, with a heavy growth of tim- 
ber; but now it has all licen cut down, so that In every direction the falling tops of large trees inter- 
lace, trunks block up every passage, and brambles are growing over the whole. It is out of the 
c[uestion to advance here in line of battle; tt seems almost out of the <|uestion to advance in any order; 
but the word is given, ' Forward ! ' and on we go. Know that this whole space is swept by a con- 
stant patter of balls ; it is really a 'leaden rain.' We go crawling and stooping; but now and then be- 
fore us rises in plain view the line of earthworks, smoky and sulphurous with volleys; while all about 
us fall the balls, now sending a lot of little splinters from :i slunip. now knocking the dead wood out 
of the old tree-trunk that is sheltering me, now driving up a cloud of dust from a little knoll, or cut- 
ting off the head of a w^xA just under the hand as with an invisible knife. I see one of our best ca[i- 
tains carried off the field, mortally wounded, shot through both lungs, — straight, bright-eyed, though 
so sadly hurt, supported by two of hl> men; and now almost at my side, in the color company, one 
soldier is struck in the hand, and anollu-r In the leg. ■ Fnrw ard ! ' Is the onler. We all stoop; but t/i, 
colonel does not sloof> : he Is as cool as he was in his tenl last niijhl when 1 saw him drink iced lemon- 
ade. He turns now lo evanihu- llic ground, llien faces hack again lo direct the advance of this or thai 
riank.' 

Continuing his ilescription of the subsequent siege operations. Professor Hosraer 
adds : — 

" \\ e adxanced in the liattle as skiimishers. as 1 have written ; and when the roar and heat were 
over, and the tide of federal energy and valor had ebbed again from off the field — leaving it wet witli 
red pools and strewn with bloody drift — it was given to our brigade to stay In our steps, tf> hold the 
tangled ravines and slopes we had conquered under the dally and nightly volleys of the .Mississippi. 
Alabama, and .-Vrkansas regiments, who, we hear, hold the breastwork in our front. Now and then 
we lose a man, killed or wounded, but we believe our loss would have been quadrupled, were it not 
that our colonel has handled his command so prudently and skillfully." 

-At the expiration of his term of mihtary service, Col. Greenleaf was offered, and ac- 
cepted, the command of the government steamer Col. Benedict, on the lower Mississippi. 
Soon after the close of the war, he took charge of the extensive salt works on Petite Anse 
Isle, St. Mary's parish, Louisiana. In June, 1867, he removed to Rochester, N.Y., and, 
the ist of July following, the firm of Sargent & Greenleaf, of which he is the junior 



7o8 History of the City ok Rochester. 



iiK'ml)cr. was ortjaiiiscil. I'lic finii ol Sat^eiu \' (ircL-nleariiiaiuifacturL-. unilur patents 
held 1>\' them, inaunetic. aiilumatir, rlirdiKuiU'ler. and uther lim\L;hir locks ; combination 
sate locks. |i.iillo( ks. drawer, trunk, house, chest, store, doc^r. and other locks, ninht- 
lati:hes. etc.. and so sticc esst'ul has the lirm been, that to-da\ their locks of every 
description h.ue made then' ua\ to t-ver\ part of the (i\ilised worlil. The lactor\ in 
\vhit:ll till' locks are niaile < (insists of a mam binlduig three stories in height by 12:, leet 
in length, and an extensive Ibundry adjoinmg, and is one ol the best organised and 
most thri\inL; m Rochester. 'I'he tools and machinery iise<l by the I'irm are highly valu- 
able: ne.irb all lia\ ing lieen m.ide lor. and ex])ressl} adapted to. their use. In the 
presidential campaign ol" 1880 Colonel (IreenleaC devoted himself with energv to the 
sup])ort ol Ceneral Hancock, the Democratic candidate, and organised and commanded 
the ■■ Hancock Urigade " — a political military organisation opposed to the Reptiblican 
organisation of similar chara( ter. knowns as the ■• lio\ s in lilue." In the early part of 
Februarv. iSSj. he was elected commander of the Kir>t .\e« \'ork \eteran brigade. 
«ith the rank of Ijrigadier-general. and unanimoush reelected to thai position in |anu- 
ary. i<S8j;. He is likewise |)resident of the militar\ organisation in Rochester, known 
as the "(Ireenleaf (biard." which uas named after him. and which is composed of an 
active corps of si\t\ live voting men of the highest respectabilitv. and an honorary corps 
of one hundred of the leading business men of that 1 ity. It is a imiformecl and welb 
disci|)lined command, and is organised as a battalion of luo companies, .\lthoiigh he 
did not seek the honor, in the fall of 188.! the Democratic Congressional convention, 
for the 30th district, .it Roc hester, nominated Col. Crecnieaf for Congress by acclama- 
tion, and he was elected to the l''ortv-eighth Congress as a Democrat, receiving 18.042 
votes, against 12.038 lor |ohn Van X'oorhis. Republican, and 1.41CJ for Cordcjn. 
Prohibitionist. 



HON. IIIR.WI SIJILKN'. of the city of Rochester. .1 man of national re]mtation as 
the originator of great caiterprises. and as the most extensive fanner and seedsman 
in this coimtrv. vv.is bcjrn at North .Adams, Berkshire county .Mass., February 6th, 1807. 
and is the second noii of I'lenjamin and Zilpha (Davis) Siblev. Benjamin was the son 
of ■I'lmothv .Sibley, of .Sutton. Mass.. who was the father of fifteen children — twelve 
sons and three daughters : eight of these, including Benjamin, lived to the aggregate 
age of C77 years, an average of abotit seventy-five years .ind three months. From the 
most un|)romising beginnings, without education, Hiram Sibley has risen to a jjcwition 
of usefulness and affluence. His vouth was passed among his native hills. He was a 
mechanic-al genius by nature. Banter with a neighboring shoemaker led to his attempt 
to make a shoe on the spot, and he was at onc:e placed on the shoemaker's bench. .\t 
the age of sixteen years he migrated to the Genesee valley, where he was employed in 
a machine shop, and subsec|uently in wool carding. Before he was of age he had mas- 
tered five different trades. 'I'hree of these years were passed in Livingston county. 
His first occupation on his own account was as a shoemaker at North .Vdams; then he 
did business successfully as a machinist and wool carder in Livingston county, N. Y. ; 
after which he established himself at Mendon, fourteen miles south of Rochester, a 
manufacturing village, now known as Sibleyville, where he had a foundrv and machine 
sho];i. When in the wool carding business at Sparta and .Mount Morris, in Livingston 



Hiram Siblev. 70c 



county, he worked in the same shop, located near the line of the two towns, where 
Millard FiUmore had been employed an<l learned his trade: beginning just after a fare- 
well Inill was gi\en to Mr. Fillmore by his fellow-workmen. Increase of re|)utati6n and 
influence brought Mr. .Sibley 0|)portunitics for office. He was elected 1)\ the Democrats 
sheritif of Monroe count\. in 1843. when he remo\ed to Rochester; but his jjolitica! 
career was short, for a more important matter was occui)ying his mind. From tht 
moment of the first success of Professor Morse with his experiments in tclegraph\-, Mr 
Sibley had been quick to discern the vast promise of the invention : in 1840 he weni 
to Washington and assisted Professor Morse and Ezra Cornell in procuring an a])pro 
priation of $40,000 tVom Congress to build a line from Washington to Baltimore, tht 
first put u]) in .America. 'I'his example stimulated other inventors, and in a feu- vear^ 
several patents were in use, and various lines had been constructed by different compa 
nies. The business was so divided as to be always unprofitable. Mr. Siblev conceivec 
the plan of uniting all the patents and companies in one organisation. .Vfter three vean 
of almost unceasing toil he succeeded in buying up the stock of the different corpora 
tions, some of it at a price as low as two cents on the dollar, and in consolidating tht 
lines which then extended over portions of thirteen states. The Western Union tele 
graph company was then organised, with Mr. .Sibley as the first jiresident. Under hi; 
management for sixteen years, the number of telegraphic offices were increased fron 
132 to over 4.000, and the value of the property from .$220,000 to $48,000,000. Ir 
the project of uniting the Atlantic and Pacific by a line to California, he stood nearl) 
alone. At a meeting of the prominent telegraph men of New York a committee wa; 
appointed to report upon his proposed plan, whose verdict was that it would be next tc 
impossible to build the line: that, if built, the Indians would destroy it: and that i 
would not pay. even if Iniilt. and not destroyed. His reply was characteristic : that i 
should be built, if he had to build it alone. He went to Washington, procured tht 
necessary legislation, and was the sole contractor with the government. The Westert 
Union telegraph company afterwards assumed the contract, and built the line, under Mr 
Sibley's administration as jjresident, ten years in advance of the railroad. Not satisfiec 
with this success at home, he sought to unite the two hemispheres by way of Alaska ant 
Siberia, under P. McD, Collins's franchise. On visiting Russi? with Mr. Collins in tht 
winter of 1864-65, he was cordially received and entertained by the Czar, who approver 
the plan. \ most favorable impression had preceded him. For when the Russiai 
stjuadron visited New York in 1863 — the year after Russia and Great Britain had de 
clined the overture of the French government for joint mediation in the American con 
flict — Mr. Sibley and other prominent gentlemen were untiring in efforts to entertaii 
the Russian atlmiral, Lusoffski. in a becoming manner. Mr. Sibley was among tht 
foremost in the arrangements of the committee of reception. So marked were his per 
sonal kindnesses that, when the adnnral returnetl, he mentioned Mr. Sibley by name tt 
the Emperor .Alexander, and thus unexpectedly prepared the way for the friend.ship ol 
that generous monarch. I_)uring Mr. Sibley's stay in St. l^etersburg he was honored it 
a manner only accortletl to those who .enjoy the special favor of royalty, [ust befon 
his arrival the Czar had returned from the burial of his son at Nice, and, in accordanci 
with a long honored custom when the head of the empire goes abroad and returns, hi 
held the ceremony of " counting the emperor's jewels;" which means an invitation t( 
those whom his majesty desires to compliment as his friends, without regard to cour 



710 History ov thk City of Rociikstkr. 



etiqiK'tte or to formalities of olticial rank. At tliis t;raiiil rcicption in the palace at 
'I'sarskozela, se\'enteen miles iVom St. i'eteislnirg. Ml'. Sililey was the second on the 
list, the i-'reiich .Nmhassador beinu the I'lrst. ami I'rince ( 'lortsi hacoti". the prime minis- 
ter, the tliiril. This order was observed also in the profession ol 2[;o court carriajjes 
with outriders. .\li. Sibley's carriaj;e bein.i; the se< ond in the line. ( )n this occasion 
I'nm e ( lortsc liacotT. tiirninL; to .Mr. Sibley, said: ■• Sir I if I remeniber riglitl). in the 
course of a \er\ pleas.mt ( onversation hail with vou a leu da\s since, at the state de- 
partment. \ on expressed \ our surprise at the pomp and cininnstance attending; u|)on 
all (liurt < eremony. Now. sir' when you take precedence of the prime minister, I 
trust Mill are more reconciled to the usaL;e attendant u])on royalty, uhich were so re- 
pugnant to vour democratic ideas." Such an honor was greatly appreciated by Mr. 
Siblev ; for it meant the most sincere respect of the '• .Vutocrat of all the Rnssias" for 
the people of the I'liiled State's, and a recognition ot the courtesies conlened tipon his 
fleet when in .\ineri( an uaters. Mr. Siblex w.is dul\' i omplimented b\ the members 
of the ro\al faniii\- and others |)resent, iiu hiding the ambassadors of the great pouers. 
Mr. Collins, his colleague in the telegraph enterprise, shared in these .illeiitions. .Mr. 
.Siblev was recorded in the official blue lnjok of the state department of Si. Petersburg, 
as "the distinguished .\nierican." by which title he was generall\' knoun. Of this book 
he has a cop\' as a soiuemr of his Russian experieiu e. Mis intercourse with the Russian 
authorities was also facilitated b\ a \ ery complimentary letter from Sei retary Seward to 
I'rince ( lortschaiotf The Russian go\ eminent agreed to build the line from Irkootsk 
to the mouth o( tlu' .\moor ruer. .\fter 1,300 miles of wire had been put up, the 
final success of the .\llantic cable caused the afiandonmenl ol the line at a loss of 
$3,000,000. I'his was ,t loss 111 the midst of success, for .Mr. Sibley had demonstrated 
the t'easibilitv ol' ]juttmg .1 telegrajihu girdle rounil the earth. In railway enter|jrises 
the accomplishments of his eiieigy and management have been no less signal than in 
the establishment ol ihe telegraph. ( )ne of these was his connection in the manage- 
ment of the im|)ortant line of the Southern Michigan iV Northern Indiana raiUvay 
for three years. His princijial efforts in this direction have been in the Southern states, 
.\fter the war, prompted more b\ the desire of restoring amicable relations than by 
the prospect of gain, he made large and varied investments at the South, and did much 
to promote renewed business activity. .\t Saginaw, Mich., he l.)ecame a large lumber 
and salt manufacturer. He bought much pro|)erty in Michigan, and at onetime owned 
vast tracts in the Lake Su])erior region, where the most valuable mines have since 
been worked. While he has been interested in bank and manufacturing stocks, his 
larger investments ha\e been in land. .Mu(h of his pleasure has been in reclaiming 
waste territory and unpro(lucti\e iiuestments. which ha\e been abandoned by others as 
hopeless. The satisfying aim of his ambition incites him to difficult undertakings, that 
add to the wealth and ha[)piness of the community, from which others ha\e shrunk, or 
in which others ha\e made shipwrei'k. Besides his stupendous achievements in tele- 
graph and railwa\ extension, he is unrivaled as a farmer and seed grower, antl he has 
placed the stamp of his genius on these occupations, m uliuh many ha\e been content 
to work in the well-worn ruts of their predecessors. The seed business was commenced 
in Rochester thirty years ago. I.ater Mr. Sibley undertook to supply seeds of his own 
im])ortation and raising and others' growth, under a personal knowledge of their vital- 
ity and comparative value. He instituted many experiments for the improvement of 



Hiram Sibley. 71 1 



plants, with reference to their seed-bearing quahties, and has built up a business as 
unique in its character as it is unprecedented in amount. He cultivates the largest 
farm in the state, occupying Howland Island, of 3,500 acres, in Cayuga county, near 
the Erie canal and the New York Central railroad, which is largely devoted to seed 
culture ; a portion is used tor cereals, and 500 head of cattle are kept. On the Fo.x 
Ridge farm, through which the New York Central railroad passes, where many seeds 
and bulbs are grown, he has reclaimed a swamp of six hundred acres, making of great 
value what was worthless in other hands, a kind of operation which affords him much 
delight. His ownership embraces fourteen other farms in this state, and also large 
estates in Michigan and Illinois. The seed business is conducted under the firm name 
of Hiram Sibley & Co., at Rochester and Chicago, where huge structures afford ac- 
commodations for the storage and handling of seeds on the most extensive scale. .\n 
efficient means for the improvement of the seeds is their cultivation in different climates. 
In addition to widely separated seed farms in this country, the firm has growing under its 
directions, several thousands of acres in Canada. England, France, Germany, Holland 
and Italy. Experimental grounds and greenhouses are attached to the Rochester and 
Chicago establishments, where a sample of every parcel of seed is tested, and experi- 
ments conducted with new varieties. One department of the business is for the sale of 
horticultural and agricultural implements of all kinds. .\ new department supplies or- 
namental grasses, immortelles, and similar plants used by florists for decorating and for 
funeral emblems. Plants for these purposes are imported from Germany, France, the 
Cape of Good Hope, and other countries, and dyed and colored by the best artists 
here. .\s an illustration uf tlieir methods of business, it may be mentioned that the 
firm has distributed gratuitously, the past year, $5,000 in seeds and prizes for essays on 
gardening in the Southern states, designetl to foster the interests of horticulture in that 
section. The largest farm owned by Mr. Sibley, and the largest cultivated farm in the 
world, deserves a special description. This is the ■■ SuUivant farm," as formerly desig- 
nated, but now known as the "Burr Oaks farm." originally 40,000 acres, situated about 
one hundred miles south of Chicago, on both sides of the Wabash. St. Louis and Pacific 
railroad. The property passed into the hands of ah assignee, and, on Mr. SuUivant's 
death in 1879, came into the possession of Mr. Sibley. His first step was to change 
the whole plan of cultivation. Convinced that so large a territory could not be worked 
profitably by hired labor, he divided it into small tracts, until there are now many hun- 
dreds of such farms: 146 of these are occupied l)y tenants working on shares, or cash 
rent, consisting of about equal proportions of .\mericans, Germans, Swedes, and French- 
men. A house and a barn have been erected on each tract, and implements and agri- 
cultural machines provided. At the centre, on the railwa)-, is a four-story warehouse, 
having a storage capacity of 20,000 bushels, used as a depot for the seeds grown on 
the farm, from which they are shipped as wanted to the establishments in Chicago and 
Rochester. The largest elevator on the line of the railway has been built at a cost of 
over $20,000 ; its capacity is 50,000 bushels, and it has a mill capable of shelling and 
loading twenty-five cars of corn a day. Near by is a flax-mill, also run by steam, for 
converting flax straw into stock for bagging and upholstery. Another engine is used 
for grinding feed. Within four years there has sprung up on the property a village con- 
taining one hundred buildings, called Sibiey by the people, which is supplied with 
schools, churches, a newspaper, telegraph office, and the largest hotel on the route be- 



712 History of the City of Rochester. 



tweeii Chicago and St. Louis. A fine station lioiisc is to be erected by the railway 
com]iany. The Sibln- h'infnhif W'airlioiises^ {\. H and ('). the finest, as well as the 
largest warelioiises in the city of Ciiicago, have a frontage on Clark street of 189 feet, 
by 240 feel deep (or river front of 240 feet). 'The river froni is ten stories high, the 
Clark street from eight stories, witii basement and sub-basement. The whole construc- 
tion is fireproof The e.xterior is all faced with .\ddi.son pressed brick, with terra cotta 
details. The Clark street front is planned for stores of the most modern design, with 
large ])late-gla.ss windows, stained glass transoms, light iron divisions for the doors, and 
iron girders spanning each store-front, .\bove the stores, the several floors are used 
for general (jffices. The north 60 feet of first floor is elaborately fitted up for the busi- 
ness of Hiram Sibley \- Co. Immediatel)' back of the portion used for offices are the 
great warehouses, ten stories high, each flocjr estimated in the constru<tion to hold a 
weight of five hundred pounds per foot. In estimating such a weight as before men- 
tioned for tlie full ten stories, feu uould muigine the great pressure the footings or foun- 
dations woukl have to sustain. On the river front jjiles are driven. The other piers or 
walls come on the natural earth. In looking at the foundation plan the footings of piers 
or walls seem to nearly co\er the whole area. .Mr. Edbrooke carefully estimated every 
poimd as near as possible, and proportioned the base or bearing accordingly, as well as 
the supports above, columns, girders. et( .. to the roof The river front is 240 feet long 
by ten stories high. The design of the river front is somen hat plainer in style than the 
(Mark street front, but 11 has a gr.uuleur and solid repose about it that is not surpassed 
by an\ commercial building in the countr\. The long, broad i)ilasters starting from the 
basement story and terminating in arches at the toji, seem to increa.se the apparent 
height. The architect utilised this feature and made the jirincipal lines in the design 
perpendicular, which is highly satisfactorv and far more effective than to have used 
horizontal string-courses, to diminish the height. The openings generally are arched. 
The whole e.vterior is of pre.ssed brick and terra cotta. This warehouse was constructed 
to accommodate the western seed business of Hiram Sibley & Co., and for bondeil 
and general warehouse purposes, and is an enduring monument to Hiram Sibley, and a 
giant among the many large buildings of Chicago, as well as a magnificent architectural 
production. The cost of this building was $500,000. Mr. Sibley is the president and 
the largest stockhokler of the liank of .Monroe, at Rochester, and is connected with 
various institutions. He has not acquired wealth siinply to hoard it. The Sibley col- 
lege of mechanic arts, of Cornell universit) , at Ithaca, which he founded, and endowed at 
a cost of $100,000 — which sum he has largel)' increased and is now exteniling and en- 
larging the present buildings — has afforded a practical education lo many hundreds of 
students ; 443 have reported their present residence and occu[)ation — they reflect high 
credit upon Sibley college and demonstrate the practical usefulness of this institution. 
Sibley hall, costing more than $100,000, is his contribution for a public library, and for 
the use of the university of Rochester for its library and cabinets ; it is a magnificent 
fireproof structure of brown stone trimmed with white, and enriched with appropriate 
statuary. Mrs. Sibley has also made large donations to the hospitals and other charit- 
able institutions in Rochester and elsewhere. She erected, at a cost of $25,000, St. 
John's Episcopal church, in Xorth Adams, Mass., her native village. Mr. .Sibley has 
one son and one daughter living : Hiram \V. Sibley, who married the only child of 

1 George H. Edbrooke, Chicago, Architect. 



Hiram Sim.Kv. — Amon Bronson. 



Fletcher Harper, jr., and resides in New York, and Emily (Sibley) Averell, who resides 
in Rochester. He has lost two children: Louise (Sibley) Atkinson and Giles B. Sibley 
A quotation from Mr. Sibley's address to the students of Sibley college, during a receni 
visit to Ithaca, is illustrative of his practical thought and expression, and a fitting close 
to this brief sketch of his practical life : •• 'I'here are two most valuable pos.session; 
which no search warrant can get at, which no execution can take away, and which nc 
reverse of fortune can destroy : they are what a man puts into his head — kinnvkiige . 
and into his hands — ski//." 



AMON BRONSON. A truthful re]jresentatioii of a worthy life is a legacy to hu 
nianity. As such we present an outline of the business and official character of 
Amon Bronson, — a resident of Rochester for forty-four years, identified with all its in- 
terests, and a prominent, successfid business man. He was born in the town of Scipio 
in Onondaga, now Cayuga county, on the 23d of March, 1807. Little indebted tc 
schools for education, his application to study was none the less efficient and advan- 
tageous. His authors were few and well chosen ; their teachings were understood, assim- 
ilated, and utilised. In his library history and science predominate, and fiction ha^ 
no jjlacc. 

Thrown upon his own resources at an early age. he removed to .\von, Livingstor 
county, where he acquired and practised the trade of a car])enter, whereby he learned of 
an open field in the lumber trade, in which he engaged with ardor as his pursuit for life 
In the year 1832 he came to Rochester, purchased the lumber yard on Exchange street, 
and gave his mind, with untiring energy and unwearied patience, to carve for himself a 
pathway to unexceptional, yet undoubted success. The first to establish the lumber bus- 
iness in the city of Rochester, he sustained for a period of forty-four years a leading 
position among those engaged in the same branch of trade, and was frequently approached 
for advice, assistance, and counsel, which uniformlv reflected credit upon himself and his 
associates. 

His life was cliaracterised by untiring energy, strict integrity, and honorable dealing. 
Enterprising, thorough, and reliable, his trade became extensive and lucrative. Exact, 
and yet generous, his many employees saw in him a man of strong mental power, supe- 
rior, genial, and considerate, regardful of all in interest, and actuated by innate sympath\- 
for the unfortunate and esteem for the high-minded. 

In all dealing he was never known to oppress a debtor. To those without means or 
credit he supplied both, with a knowledge of men rarely found deceptive. Himself just, 
upright and honorable, he influenced others to like action — emulative of his virtues, 
dreading his reproachful look. His honesty shone conspicuous, unshadowed by the 
slightest cloud of distrust. His fidelity to right was eijualed only by his ability to per- 
ceive it. None questioned his word, whether given during the routine of business tran- 
saction or expressed in the ordinary relations of society ; it was as good as his bond. 

Long and assiduously devoted to one pursuit, skill, caution and method combined 
to safety, harmonious action and eminent success. Familiarised with the minutest detail of 
his concerns, punctual to the moment in meeting an agreement, lenient to the unfortu- 
nate, he was accorded genuine respect ; the entire community gave him their confidence, 
and his assured progress was observed without envy. He labored from a love of activ- 



714 History ov the City of Rociikster. 

ity, and not alone for acquisition of wealth. He had in view no ultimate elegant leisure. 
W'itli unselfish moti\e he plied his vocation, and gave of well-won means to the benefit 
of the |iul)lic and the needy. -A mind less active would have sought recreation, ea.se, 
and rest where lie centered all thought and time on business. Confident of self, im])atient 
of dictation or obligation, he sought no partnership, but conducted his affairs with a cer 
taintv and regularity not the less assured from the absence of noise and bustle. 

.\mon ISronsiin was more than a business man. All enterprises having for tlieir object 
the ad\ancemenl of the people, the city, and the welfare of the country oljtained his 
hearty commeiulaiion and support. He was to an eminent tlegree a public-s[)irited and 
benevolent man. His benefictions are mainly known to their reci|)ients. Of a disposi- 
tion which shrank from notoriety, he was unostentatious in the alleviation of distress, and 
generous of his gifts, Many are the ])oor who, but for his substantial aid, would have 
lacked their now comfortable homes. It has been said of him, "The blessing of him 
that was ready to [)erish came upon him, tor he caused the widow's heart to sing for joy; 
he deli\ered the poor that cried, and the fatiierless, and him that liad none to help him." 
Kind anil sympathetic, his heart responded to appeals for charitable and benevolent 
objects, and the philanthropic institutions of the city found in him a sincere and liberal 
friend. He was deeply interested in the City hospital, to which he contributed largely, 
and in the Intlustrial school and other laudable institutions. 

In person .\Ir. Bronson was above the ordinary height. His deep, dark e)es twinkled 
with merriment. antici]jating and enjoying a witticism, or spoke a volume of reproof to 
misstatement or maladministration. His habits were temperate and abstemious. So- 
cially, he was reticent, yet genial and courteous, winning and retaining the regard of those 
with whom he came in contact. His gait was an index of the man — never hurried, but 
uniform. To and from office and house he traveled da\ after dav for years, with a reg- 
ularity marked and proverbial. 

A believer in the elevating tendency of religious influences, he aided in the upbuilding 
of the ciiurches which adorn the city. For many years he was an attendant at St. Luke's 
church, and was during his entire life one of the most thoroughly ])ractical Christians to 
be found in any community. 

Capable and efficient in the management of his own aftairs, he was called to engage 
in various offices of trust. For years he was a trustee of the Monroe County Savings 
Bank, and was for a time a director in the City bank. In the former institution he had 
been a prominent member from its first organisation, and the board of trustees, at a 
meeting held July 29th, 1876, entered upon their record the following: "We hereby 
record our appreciation of his unquestioned integrity of character, and of the benevolence 
and generosity of his disposition, so constantly manifested, not only in his relations to 
this board, but in all his social and ]niblic relations in this community where he has lived 
so long." 

Political advancement Mr. Bronson never sought, and many solicitations to accept 
public jireferment were courteously yet firmly declined. He was an alderman for one 
term, and was elected supervisor from the third ward from 1859 continuously to 1867. 
At elections he received the cordial support of both political parties, and their unanimous 
action was a high personal tribute to his worth. 

In the board of supervisors he served as chairman on most of the important com- 
mittees, and performed the duties of the position ably and acceptably. To older citizens 



Amon Bronson. — E. M. Moore. 715 

his signal services during his term of office are well known. In unearthing fraud his 
sagacity and business ability were of great service. By a searching investigation into 
the accounts of a defaulting treasurer, deficits were discovered and losses exposed. 

During the civil war he was on the committee of bounties, and frequently advanced 
large sums from his own purse for the use of the county. He was known as a war Dem- 
ocrat, and, without stint, threw his influence in behalf of a government imperiled by re- 
bellion. A consistent Democrat, he was never a bitter partisan, and when, in 1865, an 
unsought nomination for senator had been accepted through the urgent request of many 
prominent citizens, it was a proof of popularity, and confidence of capacity and worth, 
that he ran largely ahead of his ticket in a senatorial district hopelessly Republican. 

He was married in 1840 to Miss Ann Emerson, daughter of Thomas Emerson, and 
in 1848 built the residence on Plymouth avenue, where he resided till the close of 
life. In domestic relations the testimony is uniform and emphatic as regards considera- 
tion, kindness and indulgence. When in the full enjoyment of physical and intellectual 
vigor he was stricken with paralysis, on November 13th, 1869, and incapacitated for other 
than general supervision of business affairs. A second shock in July, 1876, was final, and 
under its influence he gradually passed away, retaining his mind to the last. His funeral 
was attended by many friends, who followed his remains to Mount Hope Cemetery. The 
Rochester board of lumber dealers closed their places of business and attended the fu- 
neral in a body, and the employees of Mr. Bronson formed part of the funeral train. 

Resolutions of respect were passed by the Rochester board of lumber dealers, by the 
employees of the firm, by the board of trustees of the Monroe county savings bank, and 
by the board of supervisors at their regular meeting on October nth, 1876. The follow- 
ing resolution, introduced by Supervisor Pond, was put to motion and adopted unani- 
mously, by a rising vote : " Desiring to recognise in a suitable and appropriate manner 
the great loss which the county of Monroe has sustained in the death of Amon Bronson. 
who died July 28th, 1876, we hereby record our high regard and reverence of his char- 
acter and ability as a citizen and public officer. His honesty of purpose, his strength of 
mind, his breadth of thought, together with his noble, generous heart, will ever be a 
bright, conspicuous example to this community and in this board, where he so long lived 
and labored, giving so liberallv of his time and best eftbrt for the good and interest of 
his fellow-citizens." 



DR. E. M. MOORE is descended from ancestors \vln) came to this country in the 
middle of the seventeenth century. He was a son of Lindley Murray Moore and 
Abigail L. Moore, nee Mott. His father' was a native of Nova Scotia, of English origin, 
and a teacher by profession. His mother was a native of New York, of French-Hugue- 
not extraction. He received a classical education at his father's school and afterward 
attended the Rensselaer Polytechnic institute at Troy, N. V'., while it was purely a sci- 
entific institution, under the prosperous regime of Prof Amos Eaton. He commenced 
the study of medicine in Rochester in 1835 and attended his first course of medical lec- 

1 L. M.'s father removed form New York city, at the close of the Revolutionary War, to Nova 
Scotia. His ancestors came from England between 1625 and '30, and had Hved in Xew York nr New 
Jersey up to the time of L. M.'s father removing to Nova Scotia. 

E. M. Moore was born in Rahway, N. J., July 15th, 1814. 



7l6 IIlSORV OK THE CiTV OK RocHKsrKK, 



tures in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York city. The remainder of 
his student life was sijent in the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, where he 
graduated in US38, having been, during the last year of his course, resident physician of 
Blockley hospital, then, as now, a celebrated school for clinical knowledge. He after- 
wards hekl the same position for nearly two years, in the Insane asylum at Frankfort. 
Philadelphia comity, and then removed to Rochester where he has since lived. 

])r. Moore was elected professor of surgery in the Medical college at Woodstock. 
\'t., in the spring of i<S43. since which time he has taught surgery continuously in that 
and other institutions. For the last twenty-five years he has o(( upietl tlie ])osition of 
jjrotessor of surgery in the Buflalo Medical college. 

Dr. Moore is a permanent member of the .\merican Medical association and in 1S74 
he was president of the Medical society of the state of Xew V'ork. He is also a mem- 
ber of the board of trustees of the University of Rochester, which institution has con- 
ferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. Dr. Moore's contributions to 
literature have been mainly on medical and surgical subjects and consist of e.ssays and 
jjapers ])ublislK-d in medical journals and in the transactions of the State Medical societv 
and the American Medical association. 



HON. L'OR.NKI.Il S R. l'.\RS().\S. mayor of Rochester, was born m the town of 
York, Livingston county. N. \'.. on the 22d of May, 1842. His father. Hon. 
I'homas Parsons, was a native of Herk.shire, Kngland, where, after an elementary educa- 
tion, he commenced, in boyhood, earning his livelihood in shepherd life. Coming to 
this country in 1832. when eighteen years old, in advance of his parents, he was drawn 
to the rich valley of the Cenesee. and worked as a farm hand in Wheatland, .Monroe 
county, for four years, at the wages of seven dollars a month "and found." 'I'his labor 
was rendered with fidelity, a distinguishing trait of his character. In 1836 he began a 
series of eftbrts at Rochester, which resulted in gradually yielding him the means for 
larger o])erations. .Availing himself of the facilities on both sides of Lake Ontario, he 
embarked m the lumber trade, in which he became one of the most extensive merchants 
and exporters, procuring supplies, especially of oak and other heavy timber, for ship 
building, from land purchased from tiine to time, principally in Canada. His sterling 
character and energy of purpose introduced him into public life. In 1851 he was 
elected, by the Democratic party, alilerman for the sixth ward of the city of Rochester, 
and. in 1853, alderman for the tenth ward, and again in 1857. He served as an .Assem- 
blyman in 1858, and was the originator of the '-pro rata railroad freight bill," designed 
to compel the railroatl com])anies to carry freight for local shippers as low in proportion 
to distance as the rates charged to citizens of other states ; this caused much opposi- 
tion among railway officials, but the measure was zealously advocated by Mr. Parsons, 
and the bill was engrossed for a third reading, and only failed for want of time. Under 
the agitation of the grievance thus begun and continued by others in after years, these 
discriminations were essentially modified. Disagreeing with his party on the national 
iiuestions, he sustained the administration of President Lincoln and in 1865 was elected 
by the Republicans to the state Senate by a decided majority. .\s a member of the 
canal coinniittee he carefully fostered the waterways of the state, and his mercantile ex- 
perience rendered his opinions of value on all commercial questions. He was a mem- 



Cornelius R. Parsons. 71 



her of the committees on engrossed bills and on privileges and elections. His lej 
islative services were ably and faithfully performed and cemented the ties whic 
bound him to his political friends. Without his solicitation he was appointed Unite 
States collector for the port of Geneseo, and, in i86S and 1869, filled the reciuiremeni 
of the office acceptably. After an honorable and Chri.stian career he died in 1873, lea\ 
ing. as his survivors, his wife, who was a daughter of Richard Gorsline, and five chi 
dren — Cornelius R., Clifford W., Frank G.. Julia 1.., and Charles B. Parsons. A 
elder son, James W. Parsons, who followed the paternal pursuit as a lumber dealer, an 
was, for a number of years, a member of the common council of Buffalo, died about 
month before his father, at Erie, Penn. When our subject, Cornelius R. Parsons, w: 
three years old, the residence of his parents was changed to Rochester, where he wr 
trained in the excellent public schools of the city, enjoying the instructions of e.\])er 
enced teachers, especially John R. Vosburg. an accomplished scholar who. in 186! 
established Vosburg's academy in East Main street, for the purpose of preparing pupi 
for mercantile pursuits. At the time of reaching his majority his father's lumber busine: 
had grown to vast dimensions. Thomas Parsons had extended the sphere of his activit 
beyond the localities of Western New York and. from the boundless forests of Canadi 
was not only sujiplying ship timber to the American markets, but exporting large (juai 
tities to Great Britain. He had a mill near the upper falls at Rochester, and otht 
manufacturing establishments : so that the details of purchase, manufacture, sale an 
export required unceasing attention at widely separated points. The son grew into tl: 
business of his father, and, while the latter passed his time chiefly in the dominion. Co 
nelius R. Parsons conducted operations at Rochester. He was admirably adapted b 
an enterprising and stirring nature for this pursuit, and was speedily recognised by tl' 
citizens as a business man of superior abilities. Uniting with these cjualities courtes 
and public spirit, he was an available candidate for a position at the council boaril c 
the citv, and in 1867, at the early age of twenty-five years, was elected alderman of tl" 
fourteenth ward. He was reelected in 1868, and was regarded by his associates of hot 
parties as a good choice for the presidency of the board : he sustained their estimate h 
rulings unsurpassed in promptness and accuracy. .\ record creditable and satisfactoi 
caused his selection again as alderman and presiding officer in 1870, and, on the expir; 
tion of his term, his colleagues expressed their appreciation of his services by a valuabl 
testimonial. His a?i\iety for the city's advancement and welfare was manifested i 
private walks as well as in official place, and he was ever ready to devote time to sue 
objects without remuneration. Having removed to the seventh ward, he was chose 
in 1874 to repjresent that constituency in the board of aldermen. This long experienc 
and his popularity with the masses led to his elevation to the mayoralty in 1876. Du 
ing his official connection with the municipal government some of the most importai 
improvements had been conducted under his immediate supervision. Rochester w: 
now a large city. In about sixty years the unsettled forest had been covered by thi 
teen thousand residences, the homes of nearly eighty thousand persons. The five ward 
originally dividing the city when it was incor|)orated in 1834, had expanded to sixtet 
(if much larger average area and population. There were sixty churches, and tvvent; 
three public schools, having more than eleven thousand registered pupils. The list c 
real and personal estate, at a low assessment, exceeded $60,000,000, on which a tax c 
$1,000,000 was collected. The small frame building in which the local government w; 



I 1' 



7i8 History of the City of Rochester. 



originallv carried on had loiii; licforc given place to a large and beautiful court-house 
and citv hall, with granite iVonl. erei ted at a cd^t ot' $80,000. 'I'lie chief magistracy of 
such a citv »as a coveted prize to inaii\ aspirants. The leaders of the tuo parties 
sought the strongest candid. ite>. The canvass was spirited and not without detraction 
on both sides, but the unbleini>hed public record of Mr. Parsons and the purity of his 
lite could not be gauisaid, and he was elected by a majority o] more than twenty-three 
hundred over his opixjnent of the Democratic partv. a man ot ability, character and in- 
fluence. The message of tlie new mavor supported his reputation, anil among his 
recommendations were inanv which have been adopted and proved of public advantage. 
In exercising the appointing jiower he selected good men. without reference to ]jartv 
connection, and as ))olice commi.ssioner he acted with vigor and discretion in the gov- 
ernment of the swelling masses. ■ He has been since four times reelected to the office 
of mavor. Thus, during a period of some fifteen years, he has been closely linked with 
the growth and prosperity of a city — the fifth in rank ui tiie state — substantial in its 
wealth, beautiftil in its ]3ublic and private structures, and attractive in its parks ; its 
streets lined with trees, and the gardens and ornamental grounds of the citizens. N'o 
city is better governed or enjoys a higher promise of the future. 

In his official position as head of the municipal government of the city, Mr. Parsons 
was one of the leading spirits in the work of preparation for the celebration of the semi- 
centennial of Rochester on the 9th and loth of June, 1884. In a brief and pertinent 
address he opened the literary exercises on the gtli. He delivered the address of wel- 
come to Governor Cleveland and his staff and other guests, at the reception on the 
second day of the celebration, and also proposed the various toasts at the ban(juet at 
Powers Hotel ; in the performance of these duties he secured the unqualified a()proval 
of his fellovv-ciii/.ens. Much of the success of this important event mav I)e credited to 
Mayor Parsons, and without reflection upon any other person. 

Mr. Parsons is a ready, interesting, and able ]Hiblic speaker, while his ofiicial com- 
munications are likewise models of terse and effective English. With substantial and 
well acknowledged merit as a worthy, progressive citizen and public official, and com- 
bining a frank and cordial nature with courteous, unassutning, yet dignified manner, he 
has attained exce])tional po])ularity in social as well as public life, and can hardly fail to 
develop increasing honor and usefulness in the ('oming years of his career. His religious 
course, as a member of St. Peter's Presbyterian church, has been consistent. He has 
been a trustee of the society, which numbers over three hundred and fifty members. 
Mr. Parsons is a member of the Masonic order, as well as that of the Odd Fellows. 
He was married in 1864 to Frances, daughter of Dr. J. F. Whitbeck, a skillful and ex- 
perienced [ihysician of Rochester, now deceased. His children are Mabel VV. and 
P'-thel M. Parsons; a promising little son, Warner Parsons, died in the spring of 1879. 



GEORCiE R.AINESisthe fourth son of Rev. John Raines and Mary Remington, 
and was born November loth, 1846, at Pultneyville, Wayne county, N. Y. Hi.s 
father is of English descent and comes of the family which still has many representa- 
tives at Ryton. Yorkshire, where the old family homestead has been entailed for many 
generations to the eldest son, and still remains in their possession, known a.s Ryton 
Grange. The grandparent, John Raines, in 1816-18, gathered together the remnant 



George Raines. 



71 



of a fortune invested in shipping interests, well nigh destroyed by the French wars ei 
suing upon the escape of Napoleon from Elba, and traveled through Pennsylvania ar 
Western New York to select a location for business investment. After a few years' re 
idence in Philadelphia, about 1830 a farm was purchased near Canandaigua. Near t 
and overlooking Centerfield was the home of Colonel Thaddeus Remington, the mate 
nal grandparent, who had given his own name to the hill upon which he had built h 
log-house in 1 798. Colonel Remington was the eldest of three brothers who came froi 
Vermont, where the traditions of the family run back until they are lost to record. E 
his solicitations two younger brothers, who had come from Vermont to Connecticu 
were induced to come west to make a settlement, and one of them selected Henrieti 
and the other Mumford, in Monroe county. From these brothers are descended tl 
Remingtons whose branches are numerous in the localities named. John Raines, tl 
father of George, after his marriage to Mary Remington, entered the Methodist mini 
try as a member of the East Genesee conference, and received an appointment to tl 
station of Pultneyville, after which he was a stationed pastor for periods of two or thre 
years, according to the custom of the denomination, at Dansville, Lima, Victor, Genev 
Lyons, Newark, St. John's church in Rochester, Hedding church in Elmira, Cornin 
and Alexander street church in Rochester. 

George Raines, in 1854-56, was a pupil in number 14 and number 10 of the distrii 
schools of Rochester, and afterwards prepared for admission to college in the Frt 
academy at Elmira in 1861-62. In the early fall of 1862, at the age of fifteen year 
he entered college at Lima, N. Y., but after a few weeks, on account of a change of tl 
residence of his father to the city of Rochester, he entered the University of Rochesti 
and remained a member of the class of 1866 until he graduated with the class. It w; 
the custom of the college to award prizes to be competed for by the members of class( 
who chose to labor in that direction, and a fair proportion of such honors fell to hir 
First prizes in Latin and Greek studies, for declamation and for the senior essay wei 
awarded to him, but in no case was the competition in the class general, though tl 
rivalry of the contestants was very sharp and the labor of preparation considerabl 
Leaving college with a fair standing in scholarship he entered the office of J. & Q. Va 
Voorhis, in Rochester, as a law student, in the summer of 1866, where he remaine 
until admitted to the bar in December, 1867, at the age of twenty-one years. Durir 
the fall of 1866 a bitter political contest for Congress, in which Lewis Selye and Ho 
Roswell Hart were opposing candidates, was decided by the election of Mr. Sely 
Through the natural sympathy of a young man with a cause in which his preceptors wei 
enlisted, he became a supporter of Mr. Selye and made his first political speeches. M 
Selye conceived a strong liking for his young friend, and in the spring of 1867, upc 
the request of Mr. Van Voorhis, procured for him a government position, the salary c 
which was of great service in enabling him to continue his law studies, while, at tl 
same time, he served full hours in his office duties. He had previously taught in tl 
Real school of Rochester for about eight months under the respected Dr. Dulon ; 
principal. Mr. Selye aided him otherwise by furnishing employment at his own charg 
so that it may jusdy be said that in the day when young Raines needed a staunch frien 
as much as at any time in his life, Lewis Selye stood at his back to encourage and a 
sist him as few men would have done. Upon admission to the bar he entered the la 
office of H. C. Ives as a clerk, at the salary of five dollars a week. After a year c 



MiSTORV OF THE CiTV OF ROCHESTER. 



service as clerk. Mr. I\es oftered him a iiartiiership, wliicli was accejjted and continued 
down to the tall of i<S7i. when Mr. Ives was coniijelled to cease the active work of his 
profession by ill health, at the same time that Mr. Raines was elected as the Republi- 
can candidate to the office of district attorney of Monroe county. He had tried very 
tew cases in comt at that time, and was of the age of twenty-four years. His only 
trials of criminal cases had been the defense of a negro U|:)on a charge of abduction, 
which had resulted lirst, in a disagreement of a jurv, and next, m a verdict of guilty. 
He had tried several civil causes at the circuit under the supervision of Mr. Ives, who 
intrusted him with the sinnming up of all cases. When the youth and inexperience of 
Mr. Raines were urged against him in the canvass, Gen. J. H. Martindale came to his 
rescue with most positive assurances of his confidence in the successful administration 
of the otFice, and to this |)owerful endorsement Mr. Raines has never failed to attribute 
much of the confidence shown by the voters in electing him. .-\t the same election a 
brother, Hon. Thomas Raines, of Rochester, was elected state treasurer, and in 1873 
was reelected to the same office. Another brother, Hon, |ohn Raines, has been twice 
a member of the legislature from Ontario county. 

The duties of the ofiice of district attorney were laborious and required close appli- 
cation. The session of courts continued daily for weeks, and frequently the nights were 
consumed in the [)reparation of bills of indictment, or of cases for trial, on the ensuing 
day. No labor was spared to bring causes to a successful issue when justice retiuired 
it, and no public clamor influenced the discharge of duty. Among the notable cases 
of the first term of office of Mr. Raines was the jjrosecution of Stephen C'oleman for re- 
ceiving stolen goods with knowledge that they were stolen. Coleman was charged with 
enlisting boys in stealing ]>ig-iron at foundries, and many of the boys were used as wit- 
nesses ; but the convincing testimony on the various trials, which lasted each about two 
weeks, was that of merchants who had lost the iron or bought it of him, and of the de- 
tectives who, in spite of orders from the chief of police to cease their inquiries, had pur- 
sued the investigation to the end of conviction. J. C. Cochrane, J. M. Davy and other 
counsel defended Coleman with ability and secured a reversal of one conviction in the 
court of Appeals, by which court a second conviction was affirmed and Coleman served 
his sentence. An undercurrent of religious prejudice ran through the trials as Coleman 
drew upon all the friends with whom, as an influential member of a Protestant church, 
he had been identified to save him, while the prosecutors were Catholics. It is to be 
said, however, that the general sentiment of the communitx , which had been for and 
against Coleman at different times, finally remained against him and was content with 
his conviction and sentence. The other most notable act of the district attorney in his 
first term of oftice was the destruction of a corrupt ring in control of the police depart- 
ment of the city. Being assured by Mr. J. A. Hoekstra, local editor of the Democrat 
&-" Chnmich:, of unflinching support in his columns, Mr. Raines wrote out and presented 
to the grand jury findings and resolutions based upon evidence given before them of in- 
terference with the course of justice by the chief of police. The grand jury adopted the 
findings and resolutions, and Mr. Hoekstra in his columns, with the aid of Mr. Raines 
as to facts, precipitated the dow-nfall of the chief of police by a general arraignment of 
his conduct as such officer, and a demand for his removal. The chief of [jolice, upon 
the second day, tendered a resignation, written for him by Mr. Raines, and the ring 
which had seemed so ])Owerful as to defy public opinion, disappeared from prominence 
in the police department. 



George Raines. 7: 



In the fall of 1874 Mr. Raines was reelected to the oftice of district attorney as tl 
candidate of the Democratic party. His second term of office was filled with difficu 
and important trials. The Clark, (ihaul, Stillman and Fairbanks murder trials, in whic 
Howe & Hummel, of New York, L. H. Hovey, of Rochester, and Gen. J. H. Martii 
dale conducted the defenses as chief counsel, required great labor and energy to brin 
about convictions. The .Stillman trial occupied about two weeks, and a most elaborai 
defense by Gen. Martindale on the ground of insanity was urged with all the ingenuit 
and power of this most elorjuent advocate at the Monroe county bar. Justice Dwigl 
became thoroughly convinced that the mental capacity of the prisoner was not sucl 
though not within the legal definition of insanity, as to warrant the infliction of tli 
death penalty, and after the verdict of murder in the first degree, joined with Gen. Ma 
tindale in procuring a commutation of the penalty to imprisonment for life. The Clar 
trial will long be cited as a remarkable case in Monroe county, as strenuous efforts wei 
made by able counsel, by applications and arguments before seven justices of the Suprem 
court in remote parts of the state, and before the Albany general term to secure a n 
view of the verdict of the jury. But the sentence was executed upon Clark after th 
expiration of a respite granted by Gov. Tilden for the purposes of such application: 
At the end of his second term as district attorney Mr. Raines was nominated by th 
unanimous vote of the Democratic convention as a candidate for Senator for the distric 
then composed of Monroe county, and was elected over a gentleman who had serve 
one term as Senator with ability and was renominated by the Republican party. M: 
Raines had become identified with the special supporters of Gov. Tilden by his polii 
ical associations, and in this canvass received the bitter opposition of the enernies o 
Gov. Tilden in the Democratic party led by e.x-assemblyman George D. Lord. Th 
newspaper organ of the party had little to say in his behalf, and his canvass was furthe 
embarrassed by the sudden development of strength by a third party, called the Labc 
Reform party, which drew from both the Republican and Democratic parties, chiefl 
from the latter however, 3,818 votes for its candidate for Senator. In his office of Sen 
ator Mr. Raines became at once a leader of the supporters of the reform policy of Gov 
Robinson in the Senate, and was identified with every effort to forward legislation ii 
that interest. He continued his professional work, and in this period of his life was em 
ployed in numerous important trials in Western New York. For three weeks the in 
volved issues of the Pontius-Hoster trials in Seneca county, engaged the efforts of Gen 
Martindale on the one side and of Mr. Raines on the other, with associate local coun 
sel. Forgery, arsenical poisoning, and assault with intent to kill were mingled in thi 
case, so that either side accused the other of each offense and each offense had to b( 
tried to get to the final verdict, which re.sted in favor of the prosecution, for which Mr 
Raines was employed. It is the most celebrated case of the criminal courts of Senec; 
county. The Boyce-Hamm, Hyland and Hickey murder trials in Monroe county, ant 
the Williams murder trial in Wayne county were exacting in their demand of grea 
labor, and in each verdicts were rendered in favor of the theories supported by Mr 
Raines. 

In the fall of 1881 Mr. Raines was again presented by the Democratic party b} 
unanimous nomination for the office of Senator. Three years before a Republicai 
legislature had added Orleans county to the senatorial district, with the purpose, b} 
putting its 1,200 Republican majority with the 1,500 Republican majority of Monroi 



722 History ok tiik Citv of Rochester. 



cdunu , which, in onliiKirv |Mihli(al \c.iis. mii^lit he (.-xpi'dtMl id Tciidri the election of n 
Denuieiauc Senator im|)osNilile. l!y tliis nieans the districl uas. made ahnost the largest 
in the state, and the coiitesl a|)|ieared almost hopeless lor any Democrat as against a 
powert'iil and skilll'ul o|i|ionent, lion. !•'.. 1,. I'itts, who had been Senator the jirevious 
term, and uas the .diU'^t debater and conceded leader of his |iarl\' in the Senate, was 
renominati'd b\ the ReiJiiblii .m jjarty. Mr. Raines was mci with the argument that Ills 
law busmess consisted largely of litigations against corixirations, espeeiall)- llie New 
York Central \- IIii<lson River railroad (■om])any. and his defeat nnist be secured in 
their interest. The powerful influence of that corporation and of the sliip])ers who en- 
joyed its fa\(irs by speci.d rates alone prevented his electioTi. 1 le was favored by Re- 
publican voters to an extent that phu i-d him about three thousanil ahead of his asso- 
ciates upon his part\ lu ket in .Vlonroe ciumty, and upwanK of two bundled more in 
(.)rleans coimlw but Mr. I'itts, by keeping within about two humlrid of his parl\' tic ket 
in his own countv of ( )rleans had about nine hundred m.ijorilv m ( )rleans count\ to 
offset the seven hundred majority of Mr. Raines in .Monroe countv . The Democratic 
part V suffered a general deliMt in the stale by a tidal wave vote, w hich was apparent 
in this district, as the Republican parly received lor its state ticket a majority of up- 
wards of one thousand more than was usual in the (Hstrict in any but i)residential elec- 
tions. Since the canvass for Senator in iSSi Mr. Raines has been strictly attentive to a 
large and lucrative law |)ractice, in which he is associated with his brothers, under the 
linn name of Raines Mros. He has oci asionally, however, made public addresses for 
societies and on public holidays. He was selected as semi-centennial orator at the 
celebration of that event in the historv of the city of Rochester, June 9th, 1884, and 
delivered the oration. Uui a mass of imporiant litigations of a civil and criminal nature 
engage the attention of his firm to the exclusion of other labors. Perluqis the most 
satisfactory to Mr. Raines of a long list of trials in its incidents and results was the 
celebrated case at the citv of W'aterioun, known as the Higham homicide. Higham 
was tried in December. 1883, for the murder of I'' red. W. I-'.ames, the inventor of the 
Karnes vacuum brake. .\t the commission of the offense Higham could hardly name 
a friend in that citv. He was .i skilled mechanic, and Isames w.is rich and powerful. 
Hy what was supposed to be Kames's inventive genius, the i)eople were led to believe a 
great manufacturing enterprise was being built up in W'atertown, and the city looked 
upon him as one of its public .spirited citizens. He was shot by Higham when, at the 
end of severe litigations, Karnes was entering into possession of his shops by the ap- 
proval of the courts. .A Ha|)tist minister. Mr. I'ownlev. was the witness of the prosecu- 
tion, whose credit was excellent, whose spirit w ;is revengelul, and whose stor)' spoke 
murder in every word. .M'ter a two weeks' trial, at nine o'clock on Christmas day. Mr. 
Raines conunenced the summing U|) of the defense and contiiuied until the o'clock, 
being followecl in an able argument by ex-Senator Mills for the prosecution, and the 
charge of the court on the following dav. The jury accpiitted Higham, and it was 
found that the testimony of the chief witness of the prosecution. Rev. Mr. Tovvnley, 
was discredited by the jury as to all its essential criminating details. The verdict was 
accepted by the jieople of W'atertown with pleasure, and Higham was restored to the 
position he lost in the community vvhen he shot Eames in self-defense. Hon. \V. F. 
Porter, prepared the cause for trial, and largely conducted it and Mr. Raines attributed 
to his patient and skillful work the victory in this most important case. Mr. Raines is 



(iFORCK RaINKS. — I.KWIS 1IkNK\ MoKCW 



luiu 111 tlu' ])iiiiu' of litl'. (lovDti'd Ic) his profession and (■onlcnl uuli iis ivu.inls. 
|ionUs whrn lio has oi( .iMoii uilh pleasure to ihe mrreasc of favor h-oui poHlical ' 
poneiils, uiieii he has heen a caiuhdale al the pohs. as asccrlaincd liy eoinparison 
his vote with thai ol' < andidales for stale t)lii(es upon his parlv liekels, lie led 
party ticket for dislriet attorney in 1S71, 798; for (hslric l allorney in 1.S71, i,,^.'2; 
Senator in 1877, 1,610; for Senator m 1881,3,200, In eac h ( an\ass he earricd 
own coiinly of Monroe, but is often heard to say that lie will ne\er test the loyalty 
his friends ayain 1)\' any candidacy for ollice. 



^1' 



HON. I.I'.WIS III':M<\ MOKOAN, l.I.. D., presidem ol ilie American associai 
for the advancement of science, and one ol' ihe foreiiidst elhiiologii'al and arch: 
logical scholars and authors of his time, the son of jcdciliah and Harriet Morgan. \ 
lioni at Aurora. Cayuga county, N. ^'., November »isi. 181S. ami <lied .11 his home 
Kochesler. Deceinlicr I7lh. 1881, in the sixt\'-foiirlli \c.Mr of his ,n;e. The follow 
sketch of his life, from the ]ien of !•', W. I'liliiam. is taken from the /'rciii'i/iiii^x 0/ 
AniiTican Actn/ciny <>/ Ar/s tiiid Srir/ziiw. \'(il. X \' I I.. M,i\, iS8." : — 

The lion. Lewis II. Mor,s;.in was m.idc a fellow of ihc ac .ideiii\ m 1868. 1 
pareiUs were of old New l'',ni;l.iiid slock, and of ihis he olicii spoke wuh feelings 
satisfaction. Mis father was desi ended from J.mu's Moriian. who si'llled near Bos 
in 1646, and his molher Iroiii |ohn Steele, who had a home near ( 'aniliridge in 16 
.\t Ihe time of his biilh. \o\cnilicr Jist, 1818, his parents resided in ihc \illam' of, 
rora. ('a\u,L;a couiil\. \. N. lie li.id the advantage of an exccllciil prchmin.ir\ edu 
lion, and was gradii.Ued .il I ' moii ( cillet;e in 1 8.|.o. He afterwards sliulied law, ; 
was .ulimlled to ihe bar. Makiiii; his iioiiu- al Rochester, N. Y., his zeal and hone 
soon secured him a lart;e ,nid profitable practice in his profession. In busiiu'ss he \ 
associated willi his 1 lassmalc. judge (Icorge I''. Danforlh. In 1 8t;c; he becaiiu' ml 
este<l in the projt'cled railro.nl Irom .M,iri|uctle lo llie iioii region on ilie soulli shore 
Lake Superior, and in tin- de\elopmciil of ihc iKin iiiiiics. The m.iiiagemeiil of ih 
enlerprises, lioin wIikIi he derived .1 1 onsidciable pro[)erty, caused him gradually 
withdraw from the praciK i' of his prolessioii. anil induced him lo make excursions ii 
what was then llu- wilderness of northern Michigan. It was during these ex|)lorati( 
dial he be<anie mlerested in the habits and works of the beaver — a study which 
followed for several years as opporlunilies offered, and the results of which he gave 
die world, in 1868, in an octavo \(ihime ciilillcil I'lii' American BcaviT and his W'oi 
This is a most thorough and interesting biological treatise, of which the late Dr. jcffi 
VVyman remarked that it <:anie the nearest to perfection of any work of its kind he 1 
e\er read. It is, liowe\er. to his labors in anthropology that Mr. Morgan (jwes 
widespread fame, and it is of interest to note the probable cause of his turning his 
leiition to the study of Indian hie. ( )ii his return from college he joined a sec 
society, known as the "(iordian Rnol," composed of the young iiu-ii ol the villa 
("hielly by his inlliuiK c. this so( iel\ was cnlargc'd and reorganised, and became 
" New Confederarv of the Iroipiois." I'lu' s(i< iel\ held its councils in the woods 
night. It was founded upon the aiu leiii (diifederacy of the Rive Nations; and its sy 
bolic council fires were kindled upon the .incient territories of the Mohawks, the Or 
das, the Onondagas, the Cayugas and the Senecas. its objects were to gather 1 



724 History of thk Citv ok Rochester. 



fragments of tlic history, institutions, and government of tlie Indians, and to encourage 
a kinder feeling towards tiieni. A friend writes that •■many of its members liave since 
l)e(iinie (Hstingiiished ui varioiiN walks of life. l)ut u|icin none of them was its influence 
so jiersuasive and so permanent as upon Mr. .Morgan. It ga\e direction to his tliought. 
and stimulus to his energies. In order that it might he in conformity with its model, 
he visited the tribes in Neu \'ork and ( 'anada, e\en then renniants, but retaining, .so 
far as thev were able, their ancient laus and c ustoms. These he investigated, and soon 
became deeiilv interested in them." ( )n his removal to Rochester his studies of IndiaTi 
institutions were continued, and in 1S4.5 he attended da\ alter da_\- a grand coimi il of the 
I ndians at the Tonawanda reservation ; and in .\pril of the same year he went to W'ashing- 
ton to plead in behalf of the Indians against the great injustice done them in taking away 
some of their lands. While on this journey he attended a meeting of the New V'ork 
Historical society, of which he had been elected a member, and read his hrst public 
pa])er on the subject to which he had given so much time and thought. This pajjer 
is not printed in the Pniiefdiiii^s of the Soiir/y. but is referred to as "an essay on the 
constitutional government of the Si.\ Nations of Indians." The substance of it is 
])robabl\- included in the series of fourteen " Letters on the Iroiiuois," addresssd to 
.Albert ( lallatin. I,L. U.. the president of the society, and published in the several num- 
bers of the Aiiicrudii Revino (a Whig journal of politics, literature, art. and science. 
Vols. Wand \'\., New York 1847). from February to December, 1847, under the /w/;/ (/i-' 
f>/ii/iic of SAr/miii/tHi/i. These letters were followed by several instructive reports to the 
regents of the university of the state of New York, upon Indian remains in that state, 
and on the Fahrki of the Iroquois, all bearing evidence of his great interest and activity in 
the study of Jndian life and institutions. 'These several papers were afterwards rewrit- 
ten and enlarged, anil published in book form in 185 i, under the well known title of 
Z.(V7i,v/r of the Iroiiuois. This work at once attractetl general attention, and secured for 
its author a well earned position in literature. It contains a careful analysis of the 
social organisation and government of the powerful and famous confederacy, with many 
details relating to Indian life. In iS_(7 Mr. Morgan again attended a council of the 
Iroquois, and on October 31st. 1847. he was regularly adopted into the Hawk gens of 
the Senecas. and given the name of Ta-ya-ila-7i'ah-kugh (one lying across). 'The mean- 
ing of this name is that he was to put himself in the pathway of communication, and 
preserve friendship between the two races, as the son of Jemmy Johnson, the inter- 
preter, and grandson of the famous Red Jacket. As a tnember of the Seneca tribe he 
was better able than before to continue his stutlies of the social institutions of the rem- 
nants of the tribes forming the ancient ('onfederacy. 'Ten years after this, at the Mon- 
treal meeting of the American association for the atlvancement of science, he read a 
paper on The Laios of Descent of the Iroquois, which furnished the basis of one of 
the most important generalisations in relation to .American ethnology. In 1858, in an 
encampment of the Ojibwa Indians at Manjuette, he found that their .system of kinship 
was substantially the same as that of the Irocjuois. 'The conclusions which he tlrew 
from this discovery are clearly given in the paper which he read before the academy at 
its meeting on February nth, 1868, entitled A Confeciural Solution of the Orii^iii of 
the Classficatory System of Relationship. [ 'This paper is printed in full in the Pro- 
eeettings of the Academy, Vol. VII. pp. 436-437. J 'This paper is in fact a resume oi his 
great work, which was then passing through the press, and appeared as a thick quarto 



Lewis Henry Morgan. 



volume of the Smithsonian contributions to knowledge, published in 1870, under 
title of Systems of ConsanguiiiUy and Affitiity of the Human Family. This volum 
literally one of facts, from which most important conclusions are constantly being dr£ 
As Mr. Morgan states, it contains the systems of relationship of "four-fifths, numer 
ly, of the entire human family." During the years in which these materials were b' 
collected, Mr. Morgan was not idle, but was gradually obtaining information for fu 
contributions, both by study in his well stored library and by personal expedit 
among the Indian tribes of the West and of Hudson's Bay territory. This was also 
most active period of his Hterary life, several of the papers, which were afterward: 
vised and printed, having been .sketched during this time. Among the most impor 
of these were contributions to the North American Review, from i86g to 1876, ui 
the titles of The Seven Cities of Cibola, Indian Migrations, Montezuma's ^ 
ner, and the Houses of the Mound Builders. Probably the paper of 1876, ent 
Montezuma's Dinner, is the most characteristic of what has been called the " Moi 
school" of ethnology. In it he showed that the commonly received statementi 
lating to the Aztec civilisation were founded on misconceptions and exaggerations, 
that the Mexican confederacy, reviewed in the light of knowledge derived from a si 
of the social and tribal institutions of the Indians of America, would be found to 1 
no exception to the democratic, military and priestly government founded on the ge 
system common to the American tribes. Mr. Morgan always chose forcible langi 
in expressing his ideas, and he held fast to theories which he believed to be well foun 
The recent extended investigations, which have brought many additional facts to 1 
will naturally lead to the criticism of some of the theories which he formed, fron: 
facts at his disposal, during the active period of his literary work ; but, while sue 
were constructed of loose materials will fall (and none would have been more rf 
than he to pull them down in the cause of truth), the great principles which his resear 
have brought out are so apparently beyond controversy that they will ever stand as 
rocks against which the wild and sensational theories will be dashed, and as foundai 
upon which to build in the further study of American archjeology and ethnology. 
Morgan's last excursion was to the ancient and modern pueblos of Colorado and '. 
Mexico in 1878, and was undertaken primarily for the purpose of confirming his 
ceptions in relation to the development of house-life among the Indian tribes. 
House-Life and Architecture of the North American Indians, expressing his view 
communal living among the village Indians, we particularly notice the persistency 
which he clung to his early theories on this subject. This was his latest work, 
lished only a few weeks before his death. While his Systems of Affinity and Co? 
guinity, League of the Iroquois, and paper on the Mexican civilisation will ever star 
monuments of his industry and research, and give to him enduring fame, he wi 
most widely known by his more popular volume of 1877, Ancient Society, or Resea 
in the Lines of Human Progress from Savagen', through Barbarism to Civilise. 
which is, in fact, the embodiment of the most important of his researches — the g 
summing up of many years of industrious labor and deep thought. A thorough e- 
tionist in his treatment of the subjects of his volume, he commences the preface 
the statement that "The great antiquity of mankind upon earth has been conclus 
established," and goes on to state that "this knowledge changes materially the \ 
which have prevailed respecting the relations of savages to barbarians, and of 



726 History of the City ok Rochester. 

l)arians to civilisfd men. It can now be asserted, upon convincing evidence, that sav- 
agery preceded barbarism in all the trilies of mankind, as barbarism is known to liave 
preceded civilisation. The history of the himian race is one in source, one in experi- 
ence, and one in progress." He then, on the second and tliird i)ages, writes that " In- 
\entions and discoveries stand in serial relations along the lines of human progress, and 
register its successive stages, while social and civil institutions, in virtue of perpetual 
human wants, have been developed from a few primary germs of thought. 'I'hey ex- 
hibit a similar register of jjrogress 'I'hroughout the latter [lart of the jjeriod of 

savagery, and the entire perio<l of barbarism, mankind in general were organi.sed in 

geiites, phratries and tribes 'I'he ])rincipal institulions of mankind originated 

in savagery, were developed in barbarism, and are maturing in civilisation. In like 
manner the family has passed through successive forms and created great systems of 

consanguinity and affinitv. which have remained to the present time The idea 

of iirojiert) has undergone a similar growth and development. C.'ommencing at zero 
HI savagery, the jiassion for the ]jossession of property as the representative of accumu- 
lated subsistence has now become dominant cjver the lunnan mind in civilised races." 
He then writes that " 'I'he four i:lasses of facts above intlicated, and which extend them- 
selves in parallel lines along the [xithways of human progress from savagery to civilisa- 
tion, form the principal subjects of discussion in this volume." These (piotations are 
sufficient to convey an idea of the substance of the vohmie and the jirinciples which its 
author has set forth. To follow his scholarly statements and call attention in detail to 
the important deductions he has. drawn, ixirticularly to .\merican ethnology, would be 
impossible in this brief notice of the labors of one who has done so much. 

In the /hpii/ar Siifiia' Monthly for NovemlJer. icS8o, there is a good portrait of Mr. 
.Morgan as president of the .\merican .\ssociation for the .\dvancement of Science, ac- 
lonijianied 1)\ an account of his life, written by .Major J. W. I'owell. In this short 
sketch no attempt has been made to mention all the ])ublications of which Mr. Morgan 
was the author. A full list of his papers is desirable, as the) are widely '.scattered, and 
several are but little knoun. and difficult to obtain. The following list gives the titles 
of those which have come under the writer's notice : — 

Letlers (1-14) on llu- Iroquois, " by .Skenandiwli," acl(lrcs^c(l to .\llicrl (iallalin, 1. 1.. !>., presi- 
dent of Ilio .New \o\\ historical society. (Tlic .Vnierican Review: .\ wliif; journal of politics, litera- 
ture, art and science, \olnmcs \, \\. Kebruary-Decenibcr, 1847). New York, 8vo. 

Comnuuiicalions to the regents of the .New \nx\. slate university: \n account of Indian pipes, for- 
lifications, etc., in New \'ork, 1848. (Second annual report of the regent- of the university of the 
state of New York, 1849). ,\lbany. 8vo. Illustviited. 

Report upon the articles furnished the Indian collection. 1849. (Tliinl annual report of the regents 
of the university of the stale of .New York. 1850). .\lbany. 8vo. IlUislraled. 

The fabrics of the Irorpiois. (Reprint in part of report to the regents of the New \>n\ stale uni- 
versity. Stryker'- .\merican Regi-ler and Maga/ine. July. 1850. V..1. IV). I'renton. 8vo. Illus- 
trated. 

.Schedule of articles olnained from the Indian- in western New York and on Orand River, Canada. 
.Vbslract nf report, (rhird and fifth annual report- of the regents of the university of llu- slate cabinet 
of nalural history), .-\lbany, 1850, 1852. 8vo. 

League of ihe Ho-de-no.sau-nee, or Iroquois. Rochesler, 1851. 8vo. Illustrated. 

Reporl on ihe falnics, inventions, iniplenienls and ulensils of llie Iroquois, (l-'iflh annual report of 
the regents of the slate of New York, 1851). .\lbany, 1852. 8vo. Illuslrated. 

I.ist of [198] articles manufactured by the Indians of western New N'ork and Canada W'e-t, with 
their Indian names. (Catalogue of tlie cabinet of natural history of the -tate of New \'ork). .\lbany. 
1853. Svo. 



Lewis Henry Morgan. 



Laws of descent of the Iroquois. (Proceedings of the .\meiican association for the advancement 
science. Montreal meeting, 1857). Vol. XI. Cambridge, 1858. 8vo. 

The Indian mode of bestowing and changing names. (Proceedings of the .\mericau association 1 
the advancement of science. Springfield meeting, 1850). Vol. XIII. Cambridge, i860. 8vo. 

Circular in reference to the degrees of relationship among ilifferent nations. (Smithsonian misc 
laneous collections. Vol. II). i86c. 8vo. 

Suggestions relative to an ethnological 'map of North .\mcrica, thirty-six by forty-four inch' 
(.\nnual report of the .Smithsonian institute for 1861). 1862. 8vo. 

.\ conjectural solution of the origin of the classificatory system of relationship. (Proceedings 
the -\inencan academy of arts and sciences, February, 1868). Vol. VII. Boston, 1868. 8vo. 

The American beaver and his works. Philadelphia, 1868. Svo. Illustrated. 

The "Seven Cities of Cibola." (Xi.rth .\merican Review, \'ol. CVIII, April, 1S69). BosK 
1869. 8vo. 

Indian migrations. (North .\merican Review, Vol. CIX, October, 1869; \ol. CX, January, i87( 
Boston, 1869, 1870. Svo. 

The stone and bone implements of the .\rickarees. (I'uenly-hist annual report of the regents i>f t 
university of the state of New York on the state cabinet of natural history, 1S68). .Vlbany, 1871. 8\ 
Illustrated. 

Systems of consanguinity and affinity of the human family. (Smithsonian contributions to knov 
edge, 2l8). Washington, 1871. 4to. 

.\ustralian kinship. From original memoranda of Rev. Loriiner Fison. (Proceedings of the .\nii 
ican academy of arts and sciences, March, 1872, Vol. VIII). Boston, 1873. 8vo. 

Ethnical jieriods. ' (Proceedings of the .American association for the advancement of science. 1 
troit meeting, 1875, Vol. XXIV). Salem, 1876. 8vo. 

Arts of subsistence. (Proceedings of the .\mericau association for the .idvancemeni of scienc 
I )etroit meeting, 1875, Vol. XXIV). S.alem, 1876. Svo. 

Houses of the Mound Builders, (.\orth American Review, Vol. CXXUI, July, 1876). Bostt 
1876. Svo. 

Montezuma's dinner. (North .American Review-, Vol. CXXII, 1876). Boston, 1876. 8\o. 

Ancient society, or researches in the lines of human progi-ess from sayagery, through barliarisui, 
civilization. New York, 1877. Svo. 

On the ruins of a stone pueblo on the .\nimas river, in .\ew Mexico; with a ground pk 
(Twelfth annual report, Peabody museum of .American archeology and ethnology). Camliridge, 18' 
Svo. 

Objects of an expedition to New .Mexico and Central .\merica. (Slatemeiil presented lo the art 
;irologicaI institute of .America, March, iSSo). Boston. Svo. 

A study of the houses of the American aborigines, with a scheme of exploration of the ruins in Ni 
Mexico and elsewhere. (First annual report of the archaeological institute of .America). 1880. 8\ 
Illustrated. 

Houses and house life of the .\merican aborigines. (Contributions to .American ethnology. V 
1\). Department of the interior, Washington, 1881. 4to. Illustrated. 

In social life Mr. Morgan was much beloved for his kind and genial ways, antl 
Rochester his house with its large hall, in which were his library and collections, w 
often the gathering place of scholars and scientists, and there the well-known litera 
club, of which he was one of the founders a quarter of a century ago, often met. Ev 
active as a citizen in all good works, he was twice honored by public offices: in 18' 
he was a member of the state Assembly, and in 1867 and 1868 he was a Senator, 
both these capacities he was distinguished as the uncompromising foe of all viciu 
measures, and his fair name was never sullied by even the insinuation of corrupt 
double dealing. From his great interest in the Indian tribes and from his knowled 
of the natural course of the development of civilisation, he always took to heart t 
unfortunate condition of the Indians and the unnatural methods which were pursu 
by government in relation to their civilisation, and often urged, as occasions arose, t 
desirability of leading the Indians to civilisation by making them self-sustaining as 
pastoral people, writing several letters to the press, particularly to the Nation, in whi 
are presented forcible reasons for following such a plan. 



728 History of the City of Rochester. 



Mr. Morgan was a inL'iiibt.T ol' numt-rous historical and scientitic societies, and 
in i<S79 he was elei ted president of the .\nieiic.an association for the advancement of 
science, and |ireside<l <i\er the meeting hehl in Boston the foliowiiit; year. \t this time 
it was noticed that liis strength was tailing, and. although he liad nuich enjovment at 
the meeting, he remarked that it would ])rohal)ly be the last time he should meet with 
the association, and that he sliuuld so nnich the more a|)|)ieciate the hono'' which had 
been conferred upon him. I'rom that time he slowly declined, and died at his home, 
at the age of si\t\ -three, on December 17th, 1881. Mr. Morgan was married in 1851 
to Mary K., daughter of the late Lemuel Steele, of .\lban\-. X. \'.. who. with one son, 
survives him. ' The death of his two daugiiters, in i86j, was a sail calamit}', and as 
Mr. Morgan «as much interested in plans for the higher edm ation of women, he en- 
deavored to establish in Rochester a college for women, t(j which lie ]iroposed to make 
a memorial endowment ; but his efforts were not entirely successful. He then resolved 
to leave the whole of his ])ro]>erty for the purpose after the decease of his wife and .son, 
hoping that others will unite in making the fund am[)le for such an institution. In pur- 
suance of this object he has left his entire and considerable property in trust to tlie 
Universit)' of Rochester, for the final establishment of a college for women. ^ 

I'nion ( ollege conferred upon Mr. Morgan the degree of A. H., J-uly 22d, 1840, and 
that of 1. 1.. ]).. July 2d. 1873. He was made a member of the New \'ork Historical 
society, .Vjiril, 1846; of the .\merican Kthnological society, Jainiar\, 1849; of the 
Natural History society of Williams college, February, 1850; the State Historical society 
of Wisconsin. March, 1854; Michigan Historical society, September, 1857; American 
Anti(|uarian society. Worcester, Mass., October. 1865; .Academy of Natural Sciences, 
Philadelphia. December, 1865; Buftalo Historical society, December, 1866 ; Marquette 
Historical and Scientific association, .\ugust, 1867 ; Maryland Historical society, Octo- 
ber, 1867; .\merican .Vcademy of .\rts and Sciences, Boston, May, 1868; Boston 
.•\cadeniy of Natural History, January, 1869; Associaiiad Aiixiliad Orada Iiidiistria 
SacionaL Rio de Janeiro. September. 187 1 ; Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Sciences, 
Februar)-. 1874; National .\cadem)- of .Sciences, Washington, .\])ril, 1875; .\cademy 
of Natural Science. Davenport, Iowa, .April, 1877; Institution Kthnographicjue, Paris, 
Delegue Correspondant jiour I'Ktat de New York, .August, 1880; and of the Royal 
Historical society, (irampion lodge, Forest Hill, S. K.. London, October, 1880, which 
latter was declined. Mr. Morgan left an extensive and carefully selected library, and a 
most interesting and valuable collection of Indian relics. The library building is 44 
feet long, 25 feet wide, and 15 feet high, with ceiling in panels of black walnut and 
bird's-eye maple, modeled after the ceiling of a room at .\bbotsford, with panels 
much enlarged. In the center of the ceiling is a skylight of stained glass, 12x12 feet, 
and raised two feet above the ceiling. .\ triple bay-window on the east end, and glass 
doors on liie corresponding o])])osite end give the only additional light to the room. 
The library is chiefly a working collection of books, histories and ethnological works, 
such as were in constant use by the owner. The rarest volume in the collection is a 
Spanish dictionary, published in the ( it\ of Mexii:o in 1576, parts of which have been 



1 Since this memoir was written liy Mr. I'utnani, Mrs. Morgan's death li.is occurred. She survived 
her husl)aiid not i|uile two yc.irs. (n-eally esteeme<l and beloved by all who knew her, she died at 
the family residence in Rochester, Decendjer 1st, 1883. 

- Mrs. .Morgan also bequeathed her scjiarale estate, after the death of her son, lo the same purpose. 
Both estates amount to more than one hundred thousand dollars. 



Lewis Henry Morgan. — Henry Rogers Selden. 



72' 



destroyed and since replaced line by line, with great skill. Mr. Morgan ascertainec 
when in London some years ago, the value of this very old and rare volume to be est 
mated at $350 per copy. The cabinet of relics and antiquities was in a large measur 
collected by Mr. Morgan. The most interesting American Lidian article is the gorge 
of Joseph Brandt (Thayandanega), copper, plated with gold, presented to him in P:n^ 
land, with the royal arms in relief upon it. Articles of Lidian manufacture are numei 
Dus and choice — and veritable ones — many of them having been made specially fc 
Mr. Morgan, by the best skilled Lidian workers. The Rochester Democrat b' Clinv, 
icle prefaced a long obituary of Mr. Morgan the day after his decease, with the follow 
ing statement : — 

■•111 the death of the Hon. Lewis 11. M.irgan, which occuned at hi-, residence ill this city la: 
evening, his family has lust a trusted and an alTection.ate head, Rochester an old and a valued citizen, an 
the state one who had rendered it good and patriotic service. Science, for which he had labored eff 
ciently and conspicuously, will mourn one of its brightest lights extinguished; for he was among th 
foremost investigators of his time; had definitely settled some of the most perplexing questions i 
archasology, and had achieved a world-wide reputation as a scholar — a reputation perhaps more bri 
liant even in Europe than in .America." 

The many letters of inquiry and condolence that followed Mr. Morgan's death sug 
gested to his surviving fainlly the appropriateness of a memorial containing the funert 
address of the Rev. J. H. McLvaine, D. I)., his intimate friend and pastor for man 
years. This was accompanied also by a memorial card giving the simple record of th 
progress of his works. The members of the Rochester Literary and Scientific club, o 
which he was one of the founders, attended the funeral in a body and acted as honorar 
pall-bearers, and their sons carried the casket to the flimily tomb at Mount Hop 
cemetery. 



HENRY ROGERS SELDEN figured for more than half a century among the agei: 
cies which were wholesomely active in Rochester, and contributed invaluable force 
toward its material and municipal growth. Now, by reason of the feebleness of ac 
vanced years, relegated to repose from toilsome labors and a life of remarkable publi 
achievements, the venerable form of the eminent jurist may still be seen nourishing it 
declining years in the vigor of the open air upon pleasant sunny days. He has reaches 
his seventy-ninth year. Until five years since he was still actively engaged in the dutie 
of his profession and continuing to win encomiums from the bench and bar and plaudit 
from the public press as the Nestor of his calling. 

Born of Puritan stock at Lyme, Conn., October 14th, 1805, he followed his brothei 
Samuel Lee Selden to Rochesterville (as the then insignificant town was denominated 
in 1825. There he entered the office of a man, Addison Gardiner (who died in June 
1883), who during a long and eventful life was conspicuous as one of the most notabl 
figures among the Democratic party, while an eminent legal authority in the jurisprti 
ilence of the state of New York. Samuel Lee Selden, Henry's brother was the law part 
ner of Addison Gardiner, so it came about that the younger Selden received more thai 
even a cordial welcome in the office of the noted firm. By this adventitious circumstance 
three men were brought together, all of whom, for a significant period, adorned the bencl 
of the court of Appeals, and occupied the position of the chief judgeship thereof beside 
figuring among the noted lawyers of the century in the Empire state. 



% 



730 History of the City of Rochester. 



A\'hen the subject of this sketch was in his twenty-fifth year he was admitted to the 
l)ar, and thereupon immediately entered upon the practice of his profession at Clarkson, 
upon the western border of Monroe county. In i<S30 the eye of no man was yet quite 
farseeing enough to determine exactly which of the several thriving jilaces within the 
limits of the county enfolded a future city and was destined to s[)read its arnvs over the 
acreage of the territory and be absorbed in and under the manifold ramifications of a 
£;reat municipal coqioration. Clarkson bid as fair to become a commercial center as 
any other in the county, and the village of Carthage, stretching upon the east and west 
banks of the Cenesee clear along towaril the moutii of the beautiful stream, most delu^ 
sivelv promised a prosperity it never fulfilled, and that just escaped the locality by pass- 
ing south and clustering about a goodly area of territory between the rapids and the 
lower falls. That territory became, and to-day substantially is, the teeming, seething 
Rochester from which Henry Rogers Selden was to ascend the bench, and to carry, 
with John .\. King, the banner of the Republican party in its initial effort for political 
ascendency during the Fremont and Dayton campaign of ICS56. The national leaders 
in this campaign suffered defeat; but John .\. King, who headed the state ticket, was 
triumphantly elected governor, and Henry Rogers Selden lieutenant-governor, the first 
two members of the new party to enter upon the performance of grave and lofty public 
duty under a new. and, as they believed, better political regime in the nation. It is 
worth mentioning that during the gubernatorial canvass Judge Selden was in Europe 
upon professional business ; but his personal popularity carried him through the struggle 
with a very handsome majority. Throughout the state he was known and recognised 
as an honest man, over and above the place he held as a very able and profound lawyer. 
.\s |)residing officer of the Senate at a time when skilled parliamentarians belonging to a 
party hostile to the Refjublicans were among the influential and ])owerful members of 
the state legislature, none of his rulings ever suffered the reproof of dissent. There was 
confidence as firm in his good judgment as in his honesty and legal acumen. The 
urbanity with which he presided in Senate had so noticeable a judicial cast, that in July, 
18C2, upon the retirement of his brother, the late Samuel Lee Selden, from the chief 
judgeship of the court of .\ppeals. Governor PLdwin I). Morgan ap|)ointed Henry Roger> 
Selden to the vacancy. 

Honorable Hiram Dcnio. then eldest associate judge, woiild, under the constitution 
of 1846, have succeeded as chief judge in course but for the governor's apjiointment. 
This fact the generous-hearted appointee recognised, notwithstanding his clear right to the 
chief judgeship, and very characteristically deferred to, by waiving everything in Judge 
Denio's behalf and permitting that eminent jurist to go into and occupy the exalted judi- 
cial place at once, himself content to take the subordinate jjlace of associate judge. 

Henry Rogers Selden remained upon the court of Appeals bench continuously from 
that time to the close of 1863, and his opinions may be found from volumes 25 to 31, 
inclusive, of the N. Y. Reports, while his work in reference to the compilation of the 
massive monument of leading precedents represented by these reports is included be- 
tween the 4th and nth volumes of the same, with a small volume of addenda, known 
as Selden's notes, all of which were the product of his toil and learning while court of 
.\ppeals reporter. 

From 1830 until the summer of 1879 he continued, with the e-xception of the time 
spent upon the bench and a year or more occupied in the search of health in Europe, 



^ 



Henry Rogers Selden. 



in the active and incessant practice of his profession. But he was nex^er without interest 
in ever)' reasonable plan for the advancement of mankind in civilisation and happiness 

In 1845, when Professor S. F. B. Morse was knocking vainly at many doors in th( 
interest of patents in telegraphy that have since become world-famous, he found a will 
ing ear and the heartiest co-operation in Henry R. Selden. In conjunction with Mr 
Henry O'Riely, a former journalist of Rochester, who entered into a contract with th( 
Morse patentees, Henry Rogers Selden, inaugurated a movement whereby a number of 
iniblic-spirited citizens convened with the view of forming a company to build a sectioi 
of 40 miles of telegraph (then considered a most visionary scheme), between Lancaste 
and Harrisburgh in Pennsylvania. The sole subscribers to this stock were Henry R 
Selden, Samuel L. Selden, Jonathan Childs, (the first mayor of Rochester), Elisha D 
Ely, Hugh T. Brooks, and Micah Brooks, (the philanthropist), .\lvah Strong and Georgi 
Dawson, (the journalist), John S. Skinner and Hervey Brooks. These gentlemen wen 
associated as the Atlantic, Lake & Mississippi Valley telegraph company, of whicl 
Henry Rogers Selden became president. At a later period the Selden brothers acquirec 
an interest in the New York and Mississippi Valley printing telegraph company, organ 
ised under the House patent. This company eventually developed into that gigantii 
corporation known as the Western Union telegraph company. In the manner here re 
counted the Seldens were among the pioneers of telegraphy in this country and in th( 
world. 

In January. 1865, the subject of this sketch was solicited to accept the nominatioi 
for the Assembly in the second district of Monroe. He was elected and, though in en 
feebled health, entered upon the performance of his duties as earnestly and as modestl; 
as though he had never occupied the chair of the state Senate and the bench of th' 
court of. .\ppeals. In 1870, on the reorganisation of the court of .\ppeals, he consente< 
to be a candidate on the Republican ticket against the late Sanford E. Church for thi 
chief judgeship of the court of Appeals; knowing full well that political conditions a 
the time precluded the possibility of Republican success. He was one of the callers ol 
the celebrated Cincinnati convention of 1872 ; but, dissatisfied with its results he ha 
never since engaged in politics. His health, which had so often been an impediment t( 
active exertions in politics and public life, compelled him to retire from professional lif 
in 1879, since which he has resided ([uietly in Rochester, in a large and roomy mansioi 
at the corner of Gibbs street and Grove place. He was, like his brother Samuel Le^ 
.Selden, a liberal contributor of both time and means to local charitable institutions, offi 
dating as a manager of several of them, and according all the benefit of his sound judg 
ment, shrewd common sense, and professional knowledge. The life work of the tw( 
jurist brothers stands out in bold relief as a notable part of the leading political histori 
of the Empire state and constitutes a source of just pride to every one of its citizens. 

Mr. Selden was married September 25th, 1834. at Clarkson, to Laura Anne, daughte 
of Dr. Abel and Laura (Smith) Baldwin, who is still living. They have buried sevei 
children, and have living three sons and two daughters. The eldest son, George Bal 
dwin Selden is practicing patent law at Rochester, and is already recognised as a notec 
authority in his difticult branch of the profession. Arthur Rogers Selden is in the em 
ploy of the great manufacturing company of D. S. Morgan & Co., at Brockport, N. Y 
The youngest son is Samuel Lee Selden, a lawyer, practicing in Rochester. A daughter 
Julia, is the wife of Theodore Bacon, a distinguished member of the Rochester bat 
The voungest daughter is Miss Laura H. Selden, who resides with her parents. 



, 



INDEX. 



Alioiifjincs <if AnuTJca, 13, 21. 27. 

Academy of science, 222. 

Active hose, 209. 

Adams, John (^uincy, 1 1". 1 35. 

Advertiser, Daily, 346. 

Age of the world. 13. 

.\gricullur.il journals, 361. 

.Aldermen of the city, 185. 

.\lert hose, 208. 

Allan, Kbenezer, 76, 77, 79, 80, 84. 

.Allan's mill-stones, 76, 78, 87. 

.Mien, John, m.iyor, 136, 147. 

.Allen, Samuel I'., 354. 

.Alms house, 427. 

.Alexander street seminary, 306. 

.\merica the Old world, 12, 16. 

.American, Daily, 351. 

-Ancient fire-pl.acc under the lake ridge, 15, 19. 

.Antiquities of the Cenesee Country, 15, 21, 24, 

26, 46. 
.An<lrcws and .Alwalcr, loi, 113. 
.\ndrews, Samuel G., m.ayor, 145, 151. 
.Amusements in Rochester, 4J0. 
.Anti-gambling, society formed, 136. 
-Anti-Masonic excitement, 122, 124, 350. 
.\nti-slavery, society formed, 133 : meetings, 136. 

146; lectures, 145, 462. 
.Ap]>eals, court of, 372. 

.\(|ueduct, the old, 115, 116; the new. 135. 235. 
.Architects and .Architecture. 524. 
.Arsenal built, 157. 
.Art exch.mge, the, 531. 
.Art exhibitions, 523. 
.Art club, the, 531. 
.Artillery, Rochester, 434. 
.Assembly, members of, 200. 
Assessors of the village, 109. 
.Asylums, orphan, 412; insane, 428. 
.Athenreuni, the, 217. 
.Atkinson, William, 109. 
.Attorneys, list of, 377. 
.Auction, sale of real estate, 136. 
itackus, Dr. F. F., 108, 122, 147. 335. 
Balloon, first ascension, 130. 
Hand, the first here, 109. 
Hanking institutions, 463. 
I)arn.ird, Jehiel, 107, 108. 
liarron, his murder of I.vman. 132. 
lottery I., First -\. V. Light artillery. 572. 
Hazaar in the war time, 151. 
Heach, (len. K. S., 139. 
Hible society, Monroe county, 410. 
lioyd and Parker, 71, 134. 
Hrewer's L.inding, 23, 39, 41. 
Bridges, 98, III, 113, 118, 130. 145, 146. 150. 

156, 161, 166, 170, 172. 
Itrown. Dr. Jonah, 166, 352. 



Hrown, I'r.ancis, lOI, 108. 

IJrown, Matthew, jr., loi, 104,105. 141. 

Hrown square school, 298. 

Hrownlow, I'arson, 150. 

Burglaries, 163, 166. 

Burnet, (iovernor \Vm., 65, 66. 

Butler's Rangers, 40, 44, 71, 72. 

Hutts, ls.a.ac, 162, 349. 

(.'.atlin, fate of, 125. 

Cable, first .Atlantic, 147. 

Canadian rebellion, 131, 432. 

Canal, F-rie, 113, 136, 157, 163, 226. 

Canal, Genesee Valley, 237. 

Carter, Robert, 354. 

I'arthage, settlement of, 107, III; famous bridge 
at, III; l.ist bridge, 145. 

Casualties, 130, 146, 147, 148, 156. 163, 213, 214. 

Cathedral, opening of, 156. 

Catholic cemeteries, 448. 

Catholic orphan .asylums, 415 

Catholic schools, 278, 312, 316. 

Celebration, centennial, 164; semi-centennial, 174. 

Cemeteries, .Vlt. Hope. 438; Catholic. 448. 

Central lil)rary, 219. 

Census of Rochester, 107, no, 114. 116. 119. 
136, 140. 

Champion, .Arist.irchus, 159, 235. 

Ch.ipin, Judge, 107, 154. 

Charter of city, 128, 138. 

Charitable society, female, 127,407. 

Charlevoix, Father, 64, 75, 79. 

Charlotte, attack upon, 102, 104. 

Cheney, first furnace, 133. 

Chinese, first voter, 171. 

Child, Jonathan, inaugurated mayor, 129; resigns, 
130; dies, 148. 

Childs, Timothy, 122, 234. 

Cholera, 127, 139, 142. 

Chronicle, Daily, 352. 

Church home, 425. 

Church, Sanford K., 373. 

Churches, the First, 109, 1 18; the Hresbyterian, 
243; I'q)iscopal, 254; Friends, or (^)uakers, 
260; H.iptist, 261; Methodist, 268; tatliolic, 
277: Unitarian. 284; Lutheran, 286: I'nited 
Kvangelical, 288: Kvangelical associ.ilinn, 
289; German Reformed, 290; Congregation- 
al, 290; Jewish, 291 ; Universalist, 293; 
.Advent Christian, 294; Reformed Dutch, 
294; Christadelphian, 295. 

Circus, the first here, 451. 

City building, l6l. 

City h.all, corner-stone laid, 161 ; lini^hed, 163. 

City hospital, 151, 163, 403. 

City, incorporation of, 128. 

City officials for 1884, 179. 

City supervisors. 194. 



Index. 



733 



City tax levy, i8i. 

City treasurers, 193. 

Civil list of the city, 184. 

Civil Service Reform association, 226. 

Clark, John, his murder of Trevor, 163. 

Clay, Henry, 136, 137. 

Clinton, DeWitt, 103, 226, 230, 232, 237. 

Clubs, Pundit, 221 : Fortnightly, 221 ; Browninij, 
222 ; Shakcsi)eare, 222 ; Rochester, 223 ; 
Whist, 223 ; Phoenix, 224 ; Abelard, 224 ; 
Mutual, 224; Celtic, 224; Commercial Trav- 
elers', 225; Lincoln, 226; Riverside, 226; 
Canoe, 227. 

Coal, first used, 138; its ^upjily, 241. 

Coldest weather known here, 144. 

Coleman, Dr. Anson, 334. \ 

Commerce of the village, 1 10. \ 

Congress, members of, 200. V 

Convent Schools, 316. \ 

Corinthian hall, 139, 456. >, 

County clerks, 199. / 

County court, 375. 

County erected, 1 14. 

County officials for 18S4, 183. 

County treasurers, 200. 

Court-house, 115, 139, 141, 36S. 

Court, first of record, 114, 369. 

Courts, state, 370; county, 375. 

Culver, Oliver, 23, 39, 67, 86. 

Cutler, Jeremiah, 173,298. 

Dam, its construction, 109. 

Dauby, Augustine G., 107, 344. 

Dean, Dr. H. W., 338. 

Deaf mute institution, 426. 

Debt of the citv. 180. 

Deed, Allan's, '81, 82, 84. 

Deed, first in the county, 115. 

Deeds, Indian, 63, 67. 

De Lave, he crosses the falls. 147. 

Democrat, Daily, 351. 

DeXonville's expedition, 50, 53, 57, 60. 

Dentistry, 341. 

Dewey, Dr. Chester, 146, 155, 308. 311. 

Directory of the village, first, 124. 

District-attorneys, 376. 

Doctors, early, 332. 

Douglas, Stephen A., 141, 148. 

Draft in this city, 151. 

Driving-park, the. 457. 

Duel, on Pinnacle hill, 135. 

Eagle Hotel, 131, 140, 150. 

Eastwood, Martin, trial for murder. 144. 

Eighteenth Light artillery, 575. 

Eighth ca\alry regiment, 569. 

Elks, order of, 402. 

Electric Light companies, 240. 
^ El wood, John B., mayor, 165, 3«. 
-^ Ely, Dr. "W. \V., 338. 

Ely, Elibha, 104. 

Ely, Hervey, 104, 106, 120, 127, 150. 

Empire order of Mutual .\id, 401. 

Engravers in Rochester, 526. 

Executive board, 1S2. 

Exhibitions of art, 523. 

Expeditions, English, 66, 68, 69. 

Expeditions, French, 50, 62. 

Expeditions, Indian, 34, 62. 

Express, Evening, 358. 

Factory, first, 107. 

Female academy, 306. 



Female Charitable society, 127, 407. 

Fenians, 154, 155, 157. 

Field, Joseph, mayor, 167. 

Fifty-fourth regiment, 151, 159, 165, 434. 

Fillmore, President, visit of, 140. 

F'inancial crisis of 1837, 131. 

Fine arts in Rochester, 518. 

Finney, Dr., revivals under, 145. 

Fire alarm telegraph, 210. 

Fire department, 109, 201. 

Firemen's Benevolent association, 211. 

Firemen's monument, 212. 

Fires, notable, 213. 

First Veteran brigade, 576. 

Fish-culture, Seth Green's experiment>, 156. 

Floods, of 1835. 130: of 1857, 146; of 1865, 

153; of 1867, 155. 
Foresters, the, 401. 
Fort Bender, 104. 

Fortifications, ancient, 39, 41, 42, 45. 
Forts, French, 50, 52, 53, 63. ■ 
Forts, Indian, 56, 57, 59. 
Foundry, first, 133. 
Fourteenth Heavy artillery, 574. 
F^ox, Louis, mysterious disappearance, 155. 
Fox sisters, the, 508. 
Frankfort laid out, loi. 
Franklin institute, 216. 
Free academy, 321. 
Freemasons in Rochester, 381. 
F'rost, Alonzo, 98. 

Fugitive slaves, 459. • 

Gardiner, .\ddison, 130, 173, 371. 
Garfield, President, mock funeral, 168. 
Cjas, first burned here, 138 ; present companies, 

240. 
Gazette established, i<yj, 344. 
Genesee country, 30, 32, 73, 88. 
Genesee falls, 64, 78, 79, 87. 
Genesee Indian castle, 33, 70, 71. 
Genesee river, 17, 19, 22, 23, 26, 33, 75. 
German churches, 486, 489. 
German element of Rochester, 481. 
German Grenadiers, 434, 486. 
Germans in the war, 493. 
German newspapers, 360, 492. 
German insurance company, 242. 
Geology, surface, 16, 23. 
Giants, remains of, 22, 25, 26, 27. 
Gould, Jacob, mayor, 130, 155, 298. 
Grand Army of the Republic, 576. 
Greek, donation to the fund, 117. 
Hall, Dr. .\. G., 159. 
Hall, Dr. T. F., 338. 
Hammond, Caleb, 298. 
Hanford's Landing, 26, 40, 86, 88, 110. 
Hardenbrook, Dr., trial of, 139. 
Hawley, Jesse, 114, 135. 
Herald, Morning, 359. 
High school, 308. 

Hill, Charles J., mayor, 115, 138, 173, 201. 
Hills, Isaac, mayor, 130, 168. 
Holmes, William F., 143, 165. 
HoUey, Myron, 134, 230, 234, 445. 
Holy Sepulcher cemetery, 449. 
Home of Industry, 425. 
Home for the Friendless, 418. 
Homoeopathic physicians, 340. 
Horticultural society formed, 127; exhibition, 137. 
Hospitals, St. Mary's, 150,406; City, 151, 163,403. 



734 



Index. 



House uf Refuge, 497. 

Howard riot, 159. 

Humane society, 427. 

Humiihrey, Harvey, 127, 165. 

Improvements in 1S83, 172. 

Incorporation of the vill.ige. 108: of the city, 12S. 

Industrial school, 422. 

Indians, Attiwandaronk. 30, 31, 47. 

Indians, Xeutral, see Attiwandaronk. 

Indians, Seneca. 21, 28, 30, 32. -i^. 48. 54, 61. 03, 

68, 69, 72, 74, 75. 
Inilian traditions, 21, 28, 29. 
I- trails 2(>. 34, 37, 47, (x>. 

Indian sacrifice. 40. 

Indian letjend of tlie lower Cenesee, 41. 
Indian population, 61, 75. 
Indian reservations, 74, 75. 
Insane asylum, 428. 
Insurance, local companies, 241. 
Irish nationality, 135; famine, 137; National 

league, 225.' 
lronde(|uoit landing, 34, 39, 44, 06. 
Irondeipioit l)av, 19, 34, 36, 45, 49, 52, 63, 67. 70. 
Iroquois, 28, 31, 38, 49, 61, 69, 70. 
Irrepressible conflict, 147. 
Jail, the old, 116; the new, 166, 507. 
Jemison, Mary, 21, 75, 7*'- 
Jesuits, 31, 35, 47,50, 56,60. 
Jewish hospital, 418. 
J.-'vish orphan asylum, 418. 
Jews, .47 

Johnson, .\nd/ew, 155. 
Johnson. lUisha, mayor, I09. 
Judges and lawyers, 366. 
Keeler, Kufus, miiyor, 136, 164. 
Kenible, Fanny, 139. 
Kempshall, Thomas, mayor, 154. 
Knights of I'ythias, 401. 
Know-Nothing ])arty, 144. 
Kiiichling, Dr. 1,. .\., 339. 
L.abor Reform journals, 364. 
Lake Kric, 14, 18, 63. 
Lake Ontario, 14, 18. 
I.aFavette, visit to Rochester, 1 19. 
La Salle, 48, 49, 67. 
Lawyers, list of, 377. 
Law library, 219. 
Lectures, 139, 142, 143. 144. 
Literary Union, 220. 
Liberty party formed, 133. 
Libraries, 216. 
Light (Juards, 433. 
Lincoln, .Vbraham, 149; mourning over his death, 

154. 
Lind, Jenny, 140. 
Lithography in Rochester, 527. 
Locomotive explosions, 148, 156. 
Loomis, Daniel, 152, 524. 
Lyell bridge, battle of, 433. 
Lyman, murdered by liarron, 132. 
Lyon, Caleb, ill. 
Mackenzie, .Navy islanil raid, 131. 
M.ack's battery, 575. 
.Mails, early, 90, 106. 
Miinnerchor, the, 166, 492. 
Manufacturers of Rochester, 598. 
.Maps, early, 34, 35. 
Masonic bodies in Rochester, 381. 
.Masonic excitement, 122. 
Mastick, John, first lawyer, 367. 



Mathews. Dr. M. M., 340. 

Mayors of the city, 185. 

Medical society, Monroe county, 332; Ilonioi' 

palhic, 340. 
Meridian of RochesU 1, 141. 
Mexican war, 137. 
Micrt)scopical society, 222. 
Militia organisations, 429. 
.Mills, Allan's, 76 to 86. 
Mill, (irst, 106. 

Moore, Kmma, mysterious disa]>]iearance, 144. 
Moore, I.indley ^iurray, 135. 
Moore, S. W. I)., mayor, 158. 
.Morgan, William, his abduction, 119; sentence 

of his abductors, 121 ; his subsec|uent fate, 

Morgan, Lewis H., 168. 

Mormon Bible, first appearance, 126. 

.Monroe County Bible society, 410. 

.Mount Hope cemetery, 162, 438. 

Mounds, ancient, 23, 25, 39, 45, 46. 

Mound-builders, 13. 20, 23, 25. 

.Mumford, Ceorge 11., 102, 159. 

Municipal court, 181. 

Munroe, Timothy, body claimed to be his, 123. 

Murders. 132, 133, I4I, 146, 154, 156, 163, 164. 

Museum, the old, 455. 

Music in Rochester, 528. 

Mutual .Vid, Knipire order, 401. 

Mysterious disap])car.inces, 138, 144, 155. 

Nash, John C, m.ayor, 154. 

Navy isKand raid, 131, 432. 

Newspapers, the first, 107; all otiier papers here, 

343- 
Newton, tol. .\aron, 161. 
Nullification, movement .against, 431. 
Odd Fellows, 395. 
Oil speculation, 152. 

One-hundred-acre tract, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88. 
One Hundred and F'ifth regiment, 561. 
One Hundred and JCighlh regiment, 561. 
One Hundred and F'ortieth regiment, 563. 
One Hundred and Fifty-first regiment, 566. 
Orphan asylums, Rochester, 412. 
O'Rielly's Sketches, 133, 349. 
O'Reilly, Hishop Hernard, 145. 
O'Rorke, Colonel, 565. 
Ox-Bow, canal break at, 158. 
Paper-mill, the first here, no. 
Parnell, tharles S., visit of, 167. 
Pastor, first, 107. 
Patch, Sam, his leap, 125. 
Patriot .soldiers, burial of remains, 134, 446. 
Peck, Everard, 108, 1 10, 127, 144, 345. 
Penitentiary, the, 506. 
Perkins, William IL, 147. 
I'helps and Oorham purchase, 73, 97. 
Phinips, J. W., runs steamboat, 129. 
Photogr.aphy in Rochester, 527. 
Pierce, Porter P., mysterious disappearance, 1 38. 
Pioneer Rifles, 431. 
Pioneers, junior, society of, 145. 
Pioneers, society of, 138. 
Pioneer settlement, 97. 
Pitkin, William, ni.iyor, 136, 157. 
Pneumonia typhoides, 98. 
Police board, 182. 
Police justices, 194. 
Pond, Elias, 164. 
Powers, Colonel, 562. 



Index. 



f, 



I 



I'opulation of Rochester. 95, 107, 1 10, 114, 116, 
119, 136, 140, 173. 

I'oiter, S. D., 133, l68. 

Post-Express, Daily, 359. 

Posl-OfBce, 90, 96. 

Postmasters, 94, 96. 

Presbyterian, Old school, as^emllly, 148; New 
school, assembly, 155- 

Press of Rochester, 343. 

Printers, celebration of, 137. 

Private schools, 296. 

Protectives, 205. 

Public schools, 317. 

Pulteney estate, 73, 85, 88. 

Railroads, the great strike, 165 ; construclion 
of, 166 ; description of, 473. 

Rappings, Rochester, the, 508. 

Real school, the, 161, 494. 

Rebellion, war of the, 149. 

Refuge, House of, 497. 

Reid, Dr. \V. \V., 336. 

Religious journals, 363. 

Reynolds, .\belard, 91, 94. lOi, 104. 

Reynolds arcade, 94, 95. 

Reynolds's battery, 572. 

Reynolds library, 84. 

Reynolds, Mrs. Abelard, 91, 176. 

Reynolds, William, 92, 94, 160. 

Richardson, .Samuel, mayor, 173. 

Ridge, the lake. 14, 16, 18, 23, 102. 

Rifle battalion, first, 430. 

Roads, early, 90, 93. 

Rochester, Col. Nathaniel, 88, 91, 107, 127, 176. 

Rochester, elevation of, 18: as a village, 108; as 
a city, 128; meridian of, 141. 

Rochester, Thomas H., mayor, 162. 

Rochester knockings, 508. 

Rochester, Mrs. Nathaniel, 137. 

Rochester orphan asylums, 412. 

Rochester, William B., 119, 370. 

Ryan, Colonel Cleorge. funeral of. 158. 

Ryan Zouaves, 160. 

Sam Patch's leap, 125. 

Savings banks, run on, 165; sketch of, 469. 

.Schools, parochial, 278 ; early private. 296 ; con- 
vent, 316; public, 317. 

Schuyler, Captain Peter, 66, 68. 

Scrantom, Hamlet, 99, 139; Edwin, 99, 167, 
344; Hamlet D., mayor, 99, 171; Mrs. Ed- 
win, 158. 

Sculptors in Rochester, 524. 

Secret societies, 381. 

.Selden, Henry R., 373. '^ 

.Selden, Samuel L., 372. " 

Selye, Lewis, 146, 173, 354. '. 

Semi-centennial of Western New ^■ork. 134. 

Semi-centennial celebration, 174. 

Settlement of Rochester, 97. 

Seward, William H., 135, 144, 147. 155. 

Sheriffs, 199. 

Sibley, Levi W.. 136, 345. _, 

Skinner, Aaron, 297. ^j 

Small-pox, 160, 169. 
y Smith, E. Darwin, 160, 173, 349. 

Smith, Edward M., mayor, 173. 

Smith, Elijah F., mayor, 167. 

Smith, E. Peshine, 171. 

Smith, Silas O., loi, 151. 

Snow-storms, 145, 166. 

Speculation, in oil and in telegraph stock, 152. 



Spiritualism, 143. 

Squires, murder of his wife, 133. 

State senators, 200. 

Steamboat Ontario, no; (ienesec, 129; ( 

line, 131. 
Steam fire engines, 1 10. 
Stilwell, Hamlin, mayor. 143, 158. 
•St. Joseph's orphan asylum, 417. 
St. Mary's hospital, 150, 406. 
St. Mary's orphan asylum, 416. 
St. Patrick's day in 1833, 128. 
St. Patrick's orphan asylum, 415. 
Stone, Enos, 89, 100, 138, 141. 
Stone, Isaac W., 104. 
Street cars, 150. 
Street railroads, 480. 
.Strikes, 159, 165. 170, 171. 
Strong, Huldah, 92, 296. 
Sullivan's campaign, 70, 72. 134. 
Sullivan, Captain, 160, 171. 
Sullivan, Major, funeral of, 151. 
Sunday journals, 360. 
Surrogates, 376. 
Swan, Gen. L. B. , 141, 149. 
Tavern, the first here, loi, 107. 
Tax levy for 1884-85, 181. 
Taylor, funeral procession, 139. 
Telegraph, (he newspaper, no, 345. 
Telegraph, Western Union, speculation in. 

construction of, 238. 
Telephone, 239. 
Temperance, 136, 137. 
Theater, the first here, 451. 
Theological seminary, 551. 
Third cavalry regiment, 569. 
Thirteenth regiment. 149, 160. 204, 493, 556 
Thirty-third regiment, 560. 
Tod- Waddle, battle of, 431. 
Tolls on the Erie canal, 236. 
Totiakton, 56, 57. 
Trustees of the village, lo8, 184. 
Tryon's Town, 39, 88, go. 
Turners, German, the, 491. 
Twenty-first cavalry regiment, 571. 
Twenty-second cavalry regiment. 571. 
Twenty-fifth regiment, 559. 
Twenty-sixth regiment, 559. 
Twenty-seventh regiment, 559. 
Twenty-eighth regiment, 560. 
Typhoid pneumonia, 98. 
Underground railroad, 458. 
Union Blues, 436. 
Union, Daily, 348. 
L'nion Grays, 144, 433. 
United Workmen, 401. 
University of Rochester, 140, 531. 
Village, incorporation of, 108. 
Vincent place bridge, 161. 
Ward, Dr. Levi, 107, 149. 
Ward, Levi A., 168, 217, 242. 
War of i8l2, 102: Mexican, 137; Civil, 149, 
War record, the, 555. 
Warner, Horatio G., 163, 164, 349. 
Water works, 162, 210. 
\\'ater works, the, 577. 
Webster, Daniel, 140, 143. 
Wedding, the first, 106. 
Weed Thurlow, 116, 123, 126, 345. 
Western House of Refuge, 497. 
Western Union, speculation in, 152. 



n^ 



Index. 



West, Ira, lOI. 

•' Wliiie Woman," st-i.- Mary Jc-mison. 

Whittlesey, fliaiiccllov, I35,'i4l, 345, 372, 453, 516 

WiUlcr. A. Carter, mayor, 161. 164. 

Williams, Comfort, first clergyman, 107; school 

teacher, 301. 
Williams, John, mayor, 150, 103, 104. 
Williams Light infantry, 432. 



Wolf, last in the county, 127. 

Woman's rights, 13S, 144. 

Vacht club, Rochester, 165. 

\'ello« mill, 109. 

\'eo. Admiral, 102, 104. 

Voung Lion of the West, 145, 233. 

V'oung Men's Catholic association, 220. 

Voung Men's Christian association, 219. 



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